Is your car safe to drive on Virginia’s roads?

Almost 1.7 million vehicles in Virginia failed their safety test in 2018 — that is one in every five. The Keep Virginia Roads Safe campaign is fighting proposals from some Virginia lawmakers to do away with or reduce the frequency of vehicle safety inspections. 

When so many people who have been injured, or lost loved ones in car crashes, allowing unsafe vehicles onto the roads does not seem to make sense, although those behind the plan argued there was no evidence to prove that vehicle inspections reduced accidents.

If you get in your car and take it out onto Virginia’s roads you have a responsibility to do so safely. So does every other driver out there. When was the last time you crawled under you car or looked under the hood? Do you know, without going out and checking, how much tread is left on your tires? For many of you reading this, the answer is going to be no to all those questions. As cars have become more complicated to fix, and more reliable to run, people are less involved with their cars than they were 30 years ago.

Tires keep you safe. Brake pads keep you safe. Hydraulic fluids keep you safe. Suspension keeps you safe. Not only do they keep you safe, but they keep other road users safe. All these three things affect your ability to stop and avoid a crash. Other parts of your car keep you safe in different ways: Lights and horns let other road users know you are there and turn signals let other road users know what you are doing. Windscreen wiper blades and mirrors help you see clearly. Seats and seat belts help keep you safe if you do crash.

If someone causes you to have a car accident in Virginia, take a moment to consider if they inadvertently caused it by driving an unsafe car.