Letter to the Editor: Cut Back on Vehicle Inspections

In spite of the rhetoric to the contrary, the new New York does not seem much different from the old.  It continues to squeeze the life out of its residents with numbing property taxes, sales taxes, business taxes, and hidden taxes--such as the yearly auto mechanical inspection.
Now, you might say that the inspection is not a tax--that it is a necessary vehicle safety check.  Well then, why have 30 states discontinued their yearly inspections and why have four states reduced the frequency of theirs to every two years?
The truth is that "...decades of research has failed to conclusively show that mechanical defects are a significant cause of motor vehicle accidents or that safety inspections significantly reduce accident rates."  This quote from a 2008 report issued by the Program Evaluation Division of the North Carolina legislature mirrors similar findings of equally authoritative sources in other states.
The yearly inspections, costing on average $37 each for some 10 million vehicles, results in a whopping $370 million deposit into the State's piggy bank.    Wouldn't the public's interest be better served if people were able to use that money on goods and services and, thus, help fuel the economy?
Not only are vehicle owners tapped unnecessarily for funds,  so are the mechanics that perform them!  First, they have to buy the machines required to do the inspections.  Then, they must forward the collected money to the State!  They are not even entitled to compensation for their work!
It really is time to build a new New York!  However, we need one that supports business and its residents—not one that saps the economic life out of them!  Rather than do away completely with mechanical inspections, I suggest that the State change the required frequency to every two years.  The inspection renewal should be made a part of the biennial car registration renewal.  This would result in more dollars staying in the public’s hands (where they belong). It would also effectively end the police practice of issuing a violation for the simple oversight of an expired inspection sticker!  After all, these tickets are costly and humiliating to motorists,  and the police have much more important things to do with their time!

Anne Putko
Piermont