The House Transportation Committee approves legislation to do away with the requirement for Louisiana drivers to have an up to date inspection sticker on their vehicle. Stonewall Representative Larry Bagley says getting the sticker is an inconvenience, an unnecessary expense and does nothing to keep our roads safer.
“There is no reason to do it, it costs money and it takes time out of your day to have to go it and if you get caught in violation, then you have to pay a fine,” said Bagley.
One state lawmaker said the fine for an expired inspection sticker can be as much as $250.
Bagley says vehicles are built better and law enforcement officers can pull over a vehicle they believe is not safe. State Police Captain Bryan Lee says State Troopers and police officers can’t tell if a vehicle’s tires are worn, which is something that can be spotted during a vehicle inspection. He says bald tires are a safety threat.
“We work a lot of crashes and the two primary factors for those crashes are excessive speed and worn or bald tires,” said Bagley.
The elimination of inspection vehicles would cost State Police and the Office of Motor Vehicles 14-million dollars a year. The measure will now head to House Appropriations for more discussion. Hornbeck Representative Rodney Schamerhorn says there are several inspection stations that do not take it seriously, so why require it.
“If inspection stations were doing a thorough job of inspecting the vehicles, I can go along with it, but they are not,” said Schamerhorn.
If Bagley’s bill becomes law, motorists who live in East Baton Rouge and four surrounding parishes would still need to get an emissions test, because of high ozone levels in the Capital City Region. The emissions test requirement for the Baton Rouge area is the rest of the Clean Air Act.
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