– sorry for the repost, i accidentally replied to my own post instead of creating a new one.
I know the location of a car’s inspection sticker varies depending on the state (US) you are registered. I live in Massachusetts and I recently saw a car that had its inspection sticker on the rear window and the usual location is the lower right hand side of the wind shield.
Are there some exceptions that allow for the sticker to put in the rear, or is an option of the car owner?
There is no option for this. The sticker on the back could have been a temp one until they passed inspection.
This is a great thread to ask this question - Vermonters, what is that shiny sticker I see on the front center of all your cars? Is that your version of EZ Pass? It’s right under where the rearview mirror would be.
As far as I know there are no toll roads in VT.
Stupid question – why a sticker? Don’t you have a license plate and a sticker on the plate with the expiration year? So, like, you don’t get that sticker without an inspection? Why a separate sticker?
No it was not temp sticker. If the car failed inspection it would have a big “R” on it instead of the month #. If it’s not an option, then my guess is it has something to do with the slope of the windsheild, but I’m really not sure.
If it matters, it was on a Volvo wagon.
Good point, as far as I know you cannot have one without the other, or rather one is no good w/o the other. But the sticker on the plate indicates that the car is registered, and the sticker on the windshield indicates that it is mechanically sound.
Many states do not have a sticker of any kind on the license plate. New York doesn’t for sure. We have an inspection sticker and a registration sticker that have to go on the front window.
That’s the problem with the U.S.: too often the only way to answer a question is to poll all fifty states.
I’m from California, and we don’t have any kind of inspection except Smog Check which just checks exhaust levels at idle and under load. I don’t even know why other states(and countries) bother with inspections. Methinks it’s just a way to extort more money, because an annual inspection is unlikely to reveal anything urgent (if it just happens to happen on that day of the year) and just general wear and tear things they might not catch do not pose a significant safety hazard (or Californians would be significantly more likely to suffer because our cars are not inspected).
Is it just smog in other states too and they call it “inspection”?I know in other countries they actually check breaks, lights, clutches, etc. and that’s pretty ridiculous if you ask me.
I live in Kentucky now, and lived in Indiana for ten years before that. Neither state had vehicle inspections at all, so there were no stickers anywhere for it. Both states do have license plate stickers for registration–you have to pay for a new sticker every year for the years when they don’t issue new plates. The only vehicle “inspection” I’ve ever had to do in the last 15 years was when we moved to Kentucky, and the sherriff’s office had to confirm that the VIN on the vehicle I was registering matched the title and the sales certificate.
I grew up in North Carolina, though, and while they have since done away with the annual vehicle inspections, it was a requirement that the inspection sticker be in the front window–I think on the driver’s side. The inspections were a joke though. I used to drive a delapidated VW bug that was many years beyond its expected life span. I took it in annually for its inspection, though. One inspection was particularly notable–immediately after being issued the sticker stating that the car was drivable, one of the front axles broke as I was pulling out of the station’s driveway. :dubious:
Something else to consider: In Europe, it is a requirement that all vehicles have a pocket inside the front window with an insurance statement in it. It makes it much easier to tell which cars are not insured, and it doesn’t seem that such a step would be unreasonable here in the States, either. I would rather do that so that 1) I always know where the insurance card is for the car I am driving (Mr. Kiminy usually hides it someplace strange in the car, or simply keeps it in his wallet.) and 2) I only need one copy of the insurance card.
I meant to say France here, not Europe. And this statement applies to when I was living there in the late 1980’s. Things may have changed since then, especially with all the EU stuff going on now.
We have inspections and registration in Texas. It is not necessary to have one to have the other (but you do need to show proof of liability insurance to get each), but you do need to keep both up to date.
Registration is just a tax essentially. Up until 15 or so years ago, you got a small sticker to put on your license plate. Citing a problem with theft of these stickers off of plates, we were switched to stickers that go on the lower driver’s side of the windshield. Many parts of the state have switched again, to new stickers that can be printed on demand at the banks and grocery stores at which you can pay your registration fee. these stickers are a little larger than the previous ones and have an adhesive that’s not entirely unlike scotch tape.
Inspections in Texas cost $12.50 (I think). The goal of an inspection is not to make sure that the car is running sound or to find any mechanical problems cropping up, but rather to make sure the car is street legal – it has the required headlights, taillights, blinkers, reverse lights, seatbelts, brakes, etc. In counties with a popultation over a certain threshold, a smog test is done as well, and costs something like an extra $16. The fees must be paid even if you fail the inspection. The inspection sticker is placed above, below, or next to the registration sticker on the windshield.
Illinois has a registration sticker on the license plate. Some counties (near Chicago and St. Louis, primarily) do smog inspections, but I’m not familiar with that.
Well, in Michigan registration and plating serves much more than just collecting taxes. It ensures that your car is legal for use on the road. It currently only means that (1) the car is legally owned by someone; (2) the car is insured. It used to mean in my area that (3) smog check is okay. I wish-wish-wish that it also meant (4) that turn signals, horns, headlights, and tail lights worked; and I kind of wish that (5) even though there’s no smog check, you can’t billow clouds of smoke check.
We used to have an expiration month sticker and a separate expiration year sticker. Now it’s just a single sticker. In addition, we only have a single, rear plate.
I guess what I don’t understand in states that have different stickers is, why can’t they simplify everything and tie your inspection with your plate? Without either, you’re not road legal, right?
In Tennessee, you must have your car inspected before it can be registered. Something else I’ve noticed that may be different. Tennesse has actual inspection stations, instead of just taking your car to a mechanic to be inspected. Then once it’s inspected, you take the inspection to the county clerk and get a new sticker which goes on the license plate. Inspection consists of checking the lights, brakes, windshield wipers, windshield, and emissions(and I think that’s it).
-Lil
New York used to have registration stickers on passenger cars. But in 1973 they switched to window registration. I believe for two reasons.
I laud all states that have inspections. There would be people who would drive around with threadbare/no brakes if they could get away with it here because they didn’t want to pay for the repairs.
People keep forgetting driving is a privilege, not a right, and it is reasonable for the state to demand you keep a sound vehicle on the road.