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I'm familiar with the German system, having lived there and experiencing it myself. The Germans I knew, none of whom were in the auto industry, but who were mechanical engineers who drove fast cars on the Autobahn, were very proud of their system of safety inspections which kept clunkers off their roads. When you're driving 120 MPH you don't want junk in the lanes next to you. You can read about the most prominent of the certification programs, TÃœV, here:
When my German and Japanese friends visited the U.S. they would point out all the crappy cars on the roads here that would not be allowed in their own countries.
Fact is, annual inspections obviously keep unsafe vehicles off the road. Like most who live in states that have reasonable inspections, they suit me just fine. I have no interest sharing the road with those that run tires to the cords, repair a blown caliper by pinching the line with a vice grip, or have no idea that major suspension components are about to leave the vehicle due to rot. Others disagree, and I could care less.
Many years I had a car fail state inspection in PA, and until it did I had absolutely no idea there was a problem because the body of the car was absolutely spotless. There wasn't a speck of rust to be seen on it. Unfortunately what I couldn't see (because I'm not a mechanic and didn't have access to a lift) was that the same was not true of the undercarriage, and the brake lines were nearly rusted through. While I was unhappy that I needed a new car, I was also VERY grateful that I found out about the issue via an inspection instead of by applying the brakes at highway speed only the have the pedal sink all the way to the floor.
We don't have annual inspections here in Nebraska where I now live, and I see cars driving around all the time which have very obvious issues (headlights and taillights burned out or smashed, muffler hanging half-off, etc). How can someone not notice a burned-out headlight? It makes me wonder what else the driver may be neglecting to have repaired.
A failed inspection won't keep the vehicle of a criminal off the road (like the owner of that limousine company, who knowingly allowed a vehicle that had failed inspection to be driven), but it will prod people who aren't criminals to repair or replace dangerously defective vehicles. That's good enough for me!
We don't have annual inspections here in Nebraska where I now live, and I see cars driving around all the time which have very obvious issues (headlights and taillights burned out or smashed, muffler hanging half-off, etc). How can someone not notice a burned-out headlight? It makes me wonder what else the driver may be neglecting to have repaired.
Headlights are somewhat harder to miss, unless you're doing city driving where there are lights beside the road. But I agree with you on taillights. That being said.. Every couple of months you should be checking these things yourself. An inspection is once a year. That can be a long time for a taillight to be out.
I've had taillight problems twice.. First time, guy pulled beside me and told me I had no taillights.. Got out and checked, and he was right.. There was actually a recall on the brake switch on the vehicle that I hadn't gotten notification of yet that was the cause there.
The second time, a cop pulled me over and said the standard "you know why I pulled you over?".. Told him no.. He said I had no taillights other than the high mount.. I thought that was a good reason. That was bulbs. I probably shouldn't be shocked that both were out due to bulbs, but I had checked them the previous month.. Both had gone out within a short time of each other.
I've also had snotty cops at a DUI checkpoint threaten that they would write a ticket for tag lights being out. I didn't even bother to fix that for a long time because the cop who told me was such an ass about it.
Salt states, inspections almost have to be done.. As you mentioned, all the rust that happens. Not only brake lines, but the frame as well.
Here in SC, they did away with inspections in '95 or so.. And things really haven't gotten any worse. people say if there aren't inspections all kinds of unsafe vehicles are on the road.. What more happens is that the vehicles with things like ABS that's gone out (Wheel speed sensor) or emissions issues, such as a bad purge solenoid or other EVAP issues stay on the road.
Headlights are somewhat harder to miss, unless you're doing city driving where there are lights beside the road. But I agree with you on taillights. That being said.. Every couple of months you should be checking these things yourself. An inspection is once a year. That can be a long time for a taillight to be out.
You'll get no argument from me on that - but it's obvious from what I am seeing when driving around town that a significant percentage of my fellow Nebraskans don't agree with you. And if they aren't fixing a busted taillight, am I really supposed to believe they're putting their car up on a lift at least once a year to have the undercarriage inspected?
One thing I like about my local Subaru dealership is that they do a multipoint inspection every time I bring my car in, even if it's just for an oil change. Most of the time they find nothing amiss, but a couple of time they have caught small problems in time to prevent them from becoming big ones. They also let me know is a part is OK now but showing wear, so I can plan for the future replacement cost. (I'm expecting tn need new rear brake pads in the fall when I take my car in next.)
I know car repairs aren't cheap, but they sure beat getting into an accident because of a mechanical failure!
You'll get no argument from me on that - but it's obvious from what I am seeing when driving around town that a significant percentage of my fellow Nebraskans don't agree with you. And if they aren't fixing a busted taillight, am I really supposed to believe they're putting their car up on a lift at least once a year to have the undercarriage inspected?
One thing I like about my local Subaru dealership is that they do a multipoint inspection every time I bring my car in, even if it's just for an oil change. Most of the time they find nothing amiss, but a couple of time they have caught small problems in time to prevent them from becoming big ones. They also let me know is a part is OK now but showing wear, so I can plan for the future replacement cost. (I'm expecting tn need new rear brake pads in the fall when I take my car in next.)
I know car repairs aren't cheap, but they sure beat getting into an accident because of a mechanical failure!
Most oil change places do a "multi-point inspection". Most cars - especially those old enough to have rusted undercarriages - get put up on a lift every year for repairs.
Most cars - especially those old enough to have rusted undercarriages - get put up on a lift every year for repairs.
Mine didn't. Apart from the rust issue, it was an extremely reliable car. Only the state inspection requirement insured it was on a lift at least once a year.
Mine didn't. Apart from the rust issue, it was an extremely reliable car. Only the state inspection requirement insured it was on a lift at least once a year.
That would be why I said "most". How often did the oil get changed?
That would be why I said "most". How often did the oil get changed?
Twice a year. I was only putting about 5,000 miles a year on the vehicle. And I'd had the brake pads replaced shortly before the previous year's inspection (which the car had passed), so over the course of that year as luck would have it the car simply didn't need any repair work that would have required putting it on a lift until that next inspection. That year, the regular oil changes were all it had required as far as maintenance and repairs went.
The insurance industry, which makes a good living by knowing these things, says equipment/mechanical failure is ridiculously close to zero as a statistical contributing cause of accidents.
I’m glad Michigan has no inspection never had it, they had emissions but got rid of it a long time ago.
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