CAR INSPECTION, REGISTRATION FEES TO INCREASE

Starting Aug. 28, Missourians will pay more for car, truck and motorcycle safety inspections, and in larger cities, vehicle emission tests. Motorists will also pay an additional 15 cents when registering vehicles or renewing vehicle licenses.

However, those who purchase new vehicles, or renew the license of a new vehicle for the first time, no longer will be required to have the vehicle inspected prior to license renewal.

Also, disabled persons will have to pay for a disabled-person placard to place in the window of their vehicle when parking in a handicapped parking space.

All of the changes and others affecting Missouri drivers and vehicles were approved by the 1992 Missouri General Assembly. They go into effect Aug. 28.

The safety inspection fee for cars and trucks will go up $2.50, from $4.50 to $7, while the inspection fee for motorcycles will go from $3.50 to $6.

The fee for a vehicle emission test, now $4.50, will go up to $8.50 on Aug. 28, and $10.50 on Jan. 1, 1993. Vehicle emission tests are now mandatory in larger cities of the state such as St. Louis and Kansas City. They are not required in Cape Girardeau.

Those who purchase a new vehicle after Aug. 28 will not be required to obtain a safety inspection when registering the vehicle nor will those renewing the license for the first time. However, new vehicles that are registered prior to Aug. 28, must have the safety inspection and will not be eligible for the exemption at the time of the first license renewal, the Missouri Department of Revenue said.

The 15-cent increase in the vehicle registration fee was contained in a bill sponsored by Rep. Larry Thomason of Kennett. The money will go into a special fund for public railroad-grade crossing safety improvements. In addition, railroads that operate in Missouri will pay a safety fee into the fund equal to four-tenths of 1 percent of the assessed valuation of the railroad's rolling stock, other than motor vehicles.

"The bottom line is that it (fee increase) will save lives," said Thomason, a member of the House Transportation Committee. Thomason said only a few years ago Southeast Missouri, particularly Butler, Stoddard and Scott counties, led the state in the number of railroad-grade-crossing fatalities and accidents, many of them at crossings without active warning devices.

Rick Mooney of the Division of Transportation and state coordinator for Missouri Operation Lifesaver, said the estimated $1.2 million the 15-cent increase is expected to generate will pay for safety improvements at many of the state's public railroad-grade crossings. Mooney said each state dollar raised by the fee increase will be matched by four federal dollars.

"This (state) money will make up for the source of funds we lost as a result of a 1990 federal court ruling," he explained. "We should start receiving the new money in February or March 1993."

Mooney said the money will enable the Division of Transportation to continue its cooperative effort with the major railroads to improve railroad-grade-crossing safety by installing active warning devices such as flashing lights, gates, and bells. "Instead of doing 25 to 30 crossings each year as we have been, we'll be able to improve or upgrade about 50 crossings per year with the extra money," he said.

Thomason said the more grade crossings that are equipped with active warning devices the more lives will be saved. He said when an active warning device is installed at an unprotected railroad-grade crossing, chances of a fatal or injury accident at that crossing are reduced by up to 98 percent, according to state and federal statistics.

Mooney said the new money will also enable the state to make other safety improvements at grade crossings such as upgrading existing signals and installing cement or rubber track crossovers for vehicles.

The bill also contains a clause that now makes it easier for law enforcement authorities to cite drivers who illegally drive around a lowered railroad-grade crossing gate when a train is approaching.

Another bill that becomes effective Aug. 28 gives owners of commercial semi-trailers, or stock trailers and recreational vehicle trailers pulled by a fifth wheel and kingpin assembly or converter dolly, the option to purchase a permanent license for the trailers. The one-time fee for the permanent plates and registration fee is $52.50, and is non-transferable and non-refundable. If the trailer is sold the new owner must apply for a new license.

Until now semi-trailer owners could only purchase a renewable one- or three-year license plate. The DOR said the legislation was enacted at the request of Missouri motor carriers to eliminate problems associated with renewing licenses for semi-trailers that are not in the state at the time the trailer license expires.

The DOR said renewal notices were mailed Aug. 15 to approximately 123,000 disabled persons who now have a disabled-person placard for their vehicle. The 1992 disabled placards must be renewed before Sept. 30 of each year.

For the first time a $2 fee will now be charged for the 1993 disabled-person placard, which will also be much larger (9 by 3 inches wide) than the 1992 placard. The $2 fee is mandated in Senate Bill 177, which was passed by the legislature in 1991.

Applicants may renew their disabled-person placard at any local license office. A statement from a licensed physician verifying the disability is not needed when renewing the disabled person placard. A statement of disability is required when applying for a disabled-person placard for the first time.

Placards may be issued to any physically disabled person, any parent or guardian of a disabled person, and any not-for-profit group or organization that transports more than one physically disabled person.

The new law says a physically disabled person must have a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk.

Disabled placards may also be issued for temporary disabilities that qualify under the new law, if the expected disability is indicated on the physician's statement. The temporary placards are not valid for more than 180 days.

More information about the changes and fee increases can be obtained by calling the Missouri Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Bureau in Jefferson City, 1-751-4509.