The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the House Committee on Transportation on Feb. 17, 2026.
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Feb. 17, 2026, 9:30 a.m.
Hawaii State Capitol
Conference Room 430 and Videoconference
To: House Committee on Transportation
Rep. Darius K. Kila, Chair
Rep. Tyson K. Miyake, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF HB1882 — RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES
Aloha Chair, Vice Chair and other Committee members,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports HB1882, which would exempt motorcycles and passenger cars from safety inspections.
The state’s vehicle inspection laws are a burden and expense for Hawaii residents, especially on low-income families who must pay for car inspections every year.
Mandatory state safety inspections are being phased out across the country, and only 14 states still require periodic safety inspections.[1]
Despite the name, there is no evidence that vehicle safety inspections contribute to public safety. Mechanical failures are the cause of 3% of accidents nationwide,[2] but a study on terminating vehicle inspections in New Jersey found that “vehicle safety inspections do not represent an efficient use of government funds, and do not appear to have any significantly mitigating effect on the role of car failure in traffic accidents.”[3]
Hawaii’s Legislative Reference Bureau studied the issue in 1995 and concluded: “There is no conclusive evidence to indicate that the State’s periodic motor vehicle inspection program either is or is not achieving its desired outcome.”[4]
Under the circumstances, it makes sense to eliminate a requirement that is costly for residents and an unnecessary burden on the agencies that must administer it.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
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[1] Henry Cesari, “Here’s every states’ safety and emissions inspection laws,” MotorBiscuit, June 8, 2025.
[2] Alex Hoagland and Trevor Woolley, “It’s No Accident: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Vehicle Safety Inspections,” Contemporary Economic Policy, 2018, p. 14.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Keith Fukumoto, “Periodic Motor Vehicle Inspection in Hawaii: A Study of Selected Issues,” Legislative Reference Bureau, Report No. 7, 1995, p. 45.
