North Texas Daily

Bethany Wallace | Staff Writer

On March 14, Sen. Ron Huffines (R-Dallas) filed a proposal called Senate Bill 1588, which would make Texas an inspection-free state if fully passed by the state’s House and Senate. The decision is not official yet and it’s only gingerly coming up in collegiate circles as a topic for discussion. 

Back in Nov. 2016, CBS DFW wrote about the origins of Huffines’ proposal and the elimination of the state automobile inspections is still up for debate. The main concern is that the state is making people pay for an inspection that is “not even a necessity” to have.

According to Pine Tree Inspections, car inspections started in Massachusetts in 1926 and then became popular a year later when “the governors of New York, Massachusetts and Maryland” campaigned for them. Due to this, owners had their cars “voluntarily inspected” and select garages made repairs, birthing the practice around the country.

Two days before the bill was filed, ABC 13 deduced that the lack of car inspections would do absolutely nothing for our cars. Their source came from Huffines’ written statement and was sponsored by Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston). We may not be in need of yearly car inspections, but I’m personally unsure if getting rid of the inspections altogether is a great idea. Having car inspections ensures our safety. If we get rid of these inspections, it could put us all in danger of having accidents at the wheel.

Plus, eradicating car inspections could leave some people without jobs. I know plenty of people who make livings by conducting car inspections. There are a few car shops I know of that would go out of business if the inspections were no longer required in Texas.

You can find on Lawyers.com that there are 16 states in our nation requiring “motorists to bring in their automobiles to perform safety inspections.” The inspections ensure that automobiles have working breakers, tail lights, horns and so on so that they can be deemed safe to drive. Texas is one of those 16 states.

While I would not mind saving a few dollars from this bill being implemented, I still like the idea of knowing that my car has been proven save and adequate to drive. I would hate to get behind the wheel if my car has something wrong with it that I didn’t know about and I got into a wreck because of an inspection freedom.

I think if the prices for car inspections were lowered, more Texans would be happier. However, I don’t believe the pricing of car inspections should be left up to the state.

Featured Illustration: Samuel Wiggins