The Mail-Journal, Volume 6, Number 10, Milford, Kosciusko County, 9 April 1969 — Page 21

Car Inspections Serve to Make Motoring Safer

Results Becoming Apparent in Terms Os Fewer Accidents Chargeable To Mechanical Failures There are several subjects which are more commonly discussed in recent years. Certainly not the least of these subjects is highway safety, and automobile inspection. And usually, some questions are raised. Like — did you pass? Hie query is often posed by one who has recently been exposed to PMVI— periodic motor vehicle inspection. And the answer, in a surprisingly high percentage of cases, is no! However, the answer may not be so surprising, when you consider one expert's opinion. In testimony before the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee, H. C. Stivers, then president of the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association, estimated that 42% of the cars on the highways have defects that affect the safe operation of the vehicle. Supporting this figure is a study conducted by the Insurance * Institute for Highway Safety. It reports that 42% of the vehicles brought in for inspection, voluntarily or in spot checks, do not pass the minimum requirements for mechanical safety. The Institute’s study was categorized in four groups: Vehicles up to one year old (25% rejection rate); two to five years (40% rejection rate); six to ten years (51% rejection rate); and 11 years or older (53% rejection rate). In another report, the City of Detroit utilized a specially developed test lane to ferret out defects in automobiles. A voluntary inspection program of two weeks duration last May, involving approximately one thousand cars, showed that four

out of ten cars were mechanically unsafe. Major defects centered around improper wheel alignment and steering assembly. Other components that inspection teams check closely for defects include shock absorbers, windshield wipers, headlight aim and wheel vibration. Without question, they all affect the safe operation of a vehicle. Annual in Ontario Just across the border from' Detroit, in Windsor, Ontario, automobile inspection has been an annual occurrence for the past six years. It’s conducted both on a voluntary basis, and in spot checks during May.

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The vehicle test equipment is owned by the Provincial government; tests are conducted by Windsor police. Police Chief Gordon Preston and his department are very pleased by the growing numbers of Windsor motorists who volunteer their cars for inspection. Their most recent test period showed that of 4700 owners who voluntarily put their cars through the check lanes, almost half couldn’t pass the test. Owners failing the test were instructed to have their cars repaired to bring them back up to the standards set down by the Provincial government.

STATES REQUIRING INSPECTION OF ALL VEHICLES

Inspection Inspection State Fee Period Ark. $1.75 All year Colo. 1.50 All year ♦Dela. None All year ♦D.C. 1.00 All year Fla. 1.75 AU year Ga. 1.25 Jan.-June Hawaii Not more All year than $2 Idaho 2.00 All year Ind. 2.50 All year Ky. Not over All year $2.50 La. Not over $1 Dec.-March Maine 1.00 All year Mass. 1.00 April 1-May 15; Sept. 1-Oct. 15 Miss. 1.25 Jan.-March Mo. 2.50 All year Nebr. 2.00 Determined by DM V N. H. Not fixed by May-Oct. law; $1.50 average ♦N.J. 1.00 All year

♦lndicates inspections are performed at govern- The following states have random inspection: ment-owned stations. Otherwise state-designated Alaska, California, Connecticut, Illinois, lowa, stations perform inspections. Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon and Washington. NOTE: THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO ha» anactad a law wh«r» .v.ry u««l car placad for male mail havo a Certificate of Inspection supplied to the purchaser. Inspections are performed by private service outlets with no set fee charged for the work. Elsewhere in Canada, random inspection is generally the rule.

However, the point is that by volunteering, motorists are showing their concern with the safety of their vehicles — moreover, they’re doing something about it. ) In the Windsor program last year, safety officials also ordered 327 vehicles through the test equipment—vehicles that were obviously in disrepair, and from appearances, unsafe.

Inspection Inspection State Fee Period N.M. 1.00 Alternating months, Feb.-Dec. N. Y. $3.00 All year State-wide N. Car. 1.50 All year Okla. 2.00 To be determined Pa. Not set by Passenger cars: law; aver- May 1-July 31; age $2.50 Nov.l-Jan. 31 thru $4 Commercial: Feb. 1-Apr. 30, Aug. 1-Oct. 31 R. I. 1.00 All year S. Car. Not more To be determined than $1.75 S. Dak. Not set Not set Texas 1.75 Sept. 1-April 15 Utah 2.25 Feb. 15-May 15 Vt. Not to ex- May and October ceed $1 Va. 2.00 All year W. Va. 1.25 All year Wyo. Not to ex- Determined by ceed $2 Dept, of Revenue

Fifty-seven were approved, 145 were rejected and had to have repairs made, while 125 were totally condemned. Accidents Reduced " It would seem, after a lot of talk about automobile safety and vehicle inspection, something really concrete is being done about it. All states now are required to implement a program of vehicle inspection, within guidelines issued by the National Highway Safety Bureau — or take the chance of losing some of their Federal highway construction funds. In some Canadian Provinces (like the law that was passed tn Ontario effective November, 1968) motor vehicles must be inspected and certified safe before the vehicle title can be

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transferred to another owner. Does that sound like blackmail? Consider the benefits. Under PMVI, accidents and, more important, fatalities are reduced. A study by a New York consulting firm in 1967, found that in areas without an inspection plan the fatality rate was nearly 10% higher than in areas with a vehicle inspection program. That is mighty strong evidence in favor of PMVI. And with new legislation to encourage safety inspection programs together with a more aware and increasingly concerned motoring public, the wheels are in motion to help make our highways safer from automobile mishaps due to mechanical failures.