New Vehicle Safety Inspections Start Friday

The state Department of Transportation today announced it will institute its new computer-based vehicle safety inspection system on Friday, Nov. 1.

The department described the new program as “an efficient and secure method of keeping vehicle information.”

“With this program we enter the new age of wireless computerization, instant recordation and protection from fraud and theft,” Glenn Okimoto, director of the state Department of Transportation, said in a statement.

The DOT said the program will do away with monthly reporting by the inspection stations and provide immediate recordation and proof of vehicles’ inspection status.

When it brought the proposal out for a statewide public hearing on Oct. 10, the department said there was a backlog of up to six months in recording the “safety checks” into the DOT’s computer system. That sometimes presented problems for those looking to register their vehicle which requires a current safety inspection.

Under the new system, a private vendor will provide participating safety inspection stations with an iPad computer tablet to record vehicle data as well as a printer which will produce the new decals. The resulting vehicle information, which will include a photo of the vehicle, will be transmitted daily via the internet to the DOT’s motor vehicle registration system.

The new decals will contain the vehicle’s license plate number and vehicle identification number, or VIN, to combat safety sticker fraud. It will also have an adhesive designed to discourage removal.

The cost of the inspections will also rise to $19.19 plus tax.

Most of the testimony at the Oct. 10 hearing was critical of the new program. Much of the criticism involved concerns about the requirement that inspectors must obtain broad-band internet access.

Some of those testifying via videoconferencing argued that the safety inspections should be abolished.