Should New Hampshire stop enforcing vehicle inspections? According to New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR), this is a question that is being asked in the state government right now. Some people think inspections do not stop fatalities, but should we really leave our road safety up to people who may not know enough about cars to notice issues?
HB 649 would eliminate requirements to inspect vehicles on a yearly basis. A retired N.H. State Police sergeant declared that inspection programs have “no effect on highway safety” and wrote a testament in favor of HB 649, according to NHPR. NHPR reported the sergeant also stated that “the majority of NH Inspection Stations either 1) Collected revenue for inspections without conducting a proper safety inspection; or 2) Purposely rejected vehicles by exaggerating the inspection regulations to profit hugely from repair income.”
If the argument for eliminating yearly vehicle inspections is protecting citizens from fraudulent companies, then perhaps the correct course of action would be to improve the quality of our inspection stations. If we could enact regulations to ensure that these stations were being more truthful about their inspections, we wouldn’t have to worry as much about the inefficiency of this process.
Additionally, N.H. Senator Donovan Fenton spoke on the issue, raising awareness of the fact that many vehicle owners do not know what sounds or physical signs may be problematic when it comes to their vehicles. Are we truly to trust the safety of our roads in the hands of citizens who are not knowledgeable in the world of vehicle safety? I know I personally do not know exactly what to look for when it comes to the longevity of my car, and I know that the same is true for many of my friends. If this is the case with such a small group of people, it leads me to imagine that the same may be true for many people across our state. It is my opinion that we should entrust the safety of our vehicles to those who are trained in the field, and according to NHPR, AAA agrees.
Another argument by those who wish to see HB 649 pass is that many mechanics will perform a basic inspection when the vehicle is brought in for an oil change. If we are to abandon separate inspections, then we should be able to guarantee this fact. If people do not wish to have to bring their vehicle in for an inspection separate from other maintenance, there should be a regulation in place that mandates companies do a safety inspection while performing oil changes.
It could be argued that the condition of one’s vehicle affects only the driver, but this is untrue. If you choose to drive a vehicle with potential defects, you are putting everyone on the road at risk. If you do not realize your brakes are failing, the crash that ensues could take the lives of people who had nothing to do with your unsafe decision, and I feel that is not a risk we should be willing to take. We should not play with other people’s lives just because we want to say we made our own choice.
Sophia Tanguay can be contacted at
stanguay@kscequinox.com
