It’s almost as if “pro-life” Republicans use that label as cover for pro-death policies. The latest case in point is the state of Texas repealing requirements for safety inspections for noncommercial vehicles, as of Jan. 1. The fee remains part of a vehicle’s registration cost, though.
Texas roads have not become so safe that there’s no need for laws to make them less perilous. In reality, the state’s roads are “notoriously dangerous,” The Texas Tribune reports. “At least one person dies on a Texas road each day. According to the most recent state data, 4,283 people were killed in auto crashes in Texas during 2023. Based on the reported crashes in 2023, one person was killed on a Texas roadway about every two hours.”
It’s quite likely that required safety inspections helped keep the roads from becoming even more deadly dangerous:
A study mandated by the Texas Legislature in 2017 shows that cars with defects, such as bald tires or bad brakes, were three years older than the average registered vehicle, which is nine years old.
