Keystone State Thread

When I first started driving PA state inspections were every 6 months! That was excessive to say the least. Commercial stuff is still set up like that but with heavy loads and lots of miles used I can sort of understand it. They went to annual inspections sometime in the 80's and emissions inspections came about later so not it's 2 inspections, one for "safety" and one for emissions. My experience has shown each shop seems to have their own little "thing" they always find wrong and want fixed. Wiper blades are a good example. If they're torn or badly damaged or worn they fail. I get it, they likely should be replaced but at some places they'll automatically tell you yours need replaced without even looking at them.

I felt really bad for the young man next door to me. His folks are NOT car people. About 2 years ago he bought his first car, a used VW Jetta, and after he brought it home they asked me if I would go over it with him just so he could learn more about it. I made him pull all 4 tires using the factory jack and tools just so I could make sure he understood how they worked. It needed some small stuff but nothing that rendered it unsafe or that needed immediate attention including a valve cover leak. It had good inspection so he didn't need that done until the next year. When that came around they took the car to a VW dealer for inspection. They came up with over 3k in repairs in order to pass and the kid paid it. He spent almost what he bought the car for getting it inspected! They made him get the valve cover leak repaired and that's not part of state inspection and could not fail over that. I asked if that included the lube as they screwed him hard. As stated his folks know zip about cars so they told him to go to the dealership with it.

I use a small local shop I've been dealing with for years and have a good rapport with. Our stuff usually flies right through needing nothing to pass. We usually let them rotate the tires while it's on the lift and let them make a few bucks off us like that to be fair. I'll take them stuff sometimes also I just don't have time for or don't fell like messing with as I understand they need to make profit to stay in business. Once you find a decent shop you need to work with them and hope they work with you.

 

Morning Pennsylvania

 

So talking to my mechanic about inspections, the Commonwealth is now asking them to take pictures of "obviously modified" vehicles at inspection. FOr instance, a jeep comes in with 4" of lift rolling on stock wheels and tires. Picture. LE in this area are pulling people over for wheels sticking past fenders, etc with valid inspection stickers. The inspection station is supposed to provide "proof" that the vehicle met standards when inspected.

Outside of the local LE pulling people over for modified vehicles, I don't know how many times the Commonwealth has come after an inspection station.

 

I'd be okay with them if the mandatory safety inspections made any measurable difference in traffic safety. Germany, for instance, doesn't have safer-than-us highways because of their inspections; they have safer roads because drivers tend to be better. The things that you mention are good to inspect are things every operator should do on their own. If a mechanical failure due to negligence of maintenance caused damage to another's property, let that be handled on a case by case basis. But a one-day-snapshot look at the mechanics of a car will not stop 98% or 99% of accidents - which are never about speed; never about 'following too closely' and never about anything remotely mechanical - it's driver error. If we want safer roads, we need to ensure only competent people drive. As-is, states with vehicle inspection requirements do so however-well-meaning - but they do it for one reason: control or the illusion of control. I think we'd be a lot safer if re revamped the rules of the road. Make driving in the left lane while not-passing a $1000 fine. Make passing on the right a $750 fine. Make people earn their driver's license on a race track - ensure they have at least a bare minimum control of their cars under various situations. Graduate licensing - with the top license earners having no speed limit, ability to pass on the shoulder, and more - and 85% of drivers with a lower license - one that may prevent them from driving beyond their means...and some mf'ers - no driving at night. Maybe if they removed 90% of the 'safey features' in cars. Make people check their own blind-spots. Make people 100% responsible for the safe operation of their cars. I'd probably support a 5-year ban on all brake lights and turn signals in an effort to shift people from excuse-driven-poor behaviour (I-I hit him because he didn't signal!" etc), and make - and force people not not react with a pavolovian response to blinky lights. Make people actually watch the other cars and learn to anticipate their actions and respond. Yeah, there'd likely be some carnage in the beginning...but the point is - we've taken away from the driver some of the most-basic safety skills...number one may be "If you don't pay attention, the car won't do it for you, and you might die." But I'm not super opinionated on the subject

It's all crooked. It's about compliance and elevating things like 'safety', as a virtue, to a place it doesn't belong, and then theft of citizen resources to achieve that *feeling* of control/safety.

 

it's just beyond my ability to comprehend how the citizens let their leaders get away with shit like that. If there was no money at stake for the .gov, it'd never happen. Looks like we have work to do, gents

 

My ex wife mother told her to go to the dealer to get the brakes done. I remember getting a call from her crying saying they are charging like 1800$. Dealers a rip offs. I showed up to the dealer to find out why it's so much. They replaced her tires without even asking. I made them remove the tires and only charge me for the brakes. They said her tires were no good. Meanwhile I just had replaced the tires with brand new Michelins not even 3k miles on them. I'll never trust dealership. I reamed them out about that. And on top of it all the put some no name Chinese tires on the car. I'll say this again dealers suck. They prey on woman and people they know nothing about cars.

 

I might be no mechanic but I know my way around a car pretty good. The only time anyone should go to the dealer is for warranty and recall work. Other than that find a good mechanic that won't rip you off. My local mechanic is always booked up like 3 weeks in advance but that just shows you he's a good mechanic. He's honest I've taking my truck to him to have a couple things looked at that was out of my experience. Only to get a call saying your trucks good no charge. I know good mechanic are hard to come by. But when you find one stick with them. I hat doing drum brakes I bring my truck to him for that.

 

I did some bracket racing as well. I was terrible at it! I went the autocross and then hillclimb route instead.

 

The brine trucks are out today in my area. Are we expecting some "weather" in Montgomery Co.? I missed the memo.

 

yeah. late friday night into saturday morning. supposed to be 1-3 inches.

 

I moved from wheelin to 1/4 mile to autocross to track days, to wheelin.

 

Awesome. Perfect cabin weather!

 

A lot of the sentiment here was a big motivator for me to do a brief stint as a professional driving instructor. Teaching people meaningful things about themselves and their vehicles, was priceless. So many of them coming in didn't know what weight distribution was or how is changed in a threshold braking situation. Those were some of the most rewarding times of my life.

Then, when you throw in the programs that do things like motorcade training and barricade breaching, that's slightly a little fun, too.

 

I did okay and think if I'd stuck with it I could have done better. I just always had that itch to go faster and bracket racing is more about consistency. Figured out I could go a lot quicker on 2 wheels and get good fuel mileage and that was the end of that. Always wanted to try road racing on a bike but now I'm a bit more risk averse and don't heal so fast anymore.

 

Around state college Pa. They look for stuff like that to pull you over then the game starts #1 have you been drinking #2 seat belts on #3 window tint
#4 Tires sticking out from truck body
it’s a college town not sure about lately but for a good 5-10 years we had some cops every year would make the local paper with the most DUI arrests in all of PA.

 

I have been decorating my Tacoma for Christmas every year since 2019, and until Thanksgiving Eve of 2023, I could proudly say that I'd never been pulled over for it even operating a vehicle with Christmas lights on a public road in Pennsylvania is illegal.

My first mistake was going out on Thanksgiving Eve; I was out with my girlfriend @Stitchgirl90 after a night of DoorDashing, and we were driving through Souderton, PA.

I have driven through Souderton numerous times over the years, but rarely at night and never with the Christmas lights on that I can remember.

I was in a 25 MPH zone in the Borough, and I was doing less than 30. In PA, you must be going 6 MPH or more over the speed limit to get points on your license, and 5 MPH over is what people get the charge reduced to so they don't get points.

I don't know where this cop was hiding, but I was just ambling along the main drag in Souderton. As I approached a red light at a 3-way intersection, I saw a cop hauling ass down the hill quite a good distance behind me. You'd think he'd just seen a shitbox with one headlight out and an expired inspection sticker, swerving in and out of its lane, and doing at least 15 MPH over the posted speed limit; I commented to Amanda about the cop and said "no way in hell he's coming after me..."

Well, the cop disappeared, or at least I thought he did. There was one other vehicle behind me and he'd turned his lights off so as not to make them think they were getting pulled over. The light turned green, the vehicle behind me went straight, I turned left, and the cop turned left as well and put his lights on again.

I knew exactly why I was getting stopped before he came to my window. Recently, in both PA and NJ, police have been approaching stopped vehicles on the passenger side. On at least one occasion, I've had to tell a cop who stopped me that my truck doesn't have power windows, and he was kind enough to come over to the driver's side.

This time, Amanda was obviously with me, so she rolled down the passenger window; I looked at the cop and said "Lemme guess? It's the lights?" He confirmed my suspicion. I handed over my license, along with the insurance and registration for the Taco, and asked him to please not give me a ticket because I was unemployed and I couldn't afford it. He assured me he would not be giving me a ticket.

My girlfriend is epileptic, and flashing emergency lights can trigger a seizure. She hasn't had a seizure in close to a decade thanks to good medication, but she was starting to freak out and hid under her jacket for the remainder of the traffic stop.

I pride myself on keeping everything on my truck in order (inspection, insurance, registration, etc) so as NOT to make it a target for bored small town LEOs. The cop ended up beckoning me out of the truck to show him how I had the lights rigged up, and he was more impressed than anything. He said that some cops were jerks and would make me remove the lights on the spot, and also told me to be careful and get home soon because it was probably the worst night to be driving (again, Thanksgiving Eve).

I will NEVER stop decorating my truck for Christmas. Everybody I've told about the traffic stop is absolutely shocked that it's illegal, especially since Christmas lights on vehicles (especially Jeeps and pickup trucks) are quite common these days.

My takeaway from that encounter is that I only have the wreath and bullbar lights on when I'm driving anywhere North of Hatfield. The area between Hatfield and Bethlehem is now a no-go zone for having the entire truck lit up; I've never had a problem in Quakertown or Perkasie, but those places are right near Souderton, and I don't want to chance it. Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton police have also been pretty cool in my opinion.

New Jersey is also a no-go with the exception of crossing the Delaware River from New Hope, PA to Lambertville, NJ and then going immediately back into New Hope.

I had never previously had a problem in Jersey, but one time last year I was delivering a DoorDash order from New Hope to a hotel well into Jersey. I passed a bunch of cops who were dealing with either an accident or a broken down vehicle, a few of them gave me less-than-friendly looks upon seeing my festive Tacoma. The looks said "we'd pull you over if we didn't have a more pressing matter to deal with", and needless to say, I no longer turn on all the Christmas lights on in NJ...

 

After 30 years, the Wawa on 611 in Warrington no longer
exists! This is not my picture; I found it on Facebook...

 

another reason for me not to enter NJ unless i absolutely have to.

 

I think that emissions testing in PA is a crock of shit; I think safety inspections are kind of stupid as well because I actually take care of my truck and don't feel like I should be being a mechanic to tell me that my truck is in perfect working order.

On another note, my truck has "illegally wired foglights" that are aftermarket and only "illegal" because they aren't wired to turn off when the high-beams are turned on. My mechanic installed my fog lights, so he just slaps an inspection sticker on my truck anyway; I've delivered some DoorDash orders out in the boonies where street lights and pavement markings tend to be nonexistent, so the ability to use both the fog lights and the high-beams simultaneously comes in very handy!

My truck has never failed an emissions test, and the only time it technically failed a safety inspection was last August when my mechanic discovered that one of the original sway bar links had rusted through. He put the emissions sticker on the truck, and put a safety sticker on it the very next day after installing new sway bar links.

 

Don't even get me started. The only reason I go into Jersey is because I have family there. When my girlfriend lived there, I got pulled over twice by state troopers in six days!

The first time, I had gone to a cars & coffee and Gateway Classic Cars in Paulsboro and then drove to my girlfriend's place in Washington Township; I got pulled over by a state trooper for "failure to maintain lane", which in my opinion translates to "fairly light pickup truck at highway speeds on a cold and windy day." Once it was established that I hadn't been drinking, I was let go with a warning. That was on January 29th, 2023; I picked up my girlfriend in Washington on February 6th and then we drove to my grandma's in Edison...

In Pennsylvania, the speed limit on the turnpike is 70 MPH, and in my experience PA troopers tend to leave you alone if you stay below 85; I generally set my cruise control for 75-80 on the PA turnpike.

In Jersey, the speed limit is still 65 MPH; I was doing 81 in the left lane, and when the trooper got in behind me, I immediately got into the right lane. When he changed lanes and got behind me, I knew I was screwed...

The red and blue lights came on, I pulled and over, and was told that I'd been stopped for 81 in a 65 and yet again, "failure to maintain lane"...

I've had my driver's license since May 2011, and it took until May 2017 for me to get pulled over for the first time; I've been driving the way I've been driving for almost 13 years, and I've never been stopped for failure to maintain lane. It is worth noting that it was cold and windy both time I got stopped in Jersey; I ended up with a greatly reduced ticket for only $55 for my second Jersey traffic stop that did not go on my record, so I just paid it online. I still do not feel comfortable driving in New Jersey because of those two encounters...