Should Texas drop car safety inspections? Sure, but there’s only one way it will work | Opinion

Legislation to eliminate the annual safety inspection for your car seems like a classic case of tradeoffs: Convenience vs. safety. Regulation vs. personal responsibility.

But when you look closer, it’s not likely to be a huge change for most Texans. The fees aren’t going entirely away. Those of us who live in urban areas — more than half the state’s population — will still need to have emissions checks under clean-air laws, so we’re not gaining much in the way of convenience.

And the safety argument? There’s some dispute over whether the whole inspection regime is even working that well anyway.

A bill to end the inspection requirement for non-commercial vehicles has passed the House and Senate. Minor differences remain to be worked out in the Legislature’s final few days, and if they are, it will head to Gov. Greg Abbott for signature or veto.

At first, it sounds alarming — millions of cars on the road with no safety check? What about bald tires and bad brakes? It’s true that there will be some increased level of risk. The question is: How much?

Most states don’t even have inspections anymore, a trend of recent decades. Congressional analysts found that research into whether inspections moved the needle on crash prevention is inconclusive. They cited federal data showing the critical factor in 94% of wrecks is the driver’s behavior, with a tiny share primarily attributed to vehicle or road conditions. More recent research suggests that states without inspections see 5.5% more road fatalities than those still requiring them.

Then, as with so much in government, there’s the question of whether some of the inspection regime is even legitimate or effective. A KXAS-TV (Channel 5) investigation found that millions of Texas vehicles have likely had falsified emissions inspections. It’s not a stretch to picture $20 cash suddenly adding tread to bad tires, if you know what we mean.

Today’s cars are much safer and made to last longer. But that also means drivers are keeping them longer. The car will tell you if there’s something wrong, but problems are more expensive to fix.

That all probably adds up to a minimal impact of eliminating safety inspections. It’s important that commercial vehicles, especially big trucks, still must get a look. But it will save average Texans a few bucks — $7, the amount that goes to the inspection station. More important for many, it will save a little time. So, it’s probably a good step.

Personal responsibility will be crucial, though. It’s bad to drive around with bad brakes or bald tires. We are all obliged to put only safe vehicles on the road.

If more people do that, a little extra freedom and convenience shouldn’t cause a significant safety problem.