CDZ Should passenger vehicle inspections be required?

[tinynascarfan]

As some of us already know, all commercial vehicles have to do pre-trip, post-trip, and daily vehicle inspections. Considering the following information I would agrue that periodic inspections should be required of drivers of passenger vehicles. I am not advocating for any particular period for which the inspections would be good for (ie. daily, weekly, ect.), nor am I saying the inspections should be done by a professional. I am saying that I beleive even cursory inspections (ie. tires) would be quite benificial in reducing crash rates. So, without further ado, here is the information I have found that would seem to support my idea:

crash cause	large trucks	passenger vehicles	percent of large trucks with previous violations
tire/wheel failure	6%	43%	14.5%
brake failure	29%	25%	32.7%

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Now, I am only compairing two causes, unfortunately I have been unable to find cooresponding info for both categories on more. I would welcome further info if you have it available. Stats where provided by the following links:
Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) Analysis Series: Using LTCCS Data for Statistical Analyses of Crash Risk
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pubs/811059.pdf
The Large Truck Crash Causation Study - Analysis Brief

As you can see, if we required all drivers, regardless of vehicle, to inspect tires there would likely be a dramtic drop in crashes. Brake failure is far more difficult to inspect for, and shows no corelation between inspection and failure rates.

So, the question is, should we require all drivers to inspect their tires? The matter of how often, enforcement, and what level of govt. would be involved is for another thread. I simply wish to know whether people think this would be a good idea or a bad one.

Some states do this, others don't. I have relatives in Pennsylvania and I know they have to have a vehicle safety inspection every year when they renew their registration. Is there any evidence that Pennsylvania has less car accidents than other states that don't require those yearly inspections?

Don't know, but a lot can change in a year to the safety of a vehicle over the course of a year. Therefore, I don't know that there would be a difference with that long of a period between inspections. However, this thread is not about duration, it is about whether or not the requirement of inspections should be in place. It has been shown to be effective (in the case of tires) for daily inspections of large trucks. Maybe the same would hold for smaller vehicles too.

ah, in that case no. The U.S. gives out drivers licenses to people who don't know the first thing about their cars.

Get that to change and I would vote yes, do it. I don't think susurban america has it in them to take away people's licenses

You don't even have to be able to read English to get a license, so how do you read a 'road closed' or 'men working' sign?

 

[tinynascarfan]

A few facts: your tire pressure can drop up to 3 pounds a month, due to inconsistent rubber.

if over inflated: a tire can produce the same amount of force as a .12 guage shotgun when exploding.

If you wouldn't walk in the rain or snow without proper grip in your shoes, why do you drive a car without proper grip in the same conditions?

 

[320 Years of History]

A few facts: your tire pressure can drop up to 3 pounds a month, due to inconsistent rubber.

if over inflated: a tire can produce the same amount of force as a .12 guage shotgun when exploding.

If you wouldn't walk in the rain or snow without proper grip in your shoes, why do you drive a car without proper grip in the same conditions?

Bold:
I get your point and I agree with it. It is entirely irresponsible to drive a car having insufficient tread and/or air/nitrogen pressure inside.

All the same, the answer is because:

• a ton of metal moving at any speed transfers more force to the things it affects or carries than does a human walking or running at any speed, and
• a car has a ton of metal surrounding one that can protect the driver as well as other drivers from great ham, and
• a car has passive and active safety devices that protect the occupants, and
• the extent of harm one can do to others while losing control of one's balance/footing as a result of wearing shoes without proper grip.

As a result, the risk of harming oneself or another is far lower when walking in the rain or snow while wearing shoes that lack proper grip; therefore, some folks are more willing to so.