DC Safety Inspections to End

The DC Council is about to go along with Mayor Fenty's proposal to end mandatory annual safety inspections for personal vehicles.

The four hundred thousand dollars to fund the Inspections is being cut out of the new fiscal budget that the legislators will begin marking up this week, according to sources.

Councilman Jim Graham says there just isn't enough study to show the inspections are having an impact on pedestrian or vehicle safety.

It's news that will please drivers who simply detest having to drive to Southwest, idle in line, then wait to learn if their vehicles pass or fail Inspection.

People have complained about what appears to be an inconsistency in the outcomes-the time and cost to make minor repairs and media reports of Inspectors taking bribes from cab drivers and others.

Five DMV employees at the Southwest Inspection station were fired this year for allegedly conducting improper inspections. I should point out that emission Inspections will continue every two years--that's federal law.