Cosmic Charlie

I'm in Maskachusetts and just had my annual Safety Inspection done on my 1969. $35
He Took pictures of MANY of the requirements ...
And YES he even checked that my Wipers Squirted !

I Passed
What are the requirements in your state ?

Safety Inspections

1. Visual Overview

• Certificate of registration
  
• License plates - Front & Rear
  
• Vehicle Identification Number (DASH VIN) (and Door Location if Original)
  

2. Brake Tests

• Parking brake
  
• Service brake
  

3. Exhaust System

• Exhaust system components/muffler
  
• Excessive blue or black smoke
  

4. Steering and Suspension

• Steering wheel and box
  
• Suspension/front end (Ball Joints by Jacking the Front Side UP one at a time ...)
  
• Springs
  
• Shocks
  

5. Horn

• Sound horn to test for adequate signal
  
• The horn must be securely fastened to the vehicle
  

6. Glazing, Glass and Windshield Wipers (No Cracked Glass Allowed)

• Windshield
  
• Windshield wipers and washer
  
• Windows
  
• Window tinting: For more information, see Aftermarket Window Tint Guidelines in the Motorist Resources section.
  

7. Rear View Mirror

• Rear view mirror
  
• Mirrors (general)
  

8. Lighting Devices (No Cracked Lenses that Show Water or Humidity)

• Tail lights
  
• Directional (turn signal lights)
  
• Head light aim
  
• Hazard lights/Reverse lights/License plate light(s) and reflectors
  
• Aftermarket lighting
  

9. Tires and Wheels

• Tires
  
• Wheels
  

10. Bumper, Fenders and Fuel Tank (NO ROT THROUGH HOLES ALLOWED ON THE BODY ...)

• Bumpers
  
• Fenders
  
• Floor pans
  
• Fuel tank
  
• Vehicle frame or unibody
  

11. Altered Vehicle Height

12. Seat Belts (IF ORIGINAL)

13. Airbags (?)

14. Fuel Tank Cap

EMISSIONS: Model years 2010 and newer passenger cars, trucks and SUVs

Koda

I live in the Free State of Indiana. No inspection.

That being said, everything I have would flunk that test.

Olds64

Oklahoma doesn't require that... yet.
​​​​​​
​​​​​​

DJS70cutlass

No inspections on any car here in WI. Don’t know what I’d do if there was

Fun71

No inspections here, but emissions test unless your vehicle is old enough and you meet the other requirements.

F-85 4-4-2

Ohio requires an emissions test in seven counties around Cleveland, for cars 4-25 years old, except plug-ins.

I lived near Amarillo, Texas for a few years, and loved my co-op. Bring your own oil and filter, and an oil change was free. Oh, and if you "needed a sticker" for the safety inspection, they'd gladly put one on. Never looked at the vehicle. If you were dumb enough to drive with bad brakes, that was your problem.

matt69olds

same here. As bad as that list is, I’m betting there are more restrictive states.

joe_padavano

When I lived in SoCal, amazingly there were no safety inspections. I don't know how many times I saw a car on the side of the road where a bump had caused a worn ball joint to come apart. Sorry, but I firmly believe in safety inspections. The problem is the quality of the inspection.

oldcutlass

x2 -

BangScreech4-4-2

Vancouver Island ... in Canada. We used to have emissions testing years back but then around 2010(?) they decided the air was clean enough and gave up on it.

No safety inspection since I was a kid and that was only in the Vancouver municipality. But my recollection is that it was quite thorough and shadetree mechanics used to use it to check their work. I think it cost $10.

NJCUTLASSNUT

New Jersey require inspections for every vehicle, except vehicles with "QQ" historic specialty plates. They are for vehicles 25 years or older, but you have to bring pictures of that vehicle and meet a few other requirements. So, if you have an 25 or older vehicle with regular plates, you still have to go to inspection.

joes_olds

Ohio no safety inspections.

As mentioned earlier in the thread, the counties around Cleveland do free e-checks, they now have a drive up self serve option that just reads the OBDII codes.

The manual e-checks still checks your gas cap and visual of all emissions equipment. Not sure the people they employee know what their looking at though. Final step is them checking the OBDII codes.

Fun71

Dang, we get ripped off here. They charge $27 for an OBD check.

Rallye469

Florida=none.
They checked to see if the vin was actually affixed to the vehicle.
Thats it.

One of the perks of not living in a nanny state.

Sugar Bear

NJ checks registration, insurance, drivers license and emissions every two years. Emissions is checked via the ALDL for trouble codes. You may get it done for free at a State facility or pay to have it done at a private garage that is a certified testing center.

If a vehicle is 25 years old it is exempt from emissions testing.

There are no safety inspections.

66_Jetstar

I worked as an inspection mechanic in college in NY. It is shocking the crap people want to drive and how much they fight the most basic safety repairs.. the problem is they aren't risking just their own life, it's the innocent car driving next to them as well.

joe_padavano

Yeah, but that's OK because those people typically don't have insurance either...

Charlie Jones

About 40 or 50 years ago Florida had a state safety inspection.
The state contracted with certain repair garages to inspect cars.
It was like putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop.
Needless to say, the program only lasted a few years.

Cosmic Charlie

And NO auto insurance required in New Hampshire so most Maskachusetts drivers pay extra for optional coverage for Uninsured / Under Insured Driver

joe_padavano

I remember that when I lived there.

Fun71

Huh, we were told that mandatory insurance for all would lead to a reduction in costs but has not done that, so now we have to pay extra for coverage for those violating the law.

Koda

My old man remembers that.

redoldsman

Texas requires proof of insurance and they check lights. wipers and drive it a short distance to check the brakes. Depending on the year they will do a tailpipe test. Inspections are done by auto repair shops. When I had my 54 they would just come out and put a sticker on it if I would let them take a picture with the car. They pretty much do the same on my 75 Hurst/Olds. They input it into the state computer and then you can renew your license. There are no inspection stickers anymore. I remember back in the 60's when I lived in Louisiana where I grew up, adjusting headlights was a big thing. They actually had a machine to check the headlights.

joes_olds

In Ohio, you "have to have insurance", just sign the form stating you have insurance, no proof required!. Also uninsured motorist insurance is highly suggested.

oldcutlass

Most of Texas is not required to get vehicles inspected anymore, although the exempt counties still get to pay the fee. The 17 counties remaining are Harris, Fort Bend, Brazoria, Montgomery, Galveston, Williamson, Travis, Dallas, Tarrant, Denton, Collin, Rockwall, Kaufman, Ellis, Johnson, Parker, and El Paso.

Koda

My friend from that state commented how you'd just go into the black part of town, find a designated inspector on the take, and pay $10 per and he'd hand them to you.

chip-powell

Here in Maryland the only time a car is required to get inspected is when you buy it. From then on...nothing. This explains some of the POS's on our roads. Cars with "Historic" tags are exempt from this. But its insanely easy to get those tags. If your care is 20+ years old, you can get them which also lowers registration costs from $135 for 2 years to $51. It also explains why you'll see so many mid-90's Impala "dunks" on our roads with Historic tags. Yesterday I actually saw a late'80s s-10 beat to crap Blazer with a broken rear window and rusted out fenders sporting his "Historic" tag. I remember as a kid, PA being much more stringent with their classic and antique tags.

On the insurance comments, it pays to haggle. I was paying $1360 a year to Progressive for 2 cars with full coverage and no accidents on my record. They recently sent me my new bill for $2700 a year. I called and of course they tried saying that the reason is because the "tables" say that Maryland is a dangerous state to drive in. I threatened to leave, they hem and hawed, transferred me to a few people and then came up with a new rate of $1500 a year. I said that I would consider it and then get back to them but that I was still leaning toward cancelling. They transferred me one more time and the person came up with a new rate of $1305 a year (with the same coverage). For the 1st time that I can remember, I'm actually paying less than the year before for insurance.

BlueCalais79

South Carolina - No Inspections, No Emissions. And access to Ethanol Free Gas.

I'm from NJ, the land of 4 hour inspection lines back in the 70's. Only to FAIL. These days during the transition from moving from CT to SC, sometimes I would go on the NJ Garden State Parkway in Paramus and drive past the now shuttered Inspection Station and grin ear to ear at all the weeds growing up that figure 8 pavement where you used to see cars lined up 3 across and out the place. I had a 67 GTO that NEVER passed inspection. Not once.

There is a company selling correct state inspection stickers and you can get one of those dreaded Red Octagon FAILED stickers. I was thinking about getting one as a gag but now why would I do that and have all those inspection nightmares come roaring back. You know, steel wool in the tail pipes, etc. No sale.

joe_padavano

I'm sorry, but I'm really struggling with all the posts here. If you have any clue at all about maintaining your car, my experience with safety inspections in both MA and VA are that this is trivial. You should know long before you arrive at the inspection station if your car will pass or not. And as others have noted here, I don't really give a rip if a mechanical failure in your car causes you or your passengers injury. I care when losing a wheel because the ball joints came apart causes you to hit me.

BlueCalais79

Agreed, 100%, JP. I wish I was as safety conscious when I was 19 as I am now. I am confident my cars would pass inspection in any state, these days I keep 'em up as best I possibly can.

redoldsman

Since I live in Dallas County, I did not know that about the rest of the state. With the exception of emissions, I think most of our cars would pass the safety part of the inspection. My 75 Hurst would probably pass the emission test since it has twin high flow cats on it.

Rallye469

My angst came from dealing with NY for 25 years.
Once every year, had to have cats, AIR system etc. if so equipped, OEM exhaust, cops would set up inspection check points pretty often and slow cars to a roll.
It made hot rodding or modifying anything past like '73 a bear.

Loaded68W34

When I finished this back in 2005, it was denied a PA antique tag because it did not sit level. Around that same time my brother's original paint 63 impala convertible was denied because "the paint was a different shade from side to side". He ended up re-spraying both sides of the car to get an antique tag.

For my Chevelle (above), I just ran a regular tag until PA stopped requiring pictures about 10 years later and I finally put an antique tag on it. Last year, PA once again started requiring photos. I just put an original 66 PA Tag on the Chevelle in January and had to submit photos again. Since the car was put away for the winter, I submitted the same photos from back in 2005. This time, PENDOT put it through without an issue. So, despite requiring photos again, they must have lossened up. One of the big benifits with an antique tag in PA is lifetime registration.

Koda

I agree with the root cause of the problem, which is cars are not adequately maintained and become dangerous. I disagree with your recommended countermeasure of using the government to force inspections, many of which are pencil-whipped anyway. My countermeasure would be a public awareness campaign to take their cars, voluntarily, on their own time, to their mechanic of their choice, as needed, to check up the car, similar to going and seeing your doctor. I base this on the 99.5% failure rate of anything government-ran.

Olds64

If you're a veteran make sure you check your state laws for benefits. Disabled veterans can register 2 vehicle each year for a nominal fee (I think $6.50) in OK. That's even cheaper than cars 20+ years old. I'd pay about $25 to register my 96 and that was as cheap as it got without the veteran's discount.

joe_padavano

Public awareness campaign? C'mon, have you MET the public?

Seriously, to me this is like seat belt and helmet laws. I'm a big fan of evolution in action, so normally I would say that was one's own choice. The problem is that the nimrods who don't use belts or helmets cause my insurance to go up when they incur preventable injuries. Until there's a way to prevent cost to me for someone else's stupidity, I don't know how to avoid government action.

Charlie Jones

To me, that is some serious chicken sh*t.
Almost unbelievable.

Koda

Point taken. About the only thing I have ever seen work is anti-smoking campaigns, and they just mainly work because people are always looking for a reason to shun folks.

Fun71

​​​​​
Yeah.
#1 what does it matter that the paint doesn’t match?
#2 how did they know for certain since you can’t do a side-by-side comparison?

Loaded68W34

PA required (and now does again) photos of the front, left side, right side, rear, and vin tag when applying for antique tags. This is why I submitted the original photos from 2005 when I applied for the date of manufature tag last January. Apparently, PA just started requiring photos again last June (even if the car already has antique tags). With the car put away for the winter, I could not get it out for new photos and the notary did not tell me I needed them when I was there. They called me later that day. Luckily, I found the photos from 05' in the area I keep all my titles. I took pics of them with my phone and emailed the nearly 20 year old disposable camera pics to the notary. Funny thing is, I now run either torque thrusts or original 14" Mag hubcaps with redlines, so current pics would definately not be a problem (assuming I could get it out and take them) if it got rejected again.