You asked if Connecticut law has ever required routine, periodic safety inspections for all motor vehicles. If not, you wanted to know if such proposals have been considered in the past.

Connecticut has not ever required all motor vehicles to undergo periodic safety inspections by statute, although the motor vehicle commissioner has had the general authority to examine any motor vehicle, its number, equipment and identification for many years. Instead, Connecticut law has from time to time required certain types of motor vehicles to have safety inspections at certain times. For example, until a few years ago, any vehicle that was 10 or more years old had to undergo a safety inspection upon change of ownership.

Currently, safety inspections are required for (1) “Grey Market” vehicles (certain imported vehicles manufactured with non-U. S. standards) that are 10 years old or older; (2) taxis, ambulances and service buses; (3) composite vehicles that are assembled from parts of other vehicles or the identification and contours of which are so changed that they no longer bear the characteristics of any specific make of vehicle (modified antique and street rod vehicles); (4) salvage vehicles (totaled, reconstructed, or modified); (5) commercial vehicles over 18,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating and commercial trailers over 10,000

pounds gross vehicle weight rating (10 years old or older); (6) wreckers; (7) driver education vehicles; (8) non-commercial trailers over 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating (10 years old or older); (9) homemade trailers; and (10) any vehicle for which a defective equipment warning ticket has been issued by a law enforcement officer.

Legislative proposals to require periodic safety inspections for all motor vehicles have been introduced in the past, but not for several years. Since 1995, there have been two bills proposing this requirement. In 1996, SB 604 would have required all vehicles subject to exhaust emissions inspections to undergo a safety inspection at the time of their emissions inspection. In 1997, SB 115 would have required annual safety inspections for all motor vehicles. Both bills were given public hearings by the Transportation Committee, but no further action was taken on them.

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