why are vehicle inspections not required in some states ?

[JulesMaximus]

Cops are supposed to pull over vehicles with busted lights, bald tires etc...

It doesn't work though, I see cars all the time with bald tires or busted lights. The bald tires thing is what confuses me though...that's probably the most important safety related thing on your car.

I watched a guy pull into a tire place one day when I was in getting 4 new tires on my car. He was driving a fairly new and nice looking BMW 740i with a flat rear tire. He just wanted the place to put the spare on for him. Well, it turned out that the spare had steel belt showing through (steel belt was showing on at least one other tire on the car and on the one that flatted) and the guy was going to drive the car about 50 miles. They strongly advised him against this but he wouldn't listen so the shop put the spare on for him and off he went. Oh well, at least it wasn't raining...:roll:

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf
inspections are a load of BS. Anything more than five years old will fail. All it does is provide a huge source of income for auto repair places.
It does not SIGNIFICANTLY affect public safety. Sure, it might save one or two lives per year...big deal. Is it worth the 10's of millions of dollars spent fixing things that are not really broken?

It's pretty easy to see if a light is out or if your tire tread is worn down and needs to be replaced. I'm not sure what you're getting at. You'd think these things would be obvious to most people but surprisingly they aren't judging by the number of vehicles I've seen driving around that are unsafe.

 

[Hannover]

Originally posted by: SmoochyTX
We have vehicle inspections in TX.

The car is inspected for safety (lights and blinkers working, tires are good, brakes work, etc) and then the car is tested for emissions. If the car passes both parts, then you get an inspection sticker for your car that goes on the windshield next to the registration sticker.

Sorry, that's not entirely true. Several rural counties do not yet require emissions inspections. In Liberty County, I pay $12.50 for a yearly inspection when they check all of the lights, horn, signals, gas cap and brakes. My PU truck doesn't even have tailpipes to hook the emissions device up to but it has passed a TX state inspection for 3 years in that condition.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf
inspections are a load of BS. Anything more than five years old will fail. All it does is provide a huge source of income for auto repair places.
It does not SIGNIFICANTLY affect public safety. Sure, it might save one or two lives per year...big deal. Is it worth the 10's of millions of dollars spent fixing things that are not really broken?

Hmm, I can't exactly recall how much that brake pad cost me to replace the one time I failed with my 12-year old vehicle...

 

[thedarkwolf]

We just have safety inspections here. The sticker on my van has been dead for 2 years that YEARS and I still drive it pretty much daily. It doesn't have a cat and its harder to find a place to look the other way anymore. Haven't bothered to get the miata I bought back in November out of state inspected yet either. It would pass but I'm just to lazy to do it. All the small shops don't want to waste their time doing the inspections and all the chain places try to screw you over. The chains always find something wrong and nicely offer to fix it for you 😉. Cops just don't notice. I was even pulled over and in a wreck once before with a dead sticker and they didn't notice. Its just a way for the states to bring in a little extra cash.

 

[jiggahertz]

When I moved to MA my insurance rep told me I had to have my car inspected, I had no idea what they were talking about. It's just a money making racket. My vehicle failed inspection once because one of my rear windows was frozen and wouldn't roll down. I took it down the street to a place that only checked brakes and lights and got the pass for an extra $20.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf
inspections are a load of BS. Anything more than five years old will fail. All it does is provide a huge source of income for auto repair places.
It does not SIGNIFICANTLY affect public safety. Sure, it might save one or two lives per year...big deal. Is it worth the 10's of millions of dollars spent fixing things that are not really broken?

It's pretty easy to see if a light is out or if your tire tread is worn down and needs to be replaced. I'm not sure what you're getting at. You'd think these things would be obvious to most people but surprisingly they aren't judging by the number of vehicles I've seen driving around that are unsafe.

Ah, but it is not the OBVIOUS stuff that they are always checking for. Some of the stuff they check for is just plain dumb. Example: My current vehicle has a crack in the windshield. It starts in the middle and runs all the way to the passenger side about four inches from the bottom. Is has zero effect on visibility (due to the angle you sit at, you can only see the hood behind it). That would cause me to fail. In NY I had my car fail because the seatbelt did not roll all the way back in, it stayed out by about two inches. Again, no effect on driving and would have no effect in an accident.

And for the obvious stuff, why do we need government regulation to enforce them? Cops can ticket people with the obvious problems if it is such a problem.

 

[Superself]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: Linflas
They are a waste of time and money.

So you're ok with cars with bumpers half-fallen off driving on the freeway with you ? Or your wife and baby in their own car ?

As if it's that common? Plus, most inspection places are so shady a $50 will make them waive anything.

QFT. When I lived in the Bronx, there were several spots you could go to that would "pass" your car regardless of the condition...so long as you slipped them $40 extra bucks.

 

[rh71]

Those dentists that want you to come in for cleanings every year... they are just trying to make money off you... it has nothing to do with helping you keep your gums healthy. You don't care so why should they ? They made it up.

And since it doesn't hurt anyone else, there's no law for it either.

 

[herkulease]

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
No inspection in Michigan. They did it in the past and it didn't work well. I'm all for not having them.

what do you mean when you say it didn't work well ? I started thinking about CA not having a subway system (though Jack Bauer and 24 say otherwise)... people need vehicles to get around, at any cost... is this a contributing factor ?

Umm LA has a subway system. Though no one really uses it compared to NYC. We like to drive cars in california.

As for why there's no inspections, its time and money. I'm willing to bet that 90% of cars in the state of california are perfectly fine with the exception to smog. You just happen to notice all the crap that's on the show. Setting up car inspections means the state will need to hire a bunch of new people, set up more departments to deal with complaints/disputes with inspections.

 

[HannibalX]

I absolutely LOVE when people on the internet talk about laws and what should/should not be a law, etc.

Bottom Line: LOCAL GOVERNMENTS have the RIGHT to GOVERN their communities the way THEY SEE FIT.

This is why some states have inspections and others don't.

If you want centralized government on a massive scale the USA is the wrong country for you.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: herkulease

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
No inspection in Michigan. They did it in the past and it didn't work well. I'm all for not having them.

what do you mean when you say it didn't work well ? I started thinking about CA not having a subway system (though Jack Bauer and 24 say otherwise)... people need vehicles to get around, at any cost... is this a contributing factor ?

Umm LA has a subway system.

holy $#!t that's the first time anyone's ever corrected me on that. Interesting... never saw stations for it when I was there.

 

[alien42]

its not just a statewide issue here but a county issue. all metro atlanta counties require an inspection but the rest of the state does not.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: herkulease

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
No inspection in Michigan. They did it in the past and it didn't work well. I'm all for not having them.

what do you mean when you say it didn't work well ? I started thinking about CA not having a subway system (though Jack Bauer and 24 say otherwise)... people need vehicles to get around, at any cost... is this a contributing factor ?

Umm LA has a subway system.

holy $#!t that's the first time anyone's ever corrected me on that. Interesting... never saw stations for it when I was there.

It has like 4 or 5 lines that really don't help most people get anywhere they need to go.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: Pale Rider
I absolutely LOVE when people on the internet talk about laws and what should/should not be a law, etc.

Bottom Line: LOCAL GOVERNMENTS have the RIGHT to GOVERN their communities the way THEY SEE FIT.

This is why some states have inspections and others don't.

If you want centralized government on a massive scale the USA is the wrong country for you.

Saying that one state does it and one state doesn't because they felt like doing it that way really helps. THANKS.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf
inspections are a load of BS. Anything more than five years old will fail. All it does is provide a huge source of income for auto repair places.
It does not SIGNIFICANTLY affect public safety. Sure, it might save one or two lives per year...big deal. Is it worth the 10's of millions of dollars spent fixing things that are not really broken?

It's pretty easy to see if a light is out or if your tire tread is worn down and needs to be replaced. I'm not sure what you're getting at. You'd think these things would be obvious to most people but surprisingly they aren't judging by the number of vehicles I've seen driving around that are unsafe.

Ah, but it is not the OBVIOUS stuff that they are always checking for. Some of the stuff they check for is just plain dumb. Example: My current vehicle has a crack in the windshield. It starts in the middle and runs all the way to the passenger side about four inches from the bottom. Is has zero effect on visibility (due to the angle you sit at, you can only see the hood behind it). That would cause me to fail. In NY I had my car fail because the seatbelt did not roll all the way back in, it stayed out by about two inches. Again, no effect on driving and would have no effect in an accident.

And for the obvious stuff, why do we need government regulation to enforce them? Cops can ticket people with the obvious problems if it is such a problem.

So, you're telling me that your broken window isn't really broken?

I tend to side with those who say we don't need more nanny laws (well, unless it comes to smoking of course) but I'm sure I'd be on the other side of that debate if I had been hit by some idiot who skidded out of control at the first sign of rain because he was driving around on bald tires...

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf
inspections are a load of BS. Anything more than five years old will fail. All it does is provide a huge source of income for auto repair places.
It does not SIGNIFICANTLY affect public safety. Sure, it might save one or two lives per year...big deal. Is it worth the 10's of millions of dollars spent fixing things that are not really broken?

It's pretty easy to see if a light is out or if your tire tread is worn down and needs to be replaced. I'm not sure what you're getting at. You'd think these things would be obvious to most people but surprisingly they aren't judging by the number of vehicles I've seen driving around that are unsafe.

Ah, but it is not the OBVIOUS stuff that they are always checking for. Some of the stuff they check for is just plain dumb. Example: My current vehicle has a crack in the windshield. It starts in the middle and runs all the way to the passenger side about four inches from the bottom. Is has zero effect on visibility (due to the angle you sit at, you can only see the hood behind it). That would cause me to fail. In NY I had my car fail because the seatbelt did not roll all the way back in, it stayed out by about two inches. Again, no effect on driving and would have no effect in an accident.

And for the obvious stuff, why do we need government regulation to enforce them? Cops can ticket people with the obvious problems if it is such a problem.

So, you're telling me that your broken window isn't really broken?

I tend to side with those who say we don't need more nanny laws (well, unless it comes to smoking of course) but I'm sure I'd be on the other side of that debate if I had been hit by some idiot who skidded out of control at the first sign of rain because he was driving around on bald tires...

A BROKEN window could be a problem, but not one with a crack that is not normally visible. Sure, in theory it slightly reduces the structural integrity of the vehicle, but not enough to be significant (there is more variation is vehicle safety between models).

And yes, bald tires are a problem, but they tend not to stay that way for long. The vast majority of people replace them. But then how do we legally define bald tires. As soon as they get below half tread they start having an impact on safety. Or how about the fact that cheap tires suck compared to more expensive tires? Where do we draw the line?

 

[EagleKeeper]

I lost a friend who's vehicle killed him due to an exhaust leak.

Had inspections been done, he would have had to fix it.

Maryland at the time only required inspection when the vehicle was first registered.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
I lost a friend who's vehicle killed him due to an exhaust leak.

Had inspections been done, he would have had to fix it.

Maryland at the time only required inspection when the vehicle was first registered.

How long was it there? As far as I know, they are only done once a year. So if a person has a passable car that falls below the requirements before the next inspection, how do they help?

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
I lost a friend who's vehicle killed him due to an exhaust leak.

Had inspections been done, he would have had to fix it.

Maryland at the time only required inspection when the vehicle was first registered.

Why didn't he catch the leak? I take my vehicle to a mechanic for oil changes. Sure, it costs a bit more than a Jiffy Lube, but it has some advantages. Mainly, I always ask them to let me know if there is anything wearing down/wrong while they are underneath. So in essence I have an inspection that is BETTER than any state one every three months or so. It is NOT the responsibility of the government to make sure my vehicle is running correctly. It is mine.

 

[EagleKeeper]

I have no idea why he did not catch the leak.

In the early 80's only one safety inspection was done.

He had a 15 year old wagon; vehicle was found parked at side of road with the ignition on and the fuel tank empty.

Exhaust leak through the floorboard killed him with CO.
He had been out at the bar earlier that Fri evening and was not drunk but it was chilly out.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
I lost a friend who's vehicle killed him due to an exhaust leak.

Had inspections been done, he would have had to fix it.

Maryland at the time only required inspection when the vehicle was first registered.

Why didn't he catch the leak? I take my vehicle to a mechanic for oil changes. Sure, it costs a bit more than a Jiffy Lube, but it has some advantages. Mainly, I always ask them to let me know if there is anything wearing down/wrong while they are underneath. So in essence I have an inspection that is BETTER than any state one every three months or so. It is NOT the responsibility of the government to make sure my vehicle is running correctly. It is mine.

Well, many people tend to ignore/neglect their car until something breaks or an idiot light goes off and tells them they need to take it in for service. I am not one of those people and I suspect that most people who post here are not like that but there are many people who are. Why do you think tire pressure monitors are becoming so common in cars and especially SUVs now? It's because people don't check their tire pressure regularly.

Just a couple weeks ago I was out for a bike ride and I saw a guy pull out from a side street and swerve a few times because his Toyota Tacoma was handling funny (his right front tire was dangerously low). I pulled up next to him at the next light and motioned for him to roll down his window and told him his tire was very low on air. He said he thought it felt strange, thanked me and drove off.

Most people are clueless.

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
I have no idea why he did not catch the leak.

In the early 80's only one safety inspection was done.

He had a 15 year old wagon; vehicle was found parked at side of road with the ignition on and the fuel tank empty.

Exhaust leak through the floorboard killed him with CO.
He had been out at the bar earlier that Fri evening and was not drunk but it was chilly out.

What's changed? As far as I am aware Maryland still only requires a safety inspection whenever the vehicle is sold.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
I lost a friend who's vehicle killed him due to an exhaust leak.

Had inspections been done, he would have had to fix it.

Maryland at the time only required inspection when the vehicle was first registered.

Why didn't he catch the leak? I take my vehicle to a mechanic for oil changes. Sure, it costs a bit more than a Jiffy Lube, but it has some advantages. Mainly, I always ask them to let me know if there is anything wearing down/wrong while they are underneath. So in essence I have an inspection that is BETTER than any state one every three months or so. It is NOT the responsibility of the government to make sure my vehicle is running correctly. It is mine.

Well, many people tend to ignore/neglect their car until something breaks or an idiot light goes off and tells them they need to take it in for service. I am not one of those people and I suspect that most people who post here are not like that but there are many people who are. Why do you think tire pressure monitors are becoming so common in cars and especially SUVs now? It's because people don't check their tire pressure regularly.

Just a couple weeks ago I was out for a bike ride and I saw a guy pull out from a side street and swerve a few times because his Toyota Tacoma was handling funny (his right front tire was dangerously low). I pulled up next to him at the next light and motioned for him to roll down his window and told him his tire was very low on air. He said he thought it felt strange, thanked me and drove off.

Most people are clueless.

People don't check tire pressure. It's sad. My friend said "Don't they check it for you when you rotate your tires?" Maybe.. maybe not. If you're dangerously low I guess it would be obvious to them, but honestly, how many people in this world (AVERAGE PEOPLE) rotate + balance every 6 months and 5000 miles? I do it. I insisted on going home last week despite having 3 midterms, and my mom who's quite paranoid and prudent told me that it can wait a little despite the fact that I drove ~5000 miles. She's the one usually reminding me to check my tire pressure and to balance and rotate or oil change, etc...

It's quite sad though. I can easily tell when my tires are not inflated properly (when one side is off) or when my alignment is screwy. I don't get how people just drive around with screwed up cars. I know a lot of times we make fun of women and driving here on ATOT as well as Asian drivers and what not, but seriously, a lot of these people are the ones who don't maintain their cars.

When you talk about minor things like lights being broken, I say that's pretty hard to find out. However my friends will inform me when a light goes out and I fix those ASAP, but I can imagine too many people not fixing these things.

I had a side taillight out the other day, and it's not the most obvious since the side light is a lot smaller than the center lights (I drive a Toyota Previa), and living in Berkeley means dealing with tons of cops. I went like that for ~3 weeks and no one ever had a problem with me. It took a cop ~5 minutes of tailing me last time to pull me over for a busted license plate light (seriously.. I check my taillights, but this one is insanely hard to notice). Cops won't readily notice things like these unless your lights are just totally messed up. Leave it to them to catch the speeders.

Vehicle inspections help I'm sure. just think of it. Logically, it should work. Now, I might not like the idea of the government handling one more thing (and we can discuss government intervention in another thread), but the I'm positive vehicle inspections can help the stupid idiots out there.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: Linflas

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
I have no idea why he did not catch the leak.

In the early 80's only one safety inspection was done.

He had a 15 year old wagon; vehicle was found parked at side of road with the ignition on and the fuel tank empty.

Exhaust leak through the floorboard killed him with CO.
He had been out at the bar earlier that Fri evening and was not drunk but it was chilly out.

What's changed? As far as I am aware Maryland still only requires a safety inspection whenever the vehicle is sold.

I Left Md (NASA) in 87.

I did not know if they changed the rules; such is thewording that I used in my posts above.