Economic and Safety Considerations: Motor Vehicle Safety Inspections for Passenger Vehicles in Texas

The objective of this study was to meet legislative needs inquiring about the efficiency and necessity of titling and inspection of vehicles in the state of Texas. This was accomplished through three tasks: quantifying the efficiency of the vehicle inspection program; assessing the safety impact of eliminating the inspection program; and making recommendations on whether the inspection program should be eliminated as an element of vehicle titling. The University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Transportation Research (CTR) conducted a literature review, public opinion survey, and examination of state inspection databases in order to perform the assessments on the economic and safety impacts of eliminating the inspection program. CTR found that average crash costs related to vehicles with defects are more than $2 billion per year, where most defects are vehicle elements which would fail an inspection. CTR also found that if the inspection program were discontinued, station owners would lose net revenue of over $131 million per year, the State of Texas would lose revenue of approximately $150 million per year, and vehicle owners would save approximately $16 per vehicle per year, for a collective savings of $307 million. The public opinion survey showed that the majority (68.6%) of Texas drivers polled believe that the inspection program improves highway safety in Texas. Given the results of the analysis, CTR strongly recommends that the inspection program be retained and that another study be conducted to determine whether additional inspection items should be included in the inspection program.

• Record URL:
  • https://library.ctr.utexas.edu/Presto/catalogid=36647
• Record URL:
  • https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/66897
• Corporate Authors:

  Texas Department of Public Safety

  Texas Division of Emergency Management
  5805 North Lamar Boulevard
  Austin, TX  United States  78752-4422

  University of Texas at Austin. Center for Transportation Research (CTR)

  Austin, Texas  United States 

  Texas Department of Transportation

  Greer Highway Building, 125 East 11th Street
  Austin, TX  United States  78701-2483
• Authors:
  • Murphy, Mike
  • Jiang, Nan
  • Han, Zhe
  • Hazlett, Darren
  • Baumanis, Carolina
  • Ahsan, Ahmed Samiel
  • Machemehl, Randy
  • Zhang, Zhanmin
• Publication Date: 2018-10

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 65p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Economic analysis; Highway safety; Inspection; Motor vehicles; Public opinion; Regulations; Safety analysis; Vehicle safety
• Geographic Terms: Texas
• Subject Areas: Highways; Law; Maintenance and Preservation; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01691602
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: NTL, TRIS, ATRI, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jan 28 2019 10:13AM