I am writing to urge you to support legislation that would eliminate Pennsylvania’s mandatory annual vehicle safety inspections. This requirement is excessive, unnecessary, and fails to deliver the safety benefits it claims to provide. As a constituent, I believe this outdated mandate represents government overreach, imposes unnecessary financial burdens on Pennsylvanians, and serves primarily as a revenue-generating mechanism rather than a meaningful safety measure.

A 2015 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report concluded that the safety benefits of mandatory vehicle inspections are difficult to quantify, stating that it is challenging to establish a causal relationship between inspection programs and reduced crash rates (GAO-15-705). This aligns with broader research showing that vehicle component failures account for only 2 to 7 percent of crashes nationwide, with driver error being the primary cause in 94 percent of cases (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data). If annual inspections were critical to road safety, we would expect states without such mandates to experience higher crash rates due to mechanical failures. Yet, Pennsylvania is one of only 14 states still requiring annual inspections, while 36 states—including populous states like California, Florida, and Texas (which eliminated inspections in 2025)—operate without them. There is no clear evidence that these states are less safe or suffer higher accident rates due to the absence of mandatory inspections.

This disparity suggests that Pennsylvania’s inspection requirement is less about safety and more about revenue and cronyism. The state collects fees from inspection stickers, while auto repair shops benefit financially from the mandate, often charging for unnecessary repairs. A 2019 analysis by the American Consumer Institute highlighted concerns about fraud and unnecessary repairs in states with mandatory inspections, noting that such programs can become a “money-making scheme” for mechanics, costing drivers billions collectively (The American Consumer Institute, 2019). Mechanics and their associations, who often oppose efforts to eliminate inspections, have a clear conflict of interest, as their livelihoods depend on this mandated business. Their lobbying efforts to maintain the status quo should be viewed skeptically, as they prioritize profit over the public good.

Moreover, Pennsylvania already imposes some of the highest road-use fuel taxes and toll costs in the nation, yet our roads consistently rank among the worst in the country. A 2023 Reason Foundation report ranked Pennsylvania’s highway system 41st nationally, citing poor pavement conditions and high maintenance costs. If the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is genuinely concerned about road safety, it should redirect its efforts and resources toward improving road infrastructure rather than burdening drivers with an outdated and questionable inspection mandate. Modern vehicles are equipped with advanced safety features and diagnostics that alert drivers to issues long before they become hazardous, rendering annual inspections largely redundant for most vehicle owners.

Eliminating mandatory annual vehicle inspections would align Pennsylvania with the majority of states, reduce financial strain on residents, and refocus state efforts on more effective safety measures, such as road improvements. I urge you to support Senator Marty Flynn’s proposed legislation—or introduce similar measures—to modernize Pennsylvania’s vehicle code and eliminate this excessive and unnecessary requirement. Thank you for your attention to this matter and for your service to our community. Please sign the petition: https://www.change.org/p/eliminate-pa-s-annual-vehicle-inspections-a-call-to-action

You can also request a letter from me to send/email to your PA Representatives. I will gladly assist or do it for you.

Sincerely,
Barron Greenwalt

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Sources and Reasoning

1. Excessive and Unnecessary Requirement
   • Source: Senator Marty Flynn’s 2023 proposal to eliminate annual inspections labeled the requirement “excessive” and “unnecessary” (Flynn’s co-sponsorship memorandum, August 2023). This provides a legislative precedent.
   • Reasoning: The term reflects the burden on drivers in terms of time, cost, and lack of proven efficacy, supported by the GAO report.
2. 2015 GAO Report
   • Source: The Government Accountability Office report (GAO-15-705, 2015) found that “the value of annual inspections was hard to quantify, and their impact on reducing vehicle crash rates is even harder to predict.”
   • Reasoning: This directly supports the claim that safety benefits are not substantiated by data, undermining the justification for the mandate.
3. Only 14 States Require Annual Inspections
   • Source: Flynn’s memorandum and various reports (e.g., Repairer Driven News, September 2023) note that Pennsylvania is one of only 14 states with annual inspections. Texas, for example, eliminated its requirement in 2025 (effective January 1, 2025, per Texas House Bill 3297, 2023).
   • Reasoning: The fact that 36 states do not require annual inspections, without evident safety declines, suggests that Pennsylvania’s mandate is not a critical safety measure. While comprehensive comparative crash data across all states is complex and not fully cited here, the lack of a clear correlation is a reasonable inference based on available evidence.
4. Government Overreach and Revenue Generation
   • Source: Flynn noted that the Motor License Fund sees no significant revenue from inspections beyond sticker costs, yet proposed a $15 registration fee to offset losses, implying a revenue focus (Flynn memorandum, 2023). The American Consumer Institute (2019) also critiques inspections as a financial burden on drivers, benefiting the government and mechanics.
   • Reasoning: The inspection program generates fees and supports mechanic businesses, fitting your argument of overreach and revenue generation. The $15 fee proposal reinforces the revenue angle.
5. Fraud and Mechanic Conflicts of Interest
   • Source: The American Consumer Institute (2019) and anecdotal evidence from Texas Rep. Cody Harris (ABC News, 2023) describe inspections as a Ponzi scheme for unnecessary repairs. Opposition from mechanics is noted in media reports (e.g., WPXI, 2023).
   • Reasoning: These sources support your claim of potential fraud and conflicts of interest, as mechanics profit from repairs mandated by inspections they perform.
6. High Fuel Taxes, Toll Costs, and Poor Roads
   • Source: Pennsylvania has the highest gas tax in the Northeast at 58.7 cents per gallon (Tax Foundation, 2023). Toll roads are notoriously expensive (e.g., Pennsylvania Turnpike), and the 2023 Reason Foundation Annual Highway Report ranked Pennsylvania’s roads 41st nationally.
7. Reasoning: This supports the argument that PennDOT should focus on road safety rather than vehicle inspections, as poor road conditions are a more pressing issue.