Texas Ditches Annual Safety Inspections:
Goodbye Stress, Hello $7.50!
Starting Jan. 1, Texas drivers can breathe a little easier (unless you live in one of the bigger counties – but we’ll get to that). That yearly ritual of finding time between work, life, and binge-watching to get your car inspected is officially history.
But don’t pop the confetti just yet—there’s a catch. While the inspection itself is no more, the state will still slap you with a $7.50 “inspection replacement fee” when you register your car.
The Urban Reality Check
If you’re chilling in one of the 17 most crowded counties in the state: Brazoria, Collin, Dallas, Ellis, El Paso, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Johnson, Kaufman, Montgomery, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis and Williamson… you’re not completely off the hook. Sure, you can skip the full-on vehicle inspection, but you’ll still need to pass an emissions test to register your ride. Think of it as your car’s yearly “breathing test”—the state wants to make sure your exhaust isn’t turning Texas skies into a hazy oil painting.
The emissions test involves checking your car’s engine and exhaust to make sure you’re not over-polluting. It’s kind of like making sure you don’t embarrass yourself with to much of that 1980’s Drakkar Noir.
The New Texas Tradition
So, with annual inspections vanishing faster than a Blockbuster video rental (RIP), you’ll still need that shiny new windshield sticker. The state’s clever $7.50 “inspection replacement fee” is basically a way to make sure we all remember the good ol’ days of inspections… but without the actual inspection.
Maintenance? Yes, Still a Thing.
So, while you might be able to skip the annual inspection line at the mechanic’s, it’s still a good idea to give your car a once-over now and then. And, hey, who doesn’t enjoy being the proud owner of a functioning set of brakes and headlights?
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