New York Eliminating Safety Inspections on Vehicles?

Do you think it would be a good idea for the state of New York to do like other states and eliminate the need for vehicle owners to have and pass a yearly safety inspection?

There are two things that most of us New Yorkers are well aware we have to do at least once every year and if we don't do them there could be serious consequences. We have to pay and file our taxes, and we need to have the vehicles we own and drive inspected. Not that you need an explanation but if you don't pay your taxes, the state will eventually find out and you'll spend years trying to clear things up.

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If you don't have the yearly safety inspection completed at a state-authorized inspection station each year in New York the penalty isn't as bad as not paying your taxes but it can result in a police-issued ticket which oftentimes leads to a fine of some sort.

Safety Inspections in New York

Since at least 1990 the state of New York has required vehicle owners to have a yearly inspection to ensure that the vehicle is safe to drive. The inspection includes checking safety items like seat belts, airbag warning lamps, brakes, steering, front end, suspension, chassis, frame, and wheel fasteners, tires, lights, windshield and other glass, windshield wipers, and blades, horn, and mirrors. If the vehicle passes a colored sticker is issued and needs to be placed on the vehicle's windshield, if it fails the vehicle is prohibited from being operated legally.

Inspections make sense and most agree that vehicles should have to pass something to ensure that all cars driving on the road are safe, right? Why then doesn't every state require inspections?

Why Doesn't Every State Do Inspections?

Until recently I had no idea that approximately 25% of the states in the U.S. DO NOT require vehicle owners to have a yearly inspection including, Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, and Florida to name a few. So why does New York?

Should New York Eliminate Safety Inspections?

Over the years many have said that the yearly safety inspections are just another way for the state to collect a "tax" on vehicle owners and there's no proof that the safety inspections lessen the number of fatal accidents in the state as numbers are about the same in states with no inspections. By no means do I want cars to be less safe on our roads but with more new cars on roads nowadays and with the technology involved most of our cars already tell us when something is wrong.

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