Super bright headlights

[seicer]

My Subaru passed inspection one year. Another year, they "pulled" fault codes that said I had issues with what is basically a movable air deflector. Of course, they wanted me to go to the dealership where they wanted to replace the part for $600 (even though a new part was $300). This isn't to say I don't think that inspections aren't necessary, but the way it was being handled was nothing more than providing an incentive (and kickback) to private garage inspectors.

It's a big difference when you are driving in New York and say... West Virginia. I don't see as many rusted-out cars down here but I do see monster-truck-sized tires or jacked-up suspensions that provide no advantage to off-roading or driving, red or green headlights (those should be easy to spot for any passing trooper), or other questionable choices. But these are typically secondary violations in many states, not primary. And while they may be annoying to some, have they been attributed to many deaths or accidents (to others)?

[renegade]

Inspections are nothing more than a way for a state to pad the books. If my experience in New York and parts of Ohio was any indication, they couldn't care less about the condition of a car and would find any fault so they could force a repair. In one case, I had to get a second opinion from my personal mechanic and then from a garage sourced from my garage to get a pass. Just doing a simple query brings up so many fraudulent cases that have occurred in garages in the Philly area, for instance.

Plus, aftermarket accessories may be necessary for people - and who can say what can be used when its not on a public roadway? My buddy runs with PIAA lights and a lightbar while overlanding out west - they are not road legal in some states (and fine in others). It would just be as silly as what Australia does - people will simply unbolt the lights and re-install them to pass inspections.

In nearly 20 years, I've never had an inspection that resulted in the need for a repair.

"Inspection" means different things in different states.  In some states, "inspection" involves a complete "going-over" of a vehicle to make certain safety equipment (lights, wipers, mirrors, etc.) are operational and safe (a "safety inspection").

In other states, "inspection" means sticking a probe in your tailpipe and using it to extract money out of your wallet (a "ripoff").

[seicer]

Oh yeah, the Cleveland metro has a tailpipe emission "inspection." And only northeast Ohio - not the rest of the state, because of the federal EPA mandates it. Given that the area has a disproportionate number of people who are poor and who may not own the newest vehicles with perfect emission control features, it's more often than not a regressive tax.

I don't want this to make it look like I'm anti-inspection. I think that for the worst offenders, it does serve a purpose. I'd love to see those "coal rollers" off the highway, but adding a punitive and often regressive tax on people to get the 1% to comply isn't the best way of going about it.

[Rothman]

Inspections are nothing more than a way for a state to pad the books. If my experience in New York and parts of Ohio was any indication, they couldn't care less about the condition of a car and would find any fault so they could force a repair. In one case, I had to get a second opinion from my personal mechanic and then from a garage sourced from my garage to get a pass. Just doing a simple query brings up so many fraudulent cases that have occurred in garages in the Philly area, for instance.

Plus, aftermarket accessories may be necessary for people - and who can say what can be used when its not on a public roadway? My buddy runs with PIAA lights and a lightbar while overlanding out west - they are not road legal in some states (and fine in others). It would just be as silly as what Australia does - people will simply unbolt the lights and re-install them to pass inspections.

In nearly 20 years, I've never had an inspection that resulted in the need for a repair.

"Inspection" means different things in different states.  In some states, "inspection" involves a complete "going-over" of a vehicle to make certain safety equipment (lights, wipers, mirrors, etc.) are operational and safe (a "safety inspection").

In other states, "inspection" means sticking a probe in your tailpipe and using it to extract money out of your wallet (a "ripoff").

I was talking about the same state as seicer: NY.

[seicer]

Inspections are nothing more than a way for a state to pad the books. If my experience in New York and parts of Ohio was any indication, they couldn't care less about the condition of a car and would find any fault so they could force a repair. In one case, I had to get a second opinion from my personal mechanic and then from a garage sourced from my garage to get a pass. Just doing a simple query brings up so many fraudulent cases that have occurred in garages in the Philly area, for instance.

Plus, aftermarket accessories may be necessary for people - and who can say what can be used when its not on a public roadway? My buddy runs with PIAA lights and a lightbar while overlanding out west - they are not road legal in some states (and fine in others). It would just be as silly as what Australia does - people will simply unbolt the lights and re-install them to pass inspections.

In nearly 20 years, I've never had an inspection that resulted in the need for a repair.

"Inspection" means different things in different states.  In some states, "inspection" involves a complete "going-over" of a vehicle to make certain safety equipment (lights, wipers, mirrors, etc.) are operational and safe (a "safety inspection").

In other states, "inspection" means sticking a probe in your tailpipe and using it to extract money out of your wallet (a "ripoff").

I was talking about the same state as seicer: NY.

They are safety inspections but the realm of what they cover is often not safety-related. That same garage I went to was also overly cautious about the spot of rust on my exterior door panel and even went as far as to "recommend" a particular shop to go to to get it painted (which would have been in the north of $1,000). It's funny how in any of the three years proceeding that that those "safety" issues never came back.

[Rothman]

Inspections are nothing more than a way for a state to pad the books. If my experience in New York and parts of Ohio was any indication, they couldn't care less about the condition of a car and would find any fault so they could force a repair. In one case, I had to get a second opinion from my personal mechanic and then from a garage sourced from my garage to get a pass. Just doing a simple query brings up so many fraudulent cases that have occurred in garages in the Philly area, for instance.

Plus, aftermarket accessories may be necessary for people - and who can say what can be used when its not on a public roadway? My buddy runs with PIAA lights and a lightbar while overlanding out west - they are not road legal in some states (and fine in others). It would just be as silly as what Australia does - people will simply unbolt the lights and re-install them to pass inspections.

In nearly 20 years, I've never had an inspection that resulted in the need for a repair.

"Inspection" means different things in different states.  In some states, "inspection" involves a complete "going-over" of a vehicle to make certain safety equipment (lights, wipers, mirrors, etc.) are operational and safe (a "safety inspection").

In other states, "inspection" means sticking a probe in your tailpipe and using it to extract money out of your wallet (a "ripoff").

I was talking about the same state as seicer: NY.

They are safety inspections but the realm of what they cover is often not safety-related. That same garage I went to was also overly cautious about the spot of rust on my exterior door panel and even went as far as to "recommend" a particular shop to go to to get it painted (which would have been in the north of $1,000). It's funny how in any of the three years proceeding that that those "safety" issues never came back.

Eh, there's always Maaco.

Another thing is that I have only had an inspection in NY done a couple of times at a dealer.  Luckily, didn't have any issues.  Usually just had it done at Jiffy Lube or Valvoline.

[ukfan758]

what's the deal with the super-bright lights? the newer blue-white ones seem like they're in the 'high-beam; range of brightness. and how many headlights does a car need? i have two and do just fine with them. i see vehicles with 4, sometimes 6 headlights coming at me all the time and its like staring into the sun. especially the newer blue-white ones.

my understanding is that the additional lights, usually mounted low in the fenders, are supposed to be like 'road' lights and aren't supposed to blind oncoming traffic, but in practices they do, at least they do me, since i have a smallish low-to-the-ground car.

I'm going to guess what you're seeing is people that replaced their halogen bulbs with some "plug and play"  LED/HID lights but are still using their old halogen headlight assemblies. LED bulbs in these things do not reflect light correctly (but do in an LED assembly) and it's even worse if the bulb was installed at a poor angle. The end result for other drivers is being blinded by basically insanely bright high beams. Heaven forbid they replace the high beams with LEDs too, then you're staring at the sun.

[kphoger]

I'm hesitant to force the people who can barely afford to own a car in the first place to spend extra money on arguably unnecessary repairs.

[zachary_amaryllis]

what's the deal with the super-bright lights? the newer blue-white ones seem like they're in the 'high-beam; range of brightness. and how many headlights does a car need? i have two and do just fine with them. i see vehicles with 4, sometimes 6 headlights coming at me all the time and its like staring into the sun. especially the newer blue-white ones.

my understanding is that the additional lights, usually mounted low in the fenders, are supposed to be like 'road' lights and aren't supposed to blind oncoming traffic, but in practices they do, at least they do me, since i have a smallish low-to-the-ground car.

I'm going to guess what you're seeing is people that replaced their halogen bulbs with some "plug and play"  LED/HID lights but are still using their old halogen headlight assemblies. LED bulbs in these things do not reflect light correctly (but do in an LED assembly) and it's even worse if the bulb was installed at a poor angle. The end result for other drivers is being blinded by basically insanely bright high beams. Heaven forbid they replace the high beams with LEDs too, then you're staring at the sun.

i often drive a twisty mountain road at night, and when these come around the corner, especially with the brights on.. its downright dangerous, i mean, i can see them coming around the curve and have my lights dimmed before they come around the curve. surely they can see me coming the in the same manner? (adjacent hills lit up, powerlines, what have you)