I wonder if he was frustrated by an impossible to understand testing process, so felt like being placed in untenable position? Gov’t: “Do what I say, don’t ask why, either that or you can’t drive your car!!!” If he understood exactly why his car failed, and was given a clearly stated and unambiguous list of common sense options to effect a fix, he might not have gone to all that trouble.
One fed or state legislator cannot pass legislation. Maybe he simply raised the issue of the bogus reasons for the whole scheme and others agreed. Shining a bright light as they say.
Steve Cohen represents a district that is mostly poverty stricken minorities. At the time, he had an old Ford Crown Vic. It failed emissions at a state run inspection station. People there are not qualified to make a diagnosis.
He took it to a mechanic who told him it would cost at least $1000 to fix. As far as I know, he did not get second opinion. Although he is a US Congressman, he had enough influence in the state legislature to close down all the state inspection stations and do away with the safety inspection requirement because his constituents could not afford to comply.
Edit: this was quite a while ago but he may have actually spent the money to get it fixed but it still didn’t pass and that was part of his drive.
It’s interesting that at the same time some folks in Minneapolis think that poor people should not have to pay fines for parking, no current registration, and other crimes against humanity. It’s not fair that people can’t afford to pay their fines so they say. No one dares bring up emmission inspections anymore. Emmission inspections were seen to be less than effective but people should have to pay their fines.
Reminds me, the highway patrol stopped me for going 70 in a 55 so the fine was about $125. The guy had a heart and said I didn’t have to pay it for 30 days though. I said naw I’ll just pay it now, I’ll be in Europe then. Heh heh. Just because I wasn’t driving a new car . . .
There s kind of the same thing going on here, except they think everyone should pay their fines. But it used to be that if you still owed on a fine, you could not get your license back. Now as long as you are making payments on your fines, you can get your license back.
That really only applies to a few people who actually pay their fines eventually. If you are involved in an accident in Memphis or Shelby County, there is something like a 70% chance the driver at fault will not have insurance and something like a 60% chance they don’t have a license.
The last driver that hit and destroyed my truck and a Saturn behind it and sent two women to the ER and permanently handicapped one of them had no insurance, no drivers license and no registration on the her F350. No permanent address either.
Uhhh Can we presume you didn’t ignore that one letter? Are you surprised you didn’t receive more after getting yours replaced?
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Can not remember for sure, but think I got several for passenger side airbag, updating that replacement airbag was still pending.
Think it was nearly a year for production to catch up with demand.
Yes, police here in Calif will stop a car for certain safety violations, e.g. if there’s a tail-light out. But that’s not nearly the same thoroughness as a shop safety inspection. When I lived in Colorado, the shop will put the car on a lift and do a visual check the underside to make sure the car’s structure is sound, probe for underlying structural rust, generally make sure nothing is about to fall off. They’ll check that all the exterior lights work (headlight, tail-lights, license plate light, side-markers) & other misc items, like the windshield wipers and blades. They’ll also pull one of the drums for drum-brake vehicles, checking that the drum isn’t scored & the shoes remain within spec.