REPORT ON AN EVALUATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTION

THE MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTION PROGRAMS, AS CONDUCTED, HAVE BROUGHT ABOUT A DECREASE IN DEFECTIVE VEHICLES IN SERVICE. THE CONDITION OF VEHICLES ON THE HIGHWAYS WAS IMPROVED AS A RESULT OF MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTION, AND THIS IMPROVED CONDITION WAS MATERIAL IN REDUCING THE NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS. THE NUMBER OF DEFECTIVE VEHICLES ON THE ROAD CAN BE LOWERED BY A MORE EXTENSIVE INSPECTION AND CORRECTIVE PROCEDURE FOR THE OLDER VEHICLES. THE MECHANISM FOR MAKING OBSERVATIONS OF THOSE VEHICLE DEFECTS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO ACCIDENTS IS NOT WELL ESTABLISHED. THE WEIGHTED NUMERICAL AVERAGE FATALITY RATE IN 1964 WAS 0.513 PER THOUSAND REGISTERED VEHICLES FOR STATES WITH MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTION AND 0.561 FOR THOSE STATES THAT DID NOT PRACTICE MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTION. THIS IS A DIFFERENCE OF 0.048 IN FATALITY RATE PER THOUSAND VEHICLES BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS. THOSE STATES PRACTICING MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTION HAVE A FATALITY RATE THAT IS NEARLY TEN PERCENT LOWER THAN THOSE STATES NOT PRACTICING MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTION. PERIODIC MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTION IS NOW PRACTICED ONLY IN 40 PERCENT OF THE STATES. THERE IS MUCH TO COMMEND A MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTION PROGRAM TO THE STATES THAT DO NOT HAVE INSPECTION AND MUCH TO BE GAINED BY THEIR PARTICIPATION IN SUCH A PROGRAM. /AUTHOR/

• Corporate Authors:

  Coverdale and Colpitts

  140 Broadway
  New York, NY  United States  10005
• Publication Date: 1967-4-14

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Fatalities; Inspection; Motor vehicles; Reduction (Chemistry); Traffic crashes
• Uncontrolled Terms: Programs
• Old TRIS Terms: Reduction
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00219927
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 37 pp
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 27 1994 12:00AM