2006 Code of Virginia § 46.2-1157 - Requirement of inspection; well-drilling machinery, antique motor vehicle or antique trailer except...

46.2-1157. Requirement of inspection; well-drilling machinery, antiquemotor vehicle or antique trailer excepted.

The Superintendent may compel, by proclamation of the Governor or otherwise,the owner or operator of any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailerregistered in Virginia and operated on a highway within this Commonwealth tosubmit his vehicle to an inspection of its mechanism and equipment by anofficial inspection station, designated for that purpose, in accordance with 46.2-1158. No owner or operator shall fail to submit a motor vehicle,trailer, or semitrailer operated on the highways in this Commonwealth to suchinspection or fail or refuse to correct or have corrected in accordance withthe requirements of this title any mechanical defects found by suchinspection to exist.

The provisions of this section requiring safety inspections of motor vehiclesshall also apply to vehicles used for fire fighting; inspections offire-fighting vehicles shall be conducted pursuant to regulations promulgatedby the Superintendent of State Police, taking into consideration the specialpurpose of such vehicles and the conditions under which they operate.

Each day during which such motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer is operatedon any highway in this Commonwealth after failure to comply with this lawshall constitute a separate offense. However, no penalty shall be imposed onany owner or operator for operation of a motor vehicle, trailer, orsemitrailer after the expiration of a period fixed for the inspectionthereof, over the most direct route between the place where such vehicle iskept or garaged and an official inspection station, for the purpose of havingit inspected pursuant to a prior appointment with such station.

Further, no penalty shall be imposed on any owner or operator of a truck,tractor truck, trailer, or semitrailer for which the period fixed forinspection has expired while the vehicle was outside the Commonwealth andthat penalty is for operation of such vehicle (i) from a point outside theCommonwealth to the place where such vehicle is kept or garaged within theCommonwealth or (ii) to a destination within the Commonwealth where suchvehicle will be (a) unloaded within 24 hours of entering the Commonwealth,(b) inspected within such 24-hour period, and (c) after being unloaded, willbe operated only to an inspection station or to the place where it is kept orgaraged within the Commonwealth.

Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, a new motor vehicle, asdefined in 46.2-1500, that has been inspected in accordance with aninspection requirement of the manufacturer or distributor of the new motorvehicle by an employee who customarily performs such inspection on behalf ofa motor vehicle dealer licensed pursuant to 46.2-1508 shall be deemed tohave met the safety inspection requirements of the section without a separatesafety inspection by an official inspection station. Such inspection shall bedeemed to be the first inspection for the purpose of 46.2-1158, and aninspection approval sticker furnished by the Department of State Police atthe uniform price paid by all official inspection stations to the Departmentof State Police for an inspection approval sticker may be affixed to thevehicle as required by 46.2-1163.

The provisions of this section shall not apply to any vehicle fortransporting well-drilling machinery licensed under 46.2-700 or to anyantique motor vehicle or antique trailer as defined in 46.2-100 andlicensed pursuant to 46.2-730.

Notwithstanding the penalty provisions of 46.2-1171, a violation of thissection constitutes a traffic infraction.

(Code 1950, 46-317; 1950, p. 691; 1958, c. 541, 46.1-315; 1962, c. 246;1978, cc. 275, 605; 1982, c. 646; 1989, c. 727; 1991, cc. 107, 717; 1993, c.134; 1995, c. 670; 1997, c. 283; 2004, cc. 267, 796.)