Missouri House perfects substitute to end most routine vehicle safety inspections

The Missouri House on Wednesday perfected a House committee substitute that would eliminate most routine state motor vehicle safety inspections, proponents said, while opponents urged caution and cited research suggesting inspections may reduce roadway fatalities.

The motion, presented on the floor as a combined substitute for House bills 18 38, 16 92, 16 95, 19 83, 20 36, 26 62 and 27 43, was renewed and adopted after lawmakers adopted a drafting amendment. "House bill 18 38, 16 92, 16 95, 19 83, 20 36, 26 62, and 27 43 are designed to eliminate mandatory vehicle safety inspections in Missouri," the bill sponsor (identified in the transcript as the Lady from Barton) said in opening remarks.

Why it matters: Lawmakers debated evidence about whether mandatory inspections lower crash or fatality rates and raised access concerns for rural residents and small repair shops. The amendment adopted by the House corrected a drafting error that had mistakenly added an extra safety-inspection requirement for commercial vehicles; the member who moved the amendment said federal inspection requirements already apply to such commercial vehicles.

What supporters said: Sponsors argued inspections are outdated and that modern vehicle safety features plus market incentives make routine government inspections unnecessary. One member cited federal data and said equipment failure accounts for a very small share of crashes, while another lawmaker who supported the package said inspection frequency was previously rolled back to 10 years or 150,000 miles and urged the body to move forward.

What opponents said: Several lawmakers urged more caution. A member who questioned the studies asked colleagues to review a Journal of Transportation Engineering analysis that, according to his description during debate, found about a 5.5% lower rate of roadway fatalities in states that maintain inspection programs. Another lawmaker said the bill "would put our kids at more risk," arguing annual or periodic checks help ensure basic safety features such as brakes, tires and windshield wipers are functioning.

Amendment and technical fixes: The House adopted House Amendment 1 (described on the floor as correcting a drafting error) by voice vote after brief debate. The sponsor and amendment mover said post-accident, salvage and other specified categories would still require inspection under the language retained in the substitute.

Votes and next step: The House adopted the committee substitute as amended by voice vote; the Speaker announced "the ayes have it" and the substitute was perfected and printed for further consideration. The House adjourned and is scheduled to reconvene at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 2026-02-11.

Key quotes from the floor: "This package is designed to eliminate mandatory vehicle safety inspections in Missouri," the bill sponsor said. The lawmaker who raised the Journal study said it showed "a 5 and a half percent fewer roadway fatalities in states that did have safety inspections." The amendment mover described the change as correcting "a drafting error" that had added an extra inspection for commercial vehicles that already face federal requirements.

What’s next: The perfected and printed substitute proceeds toward later readings and any further floor action required by House rules.