Keystone State Thread

Ever been to Alabama? I saw some stuff on the roads down there that literally scared the s**t out of me! Chains across a hood to hold it shut. A tire with cords visible on the interstate at 75+ mph.

 

People like that should have been aborted. The problem is there alot of them on the road. Even in jersey

 

I don't have an issue with the idea of a state ordered safety inspection for vehicles provided it's done properly. I believe DE had a program where the actual inspection is done by the state police and the owner is simply told what repairs are needed to be compliant. By taking it away from garages or dealers this takes away the profit motive and keeps it more honest IMHO. I had my state inspection license in PA for over 20 years just for something to fall back on but never actually worked at an inspection station. I've seen shops tell me something needed repaired or replaced when I knew damned well it was in compliance. Called some of them out on it as well.

 

Can anyone point me to the actual PA inspection requirements for things like tire tread depth and brake pad thickness? I found PUB-45, but all it says is there may be no metal on metal brake pad contact. I have a shop telling my wife the rear brakes won't pass, but I just looked at them a few weeks ago and they were not worn down beyond the split in the lining.

 

2/32nd for pads and tread, though I'd replace both long before then. Tires can fail for other reasons like sidewall cracks.

 

Unless it's changed recently, and I don't think it has, Brake pads or shoes and tire tread must exceed 2/32" to pass.

 

I believe NJ is like that or used to be. State Inspection stations and then you took it to where you wanted or fixed it yourself and had it reinspected.

 

I'm hopeful that they can pass the "newer than 7 year" (or w/e the age) bill that eliminates emissions on those since anything newer than even 10 years would most likely pass on a normal day. However like many stated it's a revenue stream for those counties so I don't forsee this happening yet.

I think a few states have a 2 year inspection which I would be all for, I'd rather pay $40 every two years than yearly.

Obviously a lot of us do our own work when we can so repairing and finding things wrong we just fix it, but others who are oblivious cause problems when they wreck and drive without proper registration/insurance/license

my brother is still waiting for compensation from the person who side-swiped him back in April (no insurance and bro didn't have Comp :/ )

Tires I think are >2mm to pass (I think 3-4 is hitting the wear marks)

brakes I think are around the same, like 2mm?

 

Here is a link that gets you to the 2020 version of the state inspection code book.

https://www.dot.state.pa.us/public/...als/Pub_45 Inspections Regulations/PUB-45.pdf

Good luck!

BTW, in PA you can't run wheel spacers thicker than 1/4"......It's in there!

 

Yeah, I hold PennDOT in the same regard that I hold the typical homeowner's association. When I buy my first house, I will go out of my way to find one that isn't in a neighborhood with an HOA, because I don't think anyone should tell me what I can and can't do to my property unless they're paying the mortgage.

Unless it is something that is obviously unsafe, I don't think government bureaucrats have any right to tell me what I can't do to my truck. The title is in my name, and I pay the insurance and registration...

Wheel spacers? Really?

The other thing that really pisses me off is window tint, though Pennsylvania isn't the worst offender. New Jersey apparently doesn't allow any tint on the front windows, so my truck is technically illegal. I routinely drive into NJ, but I live in Pennsylvania and my truck is registered in Pennsylvania, so I don't really give a shit what the law enforcement there thinks and I've never had a problem.

I know a guy who had a Hyundai Gensesis with window tint that was illegal in Pennsylvania, and he got pulled over all the time. However, he was making enough money that he just kept paying $150 tickets and didn't remove his tint. I think that the bored suburban cops in my area really need to pick their battles...

The excuse for window tint laws that I've most commonly heard is that it's for the safety of police during traffic stops. I don't carry a gun and I don't have anything in my truck that I'm not suppsosed to have; I also drive a regular cab Tacoma with room for two adults. There isn't really much space to hide anyone or anything. This may sound a bit harsh, but it's my truck, titled in my name, and I don't really give a shit about window tint laws. That said, my window tint is legal in Pennsylvania, but I think that window should be a secondary violation. Unless someone is speeding or otherwise driving dangerously, police should not be able to pull somebody over just because their window tint is too dark.

 

I think the issue with window tint goes beyond police safety. I've been in a car with very dark tint on the front windows and can tell you it seriously hampered visibility at night. There is absolutely no justification for that in my mind. With rights come responsibilities and you must be able to see out of a vehicle that you're going to operate on a public road. A line needs to be drawn somewhere or you always have that one person who will take it to an extreme.

I'm not in favor of police just arbitrarily pulling people over for for really petty and minor stuff either but as far as your friend with the Genesis and the local cops picking their battles, it just sounds to me like he's making it easy for that township to make their budget! His money, his choice.

 

I would agree, but I think window tint should be whatever the driver of the vehicle is comfortable with. I don't have any tint on the windshield and never will, only the side windows and the rear slider. There are no limits on rear windows, and my dad wants to limo tint the rear windows of his Yukon.

 

I do like that nj did away with inspection on motorcycles. Not that I ever did get my motorcycles inspected when they were doing it. However my truck hasn't had a inspection sticker on it for nearly 2 years. But since I've had this job I haven't drove my truck in 3 months.

 

Afternoon Pennsylvania

 

Just PMd you

 

Thanks everybody!

 

Good morning. Off to Rogers, Ohio with the family in a few hours. The wife wants to see what they have for sale.

 

northeast pa. here.. 2 miles south of binghamton N.Y. my property line is the state border

 

Welcome from SW PA. enjoy the group.

 

Welocme.