2-Year Car Inspections Now Available

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana motorists, except for those in three New Orleans area municipalities, now have the option of getting their vehicles inspected every two years instead of annually.

The new law took effect Saturday.

The Times-Picayune reports (http://bit.ly/Ocz60O) that drivers can buy a one- or two-year safety inspection sticker. The annual sticker costs $10; the two-year version costs $20.

Drivers in New Orleans, Kenner and Westwego will not have that option. They will have to get an annual inspection and a yearly tag.

Officials said the three cities' inspection programs pre-dated the state program. If the cities want to give the drivers the two-year option, officials said each city will have to amend existing local ordinances.

The law prohibits drivers in areas where air pollution is a problem, as determined by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, from getting the two-year permits and requires annual inspections.

That provision in the law now applies to five parishes in the Baton Rouge area: East and West Baton Rouge, Ascension, Iberville and Livingston parishes, said Office of Motor Vehicles spokeswoman Michelle Rayburn.

State Police Superintendent Mike Edmonson said that 18 other states already have a multi-year inspection program.

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Information from: The Times-Picayune, http://www.nola.com