Now that New Jersey no longer requires vehicle inspections, will other states follow suit in order to save money? In a poll conducted by the Pocono Record, Pennsylvania drivers let it me known that they would like inspections to be halted in their state as well. However, one Pennsylvania repair shop owner said that he sees a lot of vehicles in his shop that are not safe to be on the road.
Below is the article as it appeared on the Pocono Record website.
Should Pa. be like N.J. and stop inspecting our cars?
By HOWARD FRANK
Pocono Record Writer
August 09, 2010
The Garden State just became the pardon state. New Jersey will no longer require car inspections.
The state became the 30th to skip inspections of privately owned motor vehicles for mechanical defects. That leaves Pennsylvania as one of only 20 that still require the annual checkups.
New Jersey said scrapping the inspections, effective today, will save about $17 million, mostly from eliminating 2.4 million inspections and re-inspections performed each year. Commercial-plated vehicles — including school buses, limousines, jitneys and taxis — will still be checked for both emissions and mechanical defects.
So is it time for Pennsylvania to follow New Jersey’s example and dump the inspections?
The Pocono Record asked readers what they thought, and slightly more than half said they were in favor of getting rid of the inspection requirement.
"All they amount to is a rip-off for people," Russ Unangst of Palmerton said. "Besides, just look on the roads. Tons of cars with lights out or no light working at all. These are the things that inspections are to stop and have fixed. They don’t mean anything any more. Just a money maker for the auto shops."
To read the entire article, visit the Pocono Record website at http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100809/NEWS/8090314/-1/news.