subject: Vehicle Safety Testing [print this page] Every driver of a vehicle used on the roads has a responsibility to ensure that the vehicle is safe. If a vehicle is stopped and found to be unsafe, the vehicle can be impounded and the driver fined.
The problem is that your vehicle doesn't have to show symptoms for it to be unsafe. In other words, you may be driving around perfectly innocently in a vehicle that is potentially lethal; if you are not a mechanic then how are you meant to know. Until you find the brakes don't work or something else happens you have no idea.
It is therefore difficult to understand why there isn't mandatory vehicle testing across all states. It would certainly mean that every vehicle on the road has to have a safety test certificate and the thing about getting your vehicle tested regularly is that it means you get to find out about things that need your attention long before they become dangerous. Remember, you and your family rely on your car being safe every time you get in it, let alone all the cars and people you pass on your journey.
There are currently only 15 states that mandate vehicle safety checks. It kind of makes you think that perhaps you ought to keep away from the states that don't have this legal requirement; but then again you can register your vehicle in a state that doesn't mandate vehicle inspections and drive it to a state that does. Because the vehicle is registered in another state the rule about vehicle inspection doesn't apply. It therefore means that even if you reside in a state that mandates vehicle inspections, there may be plenty of vehicles driving around from states where no inspection is required.
Vehicle safety inspections could save many unnecessary injuries and may save many lives. The problem is there are no reliable statistics to indicate what percentage of accidents involve a vehicle that was effectively unsafe to drive. Likewise, there are no interstate statistics to indicate if a state that mandates vehicle inspections has a better road safety record than a state that doesn't. Yes, there are accident records, but they don't discern the safety aspect of the vehicles involved.
However, it is logical to assume that having mandatory vehicle inspections in every state must reduce accidents. It is therefore difficult to comprehend why more states don't introduce mandatory vehicle inspections.
The 15 states that do currently mandate vehicle inspections apply different criteria to the inspections, the timing between inspections and the cost a driver has to pay to get his or her vehicle inspected.
Currently 12 states mandate vehicle inspections annually while the remaining three mandates them every 24 months. The fee for the test varies from being free of charge to about $30 and it is this cost factor than many motorists are unhappy about. It is the reason why some states haven't imposed mandatory testing. Yet, surely paying a fee $30 is a tiny price to pay to ensure that you and your family are driving around in a safe vehicle. ]
Even if the state you live in doesn't mandate testing; go get your vehicle checked once a year, you will be glad you did when you find out you were potentially driving around in a seriously unsafe vehicle.
