I don’t give the first fuck if a half-hour inspection is “a hassle” for motorists. Sometimes you have to do something that’s not all about you. You know, something for the greater good.
And … LOL at the reference to “smoother roads.” That’s just more proof that our legislators haven’t been to Charlotte lately.
Seriously, can’t these yahoos think of anything else to do up there in the state house? Because, I can think of some things they should be focusing on — and I bet you can, too.
Getting an annual vehicle inspection in North Carolina may be a hassle for motorists, and its effectiveness was questioned in a legislative report. But North Carolina law enforcement officials and the garages that carry them out are resolute in opposing an effort to eliminate safety inspections performed in all 100 counties.Fifteen senators have co-sponsored a bipartisan bill this year that would do away with the annual safety inspection program first created in the 1940’s and scrutinize emissions testing performed in 48 largely Piedmont or urban counties to meet federal clean air regulations.
The chief sponsor of the bill, much of which stems from a 2008 report by the N.C. General Assembly’s government watchdog agency, said he’s open to adjustments that would require safety and pollution control inspections for older models, or possibly requiring longer intervals between inspections.
Better technology and equipment on new cars and smoother roads mean vehicles operate safely for longer stretches of time, said N.C. Sen. Stan Bingham, R-Davidson. The safety inspection, which costs $13.60 alone or $30 when combined with emissions testing, is less necessary today, he said.
“They’re just trouble-free. You don’t have trouble with new cars,” said Bingham, who has an automobile repair shop that performs some inspections. “Normally, it’s taillights, horns and other obvious things.”
Similar bills failed to get traction in 2009. Agencies and outside groups say the safety inspection program prevents accidents by forcing repairs before they become dangerous problems. They say inspections are generating money for the state and garage owners that employ workers in an era of high unemployment.
“The last thing we want is a vehicle to be traveling out there that’s faulty,” N.C. Highway Patrol 1st Sgt. Jeff Gordon said, adding that the goal was to protect people and property.
While DMV records for all of 2010 say faulty windshield wipers and brake lights are the most common items listed among almost 1.2 million reasons for failing safety inspections, more substantial issues such as failing tires ranked fourth. Steering mechanisms and exhaust systems were in the top 10.
Failures just don’t fall to the oldest cars. Last year’s records show 61,000 vehicles from the 2007 to 2011 model years failed inspections. “I don’t think you can afford to do away with the safety inspections,” Robertson said.
Read the entire Rocky Mount Telegram story here.
This article appears in Mar 15-21, 2011.
The new cars are probably 99% likely to be in the wipe/lights area. Make the inspections only for older cars. It’s called common sense. Once a car gets to be 5 or 6 years old then an inspection every year sounds reasonable.
It’s a safety inspection that doesn’t include brakes. Kill it.
Take the failure rate of new cars with a grain of salt. Never forget that the garage performing the inspection gets paid to do repairs.
A better system would be for pure inspection stations that have no pass/fail incentive.
I’m for the saftey inspection only. The emission test is a farce anyway. You get one sensor that’s a little out of wack ( you got three or four on the exhaust alone )and its “FAILURE” ! Then you have to go and get it analized ( $25 to $50) for that plus the part, plus the labor to install it ( $150 to $300 ) when its all said and done. What a ripoff. And I know of one place of business that if a woman came in for an inspection, they would pull a vacum line so it would fail the test. When the woman was told of this then her reply would be “how much to fix it?”. They would tell her around $50, and they could do it right now since they were not that busy. Easy $50 bucks, happy customer. Oh, by the way this info came from one of the guys that worked there. Cause I asked him if he felt bad about that. He said it was not him but some others that worked there. Bottom line is if all lights, horn,brakes,wipers,ect.. work, then that should be sufficent, and charge $15.OO.
@BV, the test does include brakes.
@SV. It’s “analyzed”. “Analized” is something totally different. Athough, in this aspect, ma well be correct 🙂
@DLP. There is no “incentive” to fail. The customer has a legal right to have the car repaired at any facility they choose, even if that facility is their own driveway. Shops keep simple stuff on hand for simple fixes, bulbs, wipers etc. Yes, they sell at a higher price than Walmart. But convenience stores do that also, do they not?
Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman did you just crawl out from under a rock? Your use of profanity tells me a lot about you. Why do you think these inspections are necessary? South Carolina eliminated the inspections several years and their vehicle fatalities in 2010 were the lowest they have been in almost 30 years. Who do they benefit? Only those who perform the inspections. It is all about money. You need to crawl back under that rock and let our state senators pass this legislation. There is absolutely no proof that these inspections save lives. Citizens of North Carolina should not be subjected to the hassle of undergoing inspections that are totally unnecessary.
THINK ABOUT IT!! 2-3 FEET ON A 2 LANE ROAD. NO INSPECTIONS AND ALOT OF IDIOTS THAT DON’T KNOW A SLICK TIRE FROM A NEW ONE. YEAH, SOMETIMES THE IDIOT CAN BE FORCED TO FIX HIS VEHICLE TO AVOID A TICKET. SOME LAWS ACTUALLY MAKE OUR ROADS SAFER. GOT KIDS? KEEP THE JUNK OFF OUR ROADS. LIVE TO SEE YOUR GRAND-CHILDREN.