Missouri's auto inspections phased out in proposed bill

After gradually reducing requirements for automobiles to pass a mechanic’s inspection before obtaining a registration, a bill in the Missouri state legislature would eventually end the program.

Currently, motor vehicles with more than 150,000 miles and 10 years from their manufacturing model year must pass a biennial safety inspection. House Bill 2499, sponsored by Rep. J. Eggleston, R-Maysville, changes the law to exempt motor vehicles with less than 150,000 miles and manufactured after Jan. 1, 2012.

During testimony on Wednesday before the House Downsizing State Government Committee, Eggleston said legislators in 2019 considered eliminating the inspection program but compromised instead and loosened requirements.

“A lot of members were ready to get rid of the program,” Eggleston said. “There were others that had my initial reaction, which was thinking it was doing some sort of good. So we ended up settling on a compromise, as we often do.”

No action was taken on the bill.

Eggleston said an out-of-session conversation with a former legislator led him to review data on whether the inspections were necessary. It led to the current bill with a gradual elimination of inspections.

“I basically said that any car that’s not being inspected is not ever going to have to be inspected,” Eggleston said. “Any of them that are inspected today would continue. So if you have a 2012 or older, you’re getting inspected. Over time, this will naturally phase itself out.”

Eggleston said improved manufacturing, technology, and dependability make automobiles and driving safer. He said there are 35 states without inspection programs. No states bordering Missouri have an inspection program.

“The wife and I like to watch some of those ‘Father Knows Best’ [television] shows, and you see some of those cars and think, yeah, I can see why they needed a program,” Eggleston said. “But these days, it’s lived past its usefulness.”

Rep. Michael Burton, D-Lakeshire, said he wasn’t leaning toward supporting the bill.

“A cracked windshield is something that’s inspected whenever a car goes through this,” Burton said. “I know we have laws where you can’t drive around with a cracked windshield, but we also know police officers are generally not pulling people over for that. I think that can be a safety issue if someone is driving around with a cracked windshield.”

Certified inspection facilities charge $12 for an inspection. Missouri law allows the inspector to keep $10.50 and the remaining $1.50 goes to the state – $1 to the state highway fund for administering and enforcing state motor vehicle laws and regulations and 50 cents to the “Highway Patrol Inspection Fund.”

During questioning, Eggleston said there always will be variability in the quality of inspections.

“There are some that are pretty thorough, and there’s some that have a lot better paying jobs lined up in the bays that they want to get to,” Eggleston said. “I understand it’s a financial thing, and you have to make so much. That’s your business. ... Do you think that the $12 inspection actually covers the time that these shops have to take to inspect the vehicle to do a thorough inspection? Probably not.”

Eggleston said research with the insurance industry didn’t find any appreciable safety differences between states with inspections and those without.

“For those of you old enough to remember, vehicles oftentimes were dangerous,” said Rep. Randy Railsback, R-Hamilton, during the hearing. “Tail lights often went out, the brakes didn’t work and all kinds of other issues. Enough incidents happened that we started this inspection process. ... The vehicles today have none of the issues that we had back then.”