Jackson Advocate

COMPULSORY AUTO SAFETY CHECKS TO BEGIN IN APRIL

Mississippi's compulsory automobile safety checks will begin April 1 under an announcement by the Highway Patrol today.

Autoists will pay $1.25 each at one of the estimated 1,000 private garages expected to qualify under the new state law requiring motor vehicle inspections once a year.

R. L. Morgan, the patrol's director of motor vehicle inspections, said the inspections will continue through May-to kick-off operation of the law passed by the 1960 session of the legislature.

At the same time, Morgan denied reports that only the bigger garages could qualify as inspection sites.

He estimated that for as little as $200 or $300 a garage can get equipped to make the inspections and obtain a state license.

Morgan urged that all garage owners seeking licenses speed their
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Compulsory
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applications forward.

Morgan said there was no limit to the number of garages which could qualify.

He said 12 field men were being trained by the patrol to work with the garages and supervise inspection systems.

A dollar of the fee will go to the inspection station, with 25 cents going to the state.

Starting next year, Morgan explained, inspections probably will be in the January-March quarter.

The announcement came after state Rep. Robert Scribner of Lee county said complications in administrative procedure may hold up the start of inspections until July.

But Morgan said most difficulties had been ironed out and that it was unlikely inspections would be beyond April.