Vehicle inspections no longer required

Drivers will no longer be required to get annual safety inspections beginning Jan. 1, the Texas Standard reported. However, drivers in the state’s 17 most populous counties will still be required to get an emissions test in order to register their vehicles.

While mandatory vehicle inspections are going the way of the pay phone and video cassette recorders, drivers will still end up paying a $7.50 “inspection replacement fee” when registering their vehicle and getting a new windshield sticker.

The emissions test required in urban counties consists of an engine and exhaust test to ensure a vehicle isn’t exceeding the state’s legal limits on emitting pollutants.