5 ms·

Most counties don't require inspection. So I don't think that would work.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
Verdex 4y ago
Yeah, I was going to mention this. Indiana for example does not require any inspection except maybe for some sort of VIN inspection for cars titled outside of the state. And I think there might be one or two counties that have some sort of emissions inspection (out of 92 total counties). I haven't really looked into this for other states, but I suspect we're not alone.
moffkalast 4y ago
Why is this a county thing where it should be a national federal thing? Can you not drive the car outside the county?
- AlgorithmicTime 4y ago
  [dead]
- partiallypro 4y ago
  Your car is only regulated by where you have it registered. So, if you are in Tennessee as an example, Davidson Co residents pay higher plate fee and also must pass inspection. Residents in Rutherford Co pay a slightly lower plate fee and no longer have to pass inspection. Inspections in the US are largely emissions. Some counties have dropped this because they found it ineffective or not cost efficient. If your vehicle doesn't meet obvious road standards, you'll simply be pulled over and ticketed.
  - nluken 4y ago
    Interesting that it's done at the county level in TN. In my experience (which, to be fair, is mostly in the Northeast where counties are pretty much irrelevant) these laws are usually made at the state level, not the county level, though your point stands when comparing states.
  - moffkalast 4y ago
    Since cars typically drive on state funded highways it would make sense to package car inspections along with the "you better set your state drinking age to 21 or you'll lose all highway funding" bill.
    - partiallypro 4y ago
      I don't necessarily disagree. It is pretty wild if you think about how unregulated a vehicle is after the manufacturer hands it to the customer, but that's not how -most- states operate. I guess you could just focus on states that are higher population density and hope it just rolls downhill. However, a lot of people game the system by just registering in different states or counties...it's not new at all. That is very popular with plate fees, even in liberal states like California that use certain counties to avoid higher plate fees.
epiphonium 4y ago
As a European, this is yet another aspect of American life that surprises me... although perhaps it shouldn't be surprising. British cars need to pass a yearly inspection (called the MOT) to be legally allowed on the road, and if you drive around with a failed or expired MOT then you WILL get caught and the punishment will hurt. It's quick and easy to get the test done yearly and it's not a big deal; the system works well. You can even go online and look up the MOT history of any car, which is handy if you're about to buy the car as it'll let you know about any historical faults. I assume there's something similar in most developed countries... why does America not do this?
- hgsgm 4y ago
  USA is like 50 separate UKs.
  - epiphonium 4y ago
    So it's actually 200 countries?
- the_gastropod 4y ago
  States rights! Many states do require similar annual inspections. The standards of those inspections vary widely, however.
  - Arrath 4y ago
    Hilariously enough it can even vary within states. EG: AFAIK, only two counties in Washington state require emissions testing on a semi-regular basis, and nowhere requires safety inspections. I got burned by this by moving to one of the two counties with an otherwise innocuous check engine light that would have failed the emissions test so I had to get it fixed.
    - jdfellow 4y ago
      The federal EPA requires states to run emissions inspections in urban counties but leaves it up to the state for rural counties. There's no federal requirement for safety inspections so that varies state to state.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

Yeah, I was going to mention this. Indiana for example does not require any inspection except maybe for some sort of VIN inspection for cars titled outside of the state. And I think there might be one or two counties that have some sort of emissions inspection (out of 92 total counties). I haven't really looked into this for other states, but I suspect we're not alone.

moffkalast 4y ago

Why is this a county thing where it should be a national federal thing? Can you not drive the car outside the county?

AlgorithmicTime 4y ago
[dead]
partiallypro 4y ago
Your car is only regulated by where you have it registered. So, if you are in Tennessee as an example, Davidson Co residents pay higher plate fee and also must pass inspection. Residents in Rutherford Co pay a slightly lower plate fee and no longer have to pass inspection. Inspections in the US are largely emissions. Some counties have dropped this because they found it ineffective or not cost efficient. If your vehicle doesn't meet obvious road standards, you'll simply be pulled over and ticketed.
- nluken 4y ago
  Interesting that it's done at the county level in TN. In my experience (which, to be fair, is mostly in the Northeast where counties are pretty much irrelevant) these laws are usually made at the state level, not the county level, though your point stands when comparing states.
- moffkalast 4y ago
  Since cars typically drive on state funded highways it would make sense to package car inspections along with the "you better set your state drinking age to 21 or you'll lose all highway funding" bill.
  - partiallypro 4y ago
    I don't necessarily disagree. It is pretty wild if you think about how unregulated a vehicle is after the manufacturer hands it to the customer, but that's not how -most- states operate. I guess you could just focus on states that are higher population density and hope it just rolls downhill. However, a lot of people game the system by just registering in different states or counties...it's not new at all. That is very popular with plate fees, even in liberal states like California that use certain counties to avoid higher plate fees.

epiphonium 4y ago

As a European, this is yet another aspect of American life that surprises me... although perhaps it shouldn't be surprising. British cars need to pass a yearly inspection (called the MOT) to be legally allowed on the road, and if you drive around with a failed or expired MOT then you WILL get caught and the punishment will hurt. It's quick and easy to get the test done yearly and it's not a big deal; the system works well. You can even go online and look up the MOT history of any car, which is handy if you're about to buy the car as it'll let you know about any historical faults. I assume there's something similar in most developed countries... why does America not do this?

hgsgm 4y ago
USA is like 50 separate UKs.
- epiphonium 4y ago
  So it's actually 200 countries?
the_gastropod 4y ago
States rights! Many states do require similar annual inspections. The standards of those inspections vary widely, however.
- Arrath 4y ago
  Hilariously enough it can even vary within states. EG: AFAIK, only two counties in Washington state require emissions testing on a semi-regular basis, and nowhere requires safety inspections. I got burned by this by moving to one of the two counties with an otherwise innocuous check engine light that would have failed the emissions test so I had to get it fixed.
  - jdfellow 4y ago
    The federal EPA requires states to run emissions inspections in urban counties but leaves it up to the state for rural counties. There's no federal requirement for safety inspections so that varies state to state.