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Here in the Netherlands we have a yearly safety and emissions check for cars, new cars have to get their first check after 4 years for petrol or electric cars (then another check in 2 years after that yearly checks) for other fuels the first check is after 3 years and from there on out yearly. Cars older then 30 years switch to a checkup every 2 years. Ofcourse this being the Netherlands there are exceptions left and right concerning heavy vehicles and when the vehicle was registered in the Netherlands. Consequences for not complying with this mandatory check are initially a fine of 90€ (95$ at time of writing) sent to you fully automated since all vehicles are registered in a database and they check the database at regular intervals. Getting caught driving without the checkup done results in a 130€ fine (137$).
In this checkup they do an emissions test which all cars younger then 30 years must pass, there are other requirements for cars made before 1995 (something to do with catalytic converters) this test is done by measuring the exhaust when the car idles, no drivecycle. Then basically all the safety parts get inspected and a braketest is done (depending on facilities of the garage they might put it on rollers and tell you there’s too much brake force difference between the left and right wheel on an axle I think 30% difference maximum that you can get away with). From my experience the check takes anywhere between 20 minutes and an hour to complete depending any adjustments that have to be done to the vehicle to make it fall within compliance (like driving the customers car at high RPM’s for a bit to make it pass emissions, which happened to me with my VW Polo :p).
What they examine in the check is quite a long list but I’ll write down all the things I remember. Tire tread and wear is checked, brake rotor and pads are checked for things like uneven wear brake hoses are checked for cracks and leaks, brake pipes are checked for corrosion, the general structure of the vehicle has to be in good condition no excessive rust or accident damage (like a bent chassis). Axles, joints and bearings are checked for wear, all lights are checked, engine mounts and other mounting rubber mountings and bushings are checked, exhaust has to be leakfree and properly attached. I’m sure I missed a lot of things but you get the idea. Currently making new brake pipes to pass the check for my current unreliable piece of junk 😛
First of all, happy birthday Eric.
Where I live, there are only emission tests and no safety inspections. Sometimes I wonder if some cursory inspection is needed. It’s amazing when I look into someone’s car at a stop light (with a higher vehicle, I can see some quite clearly) and I see the CEL flashing, the ABS and SRS lights are on and as they drive off, the front wheels are clearly wobbling. In some ways, it’s almost like DUI crashes, the person with the poorly maintained vehicle that failed and caused the crash lives and someone else dies. Maybe it would be good to include things like ABS and SRS light checks during emission tests.
On the other hand, I can see the possibility of abuse during safety inspections. I worked with a couple of people from Pennsylvania back in the 80s/90s, and they said when they went for safety inspections you could pretty much count an needing new ball joints, even if you got them the previous year. One guy asked for the old parts and the story was they were destroyed when they were removed.
I live in Germany, here we have the Tüv (Tüv Nord and Tüv Süd, but they both comply to pretty much the same standards).
They’re pretty strict, and some of the regulations are pretty weird and stupid, but in general I like the idea of it. Yes, it costs money, but it also ensures that my car and my bike, and the cars (…trucks, motorbikes, etc) are safe and environmentally (more or less) friendly. Not a treehugger, but I don’t like engines polluting more than they have to, either.Anyways, as you mentioned in the video, especially here on the Autobahn, it’s nice to be sure that most of the cars have their Tüv stickers and won’t just blow up in your face. I say most cars, because I know for a fact some of the car owners either themselves work for the Tüv, or know people who work there, and they’ll simply put a stamp in the paperwork and you’re off to go.
Sorry Eric, but I have to come in here and basically put you on the spot for being outdated on this topic.
1. States and counties are required to do emissions inspections by the federal government if air quality levels in that state/county fall below a federally set level. If the air quality is consistently measured below this level then emissions inspections are going to be instituted in your state/county. If they maintain or rise above that level consistently than the program can be dropped or never implemented. So if your state doesn’t have it, it’s not because your state is superior, and it doesn’t mean the feds aren’t going to come in and change that at any time.
2. Safety standards in these programs (most states use Systech/Opus programs) aren’t even hard to maintain. The people boo-hooing about their fails really shouldn’t be allowed to own a car. Tires on 2 consecutive treads must be 2/32 or lower to fail, yet just about every tire wear bar is at 3/32, meaning the tire companies are telling you that your tires are no longer safe way before the safety inspection is, you had ample warning. Brake linings must be less 2/32 (less than 1mm) when all the brake pads are in the red at 3mm, you basically pass with no pad left, it basically has to be at metal to fail, you had ample warning. Your suspension components must not have play, the boots can be turn and all the grease completely gone, but if there is no play you pass. Your exhaust cannot have any leaks. As long as oil/fluid is not leaking at a rate of 1 drop every 30 minutes on the ground, you pass. As long as the fluid is not dripping onto the exhaust, you pass. Keep all your lights working and your wipers operational and your driver window working, you pass. As long as there is not rot compromising the structural integrity of the vehicle, you pass. If you feel a shop is failing you illegally (I have seen this once in the past 2 years, I am dead serious when I said I run across more dishonest customers than customers who dealt with dishonest shops) you can ask them to show you the manual or get a copy for free from your state and/or bring it to the state garage for free to have them make the final call, which could lead to big trouble for the tech/shop. If you have to spend 2,000.00 at every inspection, you plain out are not maintaining your car responsibly and do not deserve to own one or be on the road, driving is a privilege not a right.
Plain and simple, get over it. I have done nothing but oil changes to my 02 WRX with 118k miles these past 3 years I have owned it, I know I have things that need to be fixed, but just to prove how very lenient the system actually is, I passed at an independent shop with brakes that I know need to be replaced but still pass the ridiculously low level of requirement provided.
The shop gets a whopping 19.00 of the inspection cost, so no one should be acting like it is a large boon for us, heck I get paid 0.5 of that and I make 23.00 flat rate rate, so I get 11.50 of that 19.00, the shop barely gets anything. We are subject to undercover bait cars with no warning, state trooper visits with no warning and we are not seeing substantial upsells based on inspections. Maybe we just have more responsible and mature car owners than your average viewer Eric, who knows, but it’s not the raking it in you seem to think it is. I have inspected 7 or 8 cars in the past 10 work days I have been on and only 1 needed work to past and it was 2 front tires that had cord showing. I don’t get all excited when I see a Rhode Island State Inspection, I know I will have some recommendations but that the car will generally pass as is.
My view is very much that annual inspections are necessary, because you simply can’t trust people to keep their vehicles in a road-safe condition. And no, you can’t trust people to drive in a safe way either, but there are traffic cops, speed cameras and other things that are out there in hopes of deterring people from putting other people’s lives at risk and catching those who just don’t care. So why shouldn’t there be some kind of equivalent for a vehicle’s mechanical safety?
I wouldn’t set much store by the statistics you quoted, at least not without proper cites, examination of methodologies etc. For sure, the root cause of most accidents is bad driving, but the effects of those accidents can quite easily be exacerbated when they involve vehicles in poor mechanical condition. Obvious question to ask: would you think it so great that Ohio has no safety inspections if someone you loved was badly injured or killed in a crash that would have been much less serious if, say, there hadn’t been terminal frame rot that would have seen the car fail an inspection in a different state?
The safety inspections are needed.There are people driving vehicles that are not safe on the road.Driving with tie rods ready to come apart,bad ball joints and no tail lights are a few examples of the safety violations.Exhaust leaks are another dangerous thing,the fumes get in the passenger compartment.Can’t forget gas leaks too.
SpawnedX I drive a manual with 2/32nd above the rivet head or bonded I can go almost half a year if not a full year. If you know how to engine brake in a manual and drive defensively and give yourself good following distance you barely use the brakes. Also some of the stuff you stated is different per state. In PA any tire that is under 2/32nd causes a fail. For big rigs Steer tires have to have 4/32nds. Wear bars can vary per tire manufacturer and application.
Also with PA if you read the manual carefully it gives the mechanics some discretion in areas. PA is one if not the most strict state for safety inspections. Do not get me wrong it is out dated as hell but, still has a lot of good things in it. Besides who doesn’t want a 4×4 for a bumper :p.
Having lived in PA for a long time and visiting NJ rather frequently I will say State Inspections are a good thing. I think the reason why its negligible between states with inspection and those without is because the people that know they won’t pass got to lick it and stick it places. I believe if there was a reup period of like 4-5 yrs the program was revisited updated every 5-10yrs and they checked every mechanic with a state inspection license 2 times during that 4-5yr period with undercover cars you would actually see a more profound difference in the statistics.
[quote=”MDK22″ post=153215]SpawnedX I drive a manual with 2/32nd above the rivet head or bonded I can go almost half a year if not a full year. If you know how to engine brake in a manual and drive defensively and give yourself good following distance you barely use the brakes. Also some of the stuff you stated is different per state. In PA any tire that is under 2/32nd causes a fail. For big rigs Steer tires have to have 4/32nds. Wear bars can vary per tire manufacturer and application.
Also with PA if you read the manual carefully it gives the mechanics some discretion in areas. PA is one if not the most strict state for safety inspections. Do not get me wrong it is out dated as hell but, still has a lot of good things in it. Besides who doesn’t want a 4×4 for a bumper :p.
Having lived in PA for a long time and visiting NJ rather frequently I will say State Inspections are a good thing. I think the reason why its negligible between states with inspection and those without is because the people that know they won’t pass got to lick it and stick it places. I believe if there was a reup period of like 4-5 yrs the program was revisited updated every 5-10yrs and they checked every mechanic with a state inspection license 2 times during that 4-5yr period with undercover cars you would actually see a more profound difference in the statistics.[/quote]
In PA,a car can’t have rust and exhaust systems can’t be welded up too.A guy down the road in my area knows about it,his daughter tried to trade in a Buick Lesabre on a new car and they would not take it.It had rust on it.She is from Michigan and works down there.Um no. There is no provision for rust on the exhaust system. Basically unless you have a leak or no muffler or tampered with the aftertreatment system it passes. PA Vehicle Equipment and Inspection Regulations Unless, I missed something which I do not believe I have.
175.75. Exhaust Systems.
(a) Condition of Exhaust System – All compo nents
of the exhaust system shall be in safe operating
condition as described in §175.80 (relating to
inspection procedure).
(b) Exhaust System Requirements – A vehicle
speci fied under this subchapter shall be
con structed, equipped, maintained and operated
to prevent engine exhaust gases from penetrating
and collecting in any part of the vehicle
occupied by the driver or a passenger, in
addition to requirements of this title for an
emission control system and smoke control for
a diesel-powered vehicle.
(1) A vehicle specified under this subchapter
shall be equipped with a muffler or other
effective noise-suppressing system in good
working order and in constant opera tion. A
muffler or exhaust system may not be
equipped with a cutout, bypass or similar
device and a muffler may not show evidence
of external repair.
(2) The exhaust system of a vehicle may not be
modified in a manner which will amplify or
increase noise emitted by the motor of a
vehicle above the maximum level per mitted
by Chapter 157 (relating to esta blished
sound levels).
(3) Headers and side exhaust are permitted if
the vehicle meets the requirements of this
section.
(4) An exposed exhaust system shall be
equip ped with an adequate heat shield or
protec tive system.
(5) An exhaust system shall extend and
discharge completely to the outside edge of
the vehicle body, including a truck bed, or as
originally designed.
(6) A firefighting vehicle is exempt from
regulations concerning exhaust systems,
mufflers and noise control.175.80 mentions rust but only in relations to floor boards
(7) Check the flooring and floor beds and
RE JECT IF one or more of the following apply:
(i) They are not in a condition to support
the occu pants and cargo.
(ii) The floor pan is rusted through so as
to cause hazard to occupants or to
per mit exhaust gases to enter
passenger compartment.In New Zealand we have yearly safety checks known as Warrant of Fitness , they go over your vehicle with a fine toothed comb , and say for instance you involved in a collision , and you have no Warrant of fitness it may be grounds for your insurance to be voided , and also no warrant no registration and that= pain and many expensive fines from the Police , for $55 NZ it takes about 30 minutes for piece of mind .
I live in Vancouver, where GSRgirl moved to, and here the inspections are kind of sporadic. There used to be emissions testing, but only in the Vancouver region. So anyone who registered a car outside of the metro area was exempt. But they got rid of that a few years ago. Now the only reason for getting an inspection is either if you bring your car in from outside the province, or if you happen to get pulled over by the police and the officer and their discretion decides to hit you with a vehicle inspection order. But it’s completely up to the officer.
I worked as a tire monkey for a few months at an iconic Canadian tire selling chain, and I saw a lot of cars that came in that were complete rolling deathtraps. But there was no way anyone was going to fix these cars unless someone made them do it.
occasionally my job involves doing random checks on safety checks on vehicles at check points , to make sure they have the safety inspection sticker , or warrant of fitness where I live , some cars warrant has expired and is sometimes up to two years out of date , not to mention the registration being long over due also , when vehicles have no tread on their tyres, dodgy brakes ,loose body work, and excessive rust , you can see where they are an must have in respect to driver safety and also to the general public , in extreme cases we issue sticker , in which the vehicle cannot be driven any further , and usually gets a ride on the back of a low loader truck , a green sticker may issued in less extreme cases , and will be removed when repairs are made or the vehicle gets a warrant of fitness sticker
[quote=”MDK22″ post=153339]Um no. There is no provision for rust on the exhaust system. Basically unless you have a leak or no muffler or tampered with the aftertreatment system it passes. PA Vehicle Equipment and Inspection Regulations Unless, I missed something which I do not believe I have.
175.75. Exhaust Systems.
(a) Condition of Exhaust System – All compo nents
of the exhaust system shall be in safe operating
condition as described in §175.80 (relating to
inspection procedure).
(b) Exhaust System Requirements – A vehicle
speci fied under this subchapter shall be
con structed, equipped, maintained and operated
to prevent engine exhaust gases from penetrating
and collecting in any part of the vehicle
occupied by the driver or a passenger, in
addition to requirements of this title for an
emission control system and smoke control for
a diesel-powered vehicle.
(1) A vehicle specified under this subchapter
shall be equipped with a muffler or other
effective noise-suppressing system in good
working order and in constant opera tion. A
muffler or exhaust system may not be
equipped with a cutout, bypass or similar
device and a muffler may not show evidence
of external repair.
(2) The exhaust system of a vehicle may not be
modified in a manner which will amplify or
increase noise emitted by the motor of a
vehicle above the maximum level per mitted
by Chapter 157 (relating to esta blished
sound levels).
(3) Headers and side exhaust are permitted if
the vehicle meets the requirements of this
section.
(4) An exposed exhaust system shall be
equip ped with an adequate heat shield or
protec tive system.
(5) An exhaust system shall extend and
discharge completely to the outside edge of
the vehicle body, including a truck bed, or as
originally designed.
(6) A firefighting vehicle is exempt from
regulations concerning exhaust systems,
mufflers and noise control.175.80 mentions rust but only in relations to floor boards
(7) Check the flooring and floor beds and
RE JECT IF one or more of the following apply:
(i) They are not in a condition to support
the occu pants and cargo.
(ii) The floor pan is rusted through so as
to cause hazard to occupants or to
per mit exhaust gases to enter
passenger compartment.[/quote]
This Buick had rusted out rocker panels.If a custom exhaust,it fails with the joints welded upI think MDK22 just pointed out one of the flaws in inspection programs. They are written by lawyers and usually contain just enough lawyer talk to make it confusing enough that most of us have to read it a few times to make absolute sense of it.
It seems to me that the only thing consistent about inspection programs is how they seemingly don’t work. Either they provide just enough loophole, like catalytic “test pipes”, or some other mumbo jumbo nonsense.
I’m only familiar with my provinces standards, it’s purely a minimum safety inspection required when transferring ownership or bringing a car into the province. We also have a government mandated auto insurance monopoly, but that’s another very double edged sword. From a consumer point of view, most of them don’t realize that it’s only a minimum set of standards and the rules of the system are such that you can see something as dangerous as you can imagine, but you can’t fail if it’s not in the inspection. A u-joint can be falling out and it HAS to pass, but a battery that isn’t held down tight fails.
As a professional, they’re an easy hour but the price is still the same as when the introduced the program 20 years ago. $55 is all you’re allowed to legally charge. It wasn’t that bad 20 years ago when labour rates were around there, but now you’re generally looking at $100 an hour and up. Most shops must make about $3 per inspection if nothing is sold. That’s when it become fair to no one. When a shop HAS to find something just so they turn a profit. C’mon, instead of just changing the pricing to reflect 2015 we’ll just keep thinking it’s 1995. The inspectors and help line seem to be pretty good. They do the best they can and I have seen them come out to the shop to verify something when a customer isn’t happy. So, I’ll give them that.
For anyone interested HERE is a link to the inspection handbook.
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