Pa. state senator proposes eliminating annual vehicle inspection requirement

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A state senator is proposing legislation that would eliminate the state’s annual vehicle safety inspections, arguing that the requirement is “excessive” and “unnecessary.”

Drivers and mechanics who spoke with Channel 11 on Friday, however, find the proposal concerning.

This week, Senator Marty Flynn, a Democrat representing parts of Northeast Pennsylvania, unveiled plans to change the legal requirement so that drivers would only need to inspect a vehicle when it’s sold or the title is transferred.

Senator Flynn, in his memorandum, cites a 2015 report that found “the value” of annual inspections “hard to quantify.” He notes that only 14 states still require annual safety inspections.

But Mike Tevis, Operations Manager with Tevis Auto Service in Ross Township, stressed how critical inspections are in keeping drivers safe.

Each day, he said his shop catches dangerous problems, from rotting brake lines to bad wheel bearings.

“Wheel bearings, they hold onto your wheel. That goes bad, then your wheel falls off,” Tevis said. “I just don’t understand how someone can’t have a safety inspection because it’s that important.”

Driver Rosemary McLaughlin agreed, feeling that inspections keep vehicles safe.

“Before inspections were enforced, you would see cars with doors taped on,” she said.

Drive Mark Sacco also opposes the legislation, saying, “every year your car’s being inspected - what you miss, they catch.”

Flynn, however, claims that inspections are “an inconvenience to vehicle owners and their wallets.”

McLaughlin told us, she’d “rather save lives than money.”

Tevis’ small businesses and others would be financially impacted by the legislation, but Tevis noted that it has the potential to financially hurt the driver, too.

He said that an inspection can catch a problem before it becomes too costly. But “if you wait, and a part fails, next thing you know, that repair might be 500, 600, 800, a thousand dollars.”

Flynn was not available for an interview on Friday, per an office spokesperson.

His memorandum states that inspections don’t financially benefit the state’s Motor License Fund, which “is in dire need of additional funding.”

While proposing to do away with the inspection requirement, he is proposing a new $15 registration fee for drivers instead, which would generate money for the state.

Flynn calls it a “win-win” for drivers and Pennsylvania’s infrastructure.

But, Pennsylvanians aren’t so sure.

“Cars are safer now,” McLaughlin said. “If the inspections keep them that way then we should keep them safer.”

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