Is it time to get rid of the yearly car inspection? Only 14 states require them.
In Massachusetts, you have to get your car or truck inspected for safety and emissions every single year. You probably didn't know how rare that is.
Only 14 states require a safety inspection every year, including Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont. There are only nine states that require statewide emissions testing. Some states only test emissions in the most congested counties.
And in the entire country, only Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York require both a safety and emissions test every single year.
Bill to abolish vehicle inspections in New Hampshire
Now, that might change.
The New Hampshire State House of Representatives has passed a bill to abolish the entire inspection process for passenger vehicles. Deputy Speaker of the House Steven Smith is a driving force behind the effort.
At a recent hearing on the subject, Smith stood up and said, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore and today I want to stick up for my constituents."
Smith says there's no real evidence that inspections are making the roads any safer. Instead, he believes the inspections are nothing more than a money grab for inspection station owners and the state, as drivers get caught paying for repairs that have nothing to do with safety.
"We have all these other states where everybody didn't die when they got rid of their inspection provisions," Smith told WBZ.
Many inspection station owners are fighting hard to keep the system in place. They claim the inspections save lives.
And some believe the system just needs tweaking, like Jodie Docos. She is the owner of The Car Doctors in Concord, New Hampshire.
"Honestly, it wouldn't hurt my feelings if we got rid of the inspection process," said Docos.
Docos says she sees lots of cars in great condition fail when the on-board computers are checked. She'd prefer a pared down safety inspection of headlights, taillights, wipers, brakes and tires.
"There's some things that trigger a check engine light through emissions that can hold up an inspection that could cost the customer a lot of money," Docos said.
If the state senate passes the bill, which might be an uphill battle, and there are no more inspections, what would happen to cars with bad headlights, bald tires and bad brakes?
The plan would be for police to keep an eye out for unsafe cars during their regular patrols.
New Hampshire State Troopers have testified against the bill saying they're already stretched too thin to also be looking for things an inspection would normally catch.
Could it happen in Massachusetts?
Craig Fitzgerald is the auto editor for DCI Marketing. He doesn't believe Massachusetts will ever get rid of car inspections. He thinks it's a possibility we could someday tweak emissions testing. But Fitzgerald believes inspections are important and asking police to take unsafe cars off the streets isn't practical.
"Police aren't going to see that you're riding around on bald tires," Fitzgerald said. "Go to the supermarket next time, and take a look at the tires on some 4,500-pound SUVs. A lot of people are riding around on tires that you can see your reflection in."
Of course, money always plays a part in a big debate like this. States like New Hampshire and Massachusetts make a lot of revenue on the inspection programs.
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