Comments on: Should Utah eliminate safety and emissions tests?

By: Duane

Duane — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:32:24 +0000

I would first point out that Jim Astle is not exactly an unbiased party to this discussion, since he makes his living testing and repairing cars. I have also had repair folks try to tell me that something had to be fixed or replaced to pass when in fact I read the law itself and it was not required.

Next, I point out that the brake check is now a joke, since if the brakes are within two days of scraping metal-on-metal, they pass if the braking force is equal and two days later the repair shops get to charge obscene amounts to replace rotors or drums that would have been saved had the pads been looked at. This has happened to members of my family twice in the last year or two.

Last, I don’t see any reference to data that shows that the things that are checked in a safety inspection are causing more accidents in states where those things are not inspected. That is the most important bit of data to look at. Any discussion about safety inspections without addressing that is just a lot of hot air.

By: Kaye

Kaye — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:55:23 +0000

Get rid of the testing! Don’t we get tested enough in Utah?

By: Max

Max — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 23:46:00 +0000

Whenever the check engine light (MIL) is iluminated, it’s the car’s way of telling you that something has happened that is allowing more emissions out of the tailpipe than is allowed. There are literally hundreds of things that can go wrong which will cause your car to put out more emissions than it should. It is the EPA that has required automakers to use the check engine light in this way, not UT.

By: Greg

Greg — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:48:00 +0000

I do think there is some value in safety and emissions testing, but every year is too frequent. Maybe every 2-3 years would be a better option.

By: Diane

Diane — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 21:44:00 +0000

I hope it goes through. I agree with an inspection somewhat but the way the emissions test is done in UT is ridiculous. They don’t even check for emissions. They check the engine light which could be a number of things that have nothing to do with the emissions of a car.