O P I N I O N
THE SOAPBOX
Stand up. Speak up. It’s your turn.
NH Automobile Dealers Association and its over 500 members believe the elimination of annual inspections is both reckless and shortsighted. The vehicle safety inspection program repeal, which eliminates them entirely for cars, trucks, and motorcycles, and weakens the frequency of school bus inspections will result in a measured increase in accidents on New Hampshire roadways.
Statewide, New Hampshire has a vehicle failure rate of 15%. The actual rate is higher because when there is a failure, most people repair their cars, which means the inspection is considered a passage. Without inspections, these repairs either won’t be made or will be made following more serious breakdowns of vehicle equipment.
In addition, law enforcement will lose the legal authority to stop or cite unsafe vehicles for issues once clearly defined under inspection standards. Even worse, the state will no longer have authority to suspend registrations for vehicles deemed unsafe, leaving no way to keep them off the road.
When Florida lawmakers eliminated safety inspections in 2000, traffic accidents increased 63%. Utah did the same in 2018 and immediately saw an over 11 % increase in vehicle crashes due to equipment failure. It’s hard to believe that despite facts and data, the “safest” state in the nation just chose to eliminate vehicle safety inspections.
Furthermore, the decision to halt inspections comes at a time when driver behavior on New Hampshire roads is already leading to an uptick in fatal accidents. This is an unfortunate result and not in the best interests of roadway safety. We hope lawmakers will soon reconsider this decision.
Dan Bennett is President, NH Automobile Dealers Association. Jason LaCroix is Chairman, NHADA Board of Directors.
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