North Carolina Keeps Newer Car Inspections

North Carolina drivers that own newer cars will still have to undergo an annual vehicle inspection after state lawmakers scuttled a proposal to exempt them from the requirement.

The Joint Transportation Oversight Committee by a 7 to 5 vote agreed to not hear the proposal this year. Under the proposal, drivers with cars from the three newest model years would not have had to undergo safety and emission inspections.

Proponents said the inspections are unnecessary due to advances in car safety. The state’s Division of Program Evaluation found that less than one percent of the newer cars fail to meet state standards.

Committee Chair Jerry Tillman, R.-Randolph, who led the opposition to the proposal, said the proposals would hurt garage owners who perform the inspection and result in a loss of jobs. The state charges $30 per car inspection and collects roughly $150 million in fees annually.