House Bill 265 just passed in Utah doing away with the mandatory requirement to have you car safety tested. That’s right. No more safety inspectors telling you that your marker light is out and that it will be $116.95 to have it replaced. Or, you can do it yourself and drive back in 30 days only to discover that the crack on your windshield is an 1/8 of an inch too long and that it will be $213.00 to replace. How will you be informed that your battery clamp is too loose and that it will only cost $57.13 to replace and tighten? Let’s not even get started on your wiper blades.
The majority of citizens appear to be fine with the change considering that there were fewer than 200 calls to Governor Herbert’s office to veto the bill.
Consider this. The costs will be redistributed into higher fees that will be used by the state to hire more highway patrol troopers. If my calculations are correct, the issue will play out like this. You the motorist are not aware of the fact that your marker light is out. The new trooper can now pull you over for the equipment violation. You are now subject to whatever this cop can cite you for and that $25 inspection fee plus whichever fix your inspector hit you with seems cheap in comparison to court fines.
Examples of equipment violations and fines listed in the traffic bail schedule will run you from $50 up to $1000 each and include: tail lights, head lights, marker lights, license plate illumination, reflectors, turn signals, brake lights, hazard lights, windshield cracks, noise or muffler violations, exhaust, mirrors, seat belts, tire height width and tread, bumpers, mud flaps, tint, stickers, insurance, registration and the list goes on.
Get too many of these tickets and your drivers license will be in peril, you could find yourself in traffic school to maintain points through the drivers license division and your insurance may skyrocket. In short. Do yourself a favor and do your own safety check to avoid any additional fees and hassles.
Photo Courtesy of: David Castillo [email protected]