MECHANICAL DEFECTS RARELY CAUSE MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS
Many supporters of Maine’s mandatory inspection law mistakenly assume that mechanical problems are responsible for a large proportion of motor vehicle accidents.
Every year, tens of millions of tourists flock to Maine, many of whom arrive in their personal vehicles. Though precise figures are unavailable, it’s reasonable to assume that millions of these visitors drive to Maine from one of the 30 states that have no mandatory safety inspection. In other words, many of the cars that drive on Maine’s roads every year never had to pass a government inspection. The mandate on Maine drivers is a regressive penalty for living in the state, instead of just visiting.
A Government Accountability Office (GAO) review of six rigorous studies examining vehicle safety inspection programs published since 1990 found no statistically significant difference in crash rates, fatalities, or injuries between states with and without inspection programs.
From 2005 to 2007, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conducted a study on the cause of motor vehicle accidents across the nation. Investigators sought to pinpoint the “critical” reason—the last event in the crash causal chain—for such accidents. Though the data is more than 15 years old, it remains the best source we have to evaluate causal factors in motor-vehicle crashes.
Out of more than 2 million accidents included in the study, vehicle component failures were responsible for only 2% (44,000). Of that small proportion, tire/wheel failure accounted for about 35% of crashes. Brake-related problems accounted for about 22%, and steering/suspension/transmission/engine-related problems were assigned as critical reasons in only 3% of such crashes. Other vehicle-related issues made up about 40% of such crashes.
In Maine, vehicular mechanical failures are such a minor factor in collisions that the state Department of Transportation just started including them in their most recent crash statistics report published in 2019. Of course, there is potential for a crash to be caused by more than one factor, but the report shows little more than 3% of the accidents from 2015 to 2019 involved a vehicular issue. Those involving tire, wheel, steering, suspension, transmission, or brake issues made up only 1.75% of the five-year total. Crashes involving the influence of alcohol, drugs, or medication made up 2.67% of all crashes in that five-year period.
Maine law also gives Maine State Police authority to determine if a driver is operating a “defective vehicle.” If an officer deems that the “vehicle is unsafe for operation because it poses an immediate hazard to an occupant of the vehicle or the general public,” the driver can be charged with a misdemeanor. This need not be tied to an inspection requirement. Of course, law enforcement should not be conducting 20-point inspections on the side of the road, but with the goal of protecting public safety, the law already provides plenty of enforcement authority.