OK, as a formerly licensed NY State inspection mechanic and currently a licensed PA state inspection mechanic, here is my take: The whole thing is a farce. Inspecting a car once a year, and passing an inspection is NO GUARANTEE that the same car will be safe to operate even a month from now. A set of brakes that passes inspection - barely - today will have pads grinding up rotors within a couple thousand miles. That amounts to a month's worth of driving for a good many drivers. Front suspension components do not wear out "suddenly," but progressively over time. BUT, the major cause of ball joint and tie rod end failure is lack of lubrication cause by a compromised boot. Grease runs out, water runs in, and the joint fails rapidly. So, 6 months after an annual inspection, the part fails, and the car either crashes or gets towed in to be repaired. Other items like burned out lights, missing bumpers, rotted out exhaust, and cracked windshields are readily visible to law enforcement personnel, and should be stopped and told to make repairs via a "fix it" ticket.
Bear in mind that most unsafe vehicles will not be on the road for long. Bad brakes, bad steering, bald tires, and the like all have their consequences. A locked up caliper will completely burn out a brake long before causing a crash, and to the point that the car cannot be driven AT ALL, safety notwithstanding! A bad ball joint or a loose tie rod end will soon come apart, and leave the driver stranded on the side of the road. These failures occur most commonly on a rough secondary road - not necessarily on a comparatively smooth expressway.
The whole business about it being a revenue getter for the state is utter nonsense. It costs them more to administrate the programs than the receive in revenue. The REAL beneficiaries are the repair shops. Those with inspection station licenses have carte blanche to rob the motoring public. Ever hear of the $1200 inspection on a 1 year old car? It happens! One place tried it on me some time ago. Funny how the tune changed when I laid my inspection license on the counter and asked for detailed report of why I needed to spend this much for inspection. Why did I go to a third party for an inspection? Because it is preferred that inspection mechanics do NOT inspect their own cars - conflict of interest.
Overall, in general I oppose annual state inspections. I favor more law enforcement of obvious defects on the road by the police. It certainly isn't hard to spot the ones that seriously need repair work!
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