Lawmakers may soon make New Hampshire the first state in the Northeast to eliminate required annual vehicle inspections, a change that would save drivers tens of millions of dollars while reducing highway funding by nearly $3 million and curtailing a program to reduce local air pollution from cars.

The bill to end the mandatory annual inspections, which the prime sponsor has labeled as “scams,” sailed through the House, 212-143, and is headed to the state Senate. 

Several attempts to end or limit inspections failed in previous years. The effort this year was helped by written testimony from Brian Chase, a retired New Hampshire State Police sergeant. He said his experience overseeing inspection stations for the state found that they often “collected revenue for inspections without conducting a proper safety inspection; or purposely rejected vehicles by exaggerating the inspection regulations to profit hugely from repair income.”

That claim rankles Jeff Chaplain at Village Street Garage in Penacook, one of 1,982 licensed inspection stations in the state.

“I think the major concern with the state inspection is the people … who think it’s a scam,” he said. “The Department of Safety is extremely serious when it comes to the testing of technicians to get their license to inspect vehicles. They do surprise audits of the shops. They’ll send in somebody with a car that doesn’t pass inspection to see that we are doing the job.”

If the bill (HB649) passes, you’d still have to get an inspection sticker this year. No inspections would be required after Jan. 1, 2026.

Only 11 states require annual inspections to the degree that New Hampshire does, although is a mix of requirements for mechanical or emissions testing exists throughout the country. They range from nothing at all, to encouragement without requirements, to testing only in select cities or only when a car is first bought. All the states in and adjacent to New England require annual inspections of most vehicles.

Proponents of mandatory inspection say they make highways safer by limiting dangerous vehicles. At Village Street Motors, Chaplain said inspections often uncover problems that drivers aren’t aware of.

“One of the big ones is rust in New England. We see rusted cars, suspension components, rusted-out frames. It’s not something you’d notice unless you’re physically looking underneath the car. And tires – tires are a big one. We see completely bald tires,” he said.

The problem of hidden vehicle problems in need of repair has gotten worse in recent years, he thinks, because the high price of new and even used cars means people hold on to their cars and trucks longer.

“What we’ve been seeing as a trend is older vehicles – people are repairing them instead of replacing them  – and they tend to have more worn-out components or rusted components, inoperative components,” he said. “Without anything being checked on a vehicle, there’s going to be older vehicles, dangerous vehicles, going 80 miles per hour down the highway. I wouldn’t want that coming the opposite way toward me and my family.”

Opponents of inspections say the safety benefits are exaggerated. A 2015 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office said data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicated component failure is a factor in 2% to 7% of traffic crashes. Several studies, domestic and international, have cast doubt on the safety benefits of inspections, contributing to the decision by a number of states, including New Jersey and Texas, to end inspections in recent years.

One effect if the bill passes would be to cut state income from the program. An analysis posted with the bill says 1,048,001 vehicles were registered in New Hampshire in 2023. Inspection stickers cost $3.25 – the inspection itself usually costs at least $35 – of which $2.75 goes to the highway fund, 25 cents to the general fund and 25 cents to the motor vehicle air pollution abatement fund. 

Ending inspections would reduce annual highway funding by about $2.9 million. And since 12 percent of the revenue is distributed to towns and cities, the bill would cut money sent to communities by an estimated $173,250 the first year and $346,500 each year after.  

Although no exact figures exist, New Hampshire drivers spend at least $40 million a year on inspections.

Ending inspections would also end funding for the state’s motor vehicle air pollution abatement fund, which dates back to 2009 and receives about a quarter-million dollars annually. That fund is overseen by the Department of Environmental Services to pay for programs to trim pollution from motor vehicles registered for on-road use.  

Chaplin said that if the bill passes, he hopes people will continue to get their cars regularly examined by a mechanic. “You shouldn’t be surprised that your car is going to need work, you should be checking it throughout the year,” he said.

David Brooks can be reached at dbrooks@cmonitor.com