Don’t nix vehicle inspections

We hope lawmakers scuttle a bill that would eliminate vehicle inspection requirements for noncommercial vehicles.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. J. Eggleston, R-Maysville, would remove the part of state law that requires the safety inspections every other year starting when a vehicle is five years old.

A House committee heard testimony on the bill last week, the Columbia Missourian reported, and it faced a good amount of opposition.

Eggleston cited several statistics in supporting his bill, including a 2012 study by the Missouri Highway Patrol that, he said, showed little difference in vehicle safety between states that require inspections and those that don’t, the paper reported.

He said eliminating the requirement collectively could save Missourians $30 million a year if they weren’t required to get the $12 inspections (motorcycle inspections are $10.)

While we appreciate lawmakers looking to rein in regulations, taxes and fees, this isn’t the appropriate place to do so.

Statistics can be manipulated to prove virtually anything, but we tend to believe one cited by Ronald Reiling, executive director of the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Missouri.

In the Missourian story, he said deaths in Missouri resulting from mechanical failure were half of what they were in states that did not require safety inspections.

It just makes sense that if you don’t require inspections, many people won’t get them. That, in turn, means that many people will be driving on the roads with vehicles in various states of disrepair. That could mean everything from a turn-signal light that’s out to failing brakes.

So why not let people take control of their own lives and take on whatever level of risk they choose? Because they’re not just risking the lives of themselves and, in some cases, their families. They’re risking the lives of everyone else on the roadways.

We ask the Legislature to keep Missourians safe — keep the inspections in place.

News Tribune