The handmaiden media doesn’t have its hands full with the legislative session over, so it needs something to fill those “column inches.” How about scaring people! The media loves those stories, and New Hampshire just eliminated inspections for passenger vehicles (effective January 1, 2026). You are going to have to share the road with people who not only don’t drive as well as you but who might never get their cars cared for or looked at.
Since we’re on the subject, let’s recycle this ridiculous classic.
Lots of things can kill you when you’re in or near motor vehicles that have nothing to do with maintenance, including the NH Hands Free law, which banned personal electronic devices in drivers’ hands but did nothing to reduce accidents or deaths (and likely made matters worse). [Related: Dem Lawmaker Ticketed for Hands-Free Law, Second Offense]
The data continues to support this.
The common denominator in crash and fatality data are the same today as they were 30 years ago, inexperience, speed, and alcohol. Any or all combinations of these three things produce a majority of the damage and loss of life. Distraction, for all the burden it is asked to bear, and all the bad press it gets, has become a buzz word for what is nothing more than a lack of experience, mixed with a touch of disrespect for the risks and the absence of maturity about your own limitations. The same goes for speed and chemical abuse. Cell phones are just a visible scapegoat. Banning them will not solve anything unless you want to reduce productivity.
Vehicle inspections are the obvious scapegoat for the same sort of fearmongering, but there’s no evidence they make the roads safer.
Here’s a handful of states with and without mandatory state inspections and their Fatalities per million vehicle miles traveled (MVMT)
Data year 2023 – NHTSA
Warm or cold, snowy or not, rainy or dry, there is no correlation between the presence of mandatory passenger vehicle inspections or their lack thereof and fatal accidents.
The laws aren’t what makes the difference, nor is their absence. There are states with mandatory inspections that have fatality rates comparable to those without them.
The highest was Arizona at 1.73 (inspections required), followed by South Carolina at 1.72, where inspections are optional.
The “it’ll cost more if you wait” and other tales from auto repair shops are not entirely accurate either.
Should people take care of the vehicle in which they transport themselves, children, pets, and other loved ones? Yes. Absolutely. It is as much a part of their civic duty as driving responsibly, but mandatory inspections don’t make the roads safer; they force drivers to spend money on something they could have spent elsewhere and invite fraud and unnecessary repairs by dealers and repair shops.
We will never stop their fearmongering (unconstitutional carry still hasn’t led to blood on the streets, but “mostly peaceful protests” have.) It’s just marketing, and you should accept it for what it is. You’re an idiot who will act irresponsibly unless a government makes you (insert whatever it is here).
And trust me, the biggest naysayers for eliminating inspections will be the first ones whose negligence results in injury or death.
