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So how could it have been avoided? Maybe you could have been born with faster reflexes, maybe your car could respond just a little quicker, or chances are you couldn’t do anything about it at all. Why? Because the other car had missed its yearly inspection, allowing an existing car problem to develop into a catastrophic safety issue that eventually caused your unfortunate accident. This leads to a few important questions: What are state inspections, and why do they exist? 

Many years ago, most U.S. states began requiring yearly or biennial state inspections for vehicles. Other states require a safety inspection when a car’s title changes, and some states don’t require a safety inspection at all. In most cases, safety inspections for passenger cars and 2 axle trucks require that a variety of items are checked: the suspension components, braking systems, tires, lighting and electrical systems, steering, glass, mirrors, wipers, windshield washer, defroster, the odometer and speedometer, exhaust systems, the horn and warning devices, the chassis, and the body. After the passing of the clean air act amendment in 1997, state inspections also include various anti-tampering checks to ensure that emissions components required by the state are not removed or altered.

So you might be wondering? How does the requirement of a state inspection involve me? The hypothetical situation at the opening of this article should illustrate the need for a state inspection. However, the positive impact of state inspections has also been studied by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which discovered in 2002 that out of all the states in the U.S., the ones that require annual vehicle inspections tend to have accident rates that are up to 20% lower than states that don’t require inspections.

For many drivers, getting a state inspection is a source of constant trepidation because they fear the potential costs that it might lead to. However, isn’t your safety on the road worth the annual checkup? You tend to get a yearly physical at the doctor’s office to make sure everything is in proper working order, why not do the same for the vehicle you entrust your safety and the safety of your family to? 

Especially with so many looming economic hardships across the country, some of the mor

e expensive problems with a driver’s vehicle might go ignored or unnoticed, leaving the driver blissfully ignorant of the problem in their vehicle, until of course it causes a potentially deadly accident like the one described earlier. So as you can see, without vehicle inspections – states run the risk of creating a trend that puts cars with problems like faulty wipers and bad breaks on the road, leading to blind drivers, drivers that can’t stop, a plethora of other hazards, and an all around more dangerous situation.

At Stratham Tire, we make a point to getting your NH state inspection and ME state inspection easy with fast service, helpful advice, and the honest inspection you’re looking for. For more information, contact us today or visit your nearest Stratham Tire location.