Just look how good emission testing is. When it first started you drove on to the dyno, they put a O2 sensor in the tail pipe, plugged you in, tested the gas cap. Now, they plug in to your OBD port and print out our pass or fail.

well..Heres my stance on it.Inspections.Glad MI doesnt have them because im no saint when it comes to emissions.But SAFTEY INSPECTIONS sense it seems 70% of the population has no idea what a spark plug is.yes i honestly agree with steve yeah saftey inspections every 6 months to a year should be done..weather or not you know cars or not.If you know your car and maintain it then no worry go get inspected pass and have a nice day.There are many people who knowingly or unknowingly have issues with their cars and neglect them.sometimes stuff happens.yet while worring about seat belts and burned out light bulbs making sure you ball joints and tie rods arent on the brink of failure are just as important

In the UK any cars over 3 years old are required to pass an annual safety inspection known as the MOT test. The test covers steering and suspension, tires, brake performance & balance, seat belts, air bags, wipers, washers & lights (including headlamp alignment), windshields, emissions & gas cap, also corrosion affecting any of the above.
Light vans and taxis have to pass more frequent tests, London hackney carriages have particularly strict standards, buses and goods vehicles over 3500 kilograms gross weight also have much more rigorous standards.
Part of the British driving test now is lifting the bonnet (hood) and identifying where to check water, oil, brake fluid & screenwasher levels.
I think this is a good idea in principle although it can be abused by some rogue repair shops, the government department responsible for administering the system make frequent unannounced checks on the shops licenced for these checks and also fix the fee for this test.
I understand that Scandanavian countries, Germany and Japan among others set higher pass standards than the UK.
I think I'm preaching to the choir on this forum in saying it'* our responsibility to keep our cars roadworthy, unfortunately there are some who wouldn't trouble to look after their vehicles if not obliged to by law. There are those who don't bother anyway, often they don't take out insurance either.
When I first visited the USA I was amazed at the wrecks I saw being driven round Texas, lights missing, cracked windshields and several cars being driven on two or more emergency spacesaver spare wheels.
It is a PITA for the majority who keep up with maintenance having to submit their cars for inspection and pay for the privelege but we live in a society and rules are required for society to function. We all have a responsibility to uphold the law, if the laws are recognised as fair and reasonable most people are happy to comply

Not in Florida. Just gas and go. The entire time I lived in Florida I never had my car inspected for safety.

Now, in MO your car has to pass inspection (safety & emissions) to register it when it'* bought and every time you renew it (1 or 2 years).

I don't agree with emissions testing so when I was in Missouri I went to a family friend that was a licensed inspector. He would inspect the safety stuff, and that'* it. Never gave me any grief for my emissions crap.

you also have alot of shady shops that do inspections around here that will tell you your car is falling apart to drum up business. they are told there supposed to scrape the old sticker off first thing during an inspection and then your stuck for the most part

NJ stopped them last year. When I had my '92 Town Car I got failed for a hair line crack in the tail light (which was fixed with the red tape stuff) and my drivers side window that wouldn't go down. Emissions on that boat were well under the levels. I just scrapped the sticker off totally and drove like that until it finally died.

Now before that I bought an 86 Buick Century off a guy for $200 that had it registered and inspected as a "historic vehicle". That car was definitely not safe. No mirrors, the drivers door didn't close, dry rotted tires, broken brake line (which I immediately fixed), oh and no exhaust. As in at the end of the exhaust manifold there were no pipes! Loud as hell, drove like garbage, but it lasted me an entire summer.... until it caught on fire. But that old iron duke still ran after being sprayed with a fire truck!

When I worked at Sears Auto for a winter they were huge about scrapping the sticker immediately and to tear the car apart. And then even if the brakes, suspension, tires, battery were "nominally safe" try to get them to replace things because they "might not make it another year". We are lucky here to have a dense enough population to fall under PA Emissions testing, one of the few counties exempted. But glad they do have an inspection sticker. It'* the only thing that get sopme people to act. Too many rednecks here that just soon drive a loose tie rod till it fails or feel a tire is good till it blows.

I like the idea of making a driver show he knows all the key components and fluid levels in a drivers test. They should include changing a tire as well.