Suppose I fail the MA annual automobile inspection?

[NadCixelsyd]

My next door neighbor had his car inspected in Massachusetts in late
September. It failed (but I don't know why). He still drives the car
on a daily basis with his rejection sticker.

If the police ever stop him, what will happen? Most importantly, will
the police impound the car on the spot?

[John F. Carr]

Post by NadCixelsyd
My next door neighbor had his car inspected in Massachusetts in late
September. It failed (but I don't know why). He still drives the car
on a daily basis with his rejection sticker.
If the police ever stop him, what will happen? Most importantly, will
the police impound the car on the spot?

It is not illegal to drive with a rejection sticker. The car still has
to meet legal equipment standards. Case law says police are allowed to
pull you over to check whether your car is legal to drive.

The rejection expires after a limited time (60 days?) and after that
time it is the same as no inspection sticker.

I don't know if they can seize your car.

[NadCixelsyd]

Post by John F. Carr
The rejection expires after a limited time (60 days?) and after that
time it is the same as no inspection sticker.
I don't know if they can seize your car.
--

Without a cite, I'm pretty sure that problems and reinspection must
occur in 10 days.

As the OP: The car in question failed inspection on September 26th
and still had not passed inspection as of December 18th.

[Jimmy]

It is not illegal to drive with a rejection sticker.  The car still has
to meet legal equipment standards.  Case law says police are allowed to
pull you over to check whether your car is legal to drive.

If you failed for safety reasons (as opposed to emissions), how could
the car meet equipment standards? (Unless you had the problem fixed,
but didn't get the reinspection yet.)

Is it illegal to drive in Massachusetts with an expired out-of-state
inspection sticker?

Jimmy

[John F. Carr]

Post by Jimmy
If you failed for safety reasons (as opposed to emissions), how could
the car meet equipment standards? (Unless you had the problem fixed,
but didn't get the reinspection yet.)

I don't know whether inspection rejection reasons (other than emissions)
are a subset of illegal-to-drive reasons.

You could have fixed the problem, or the inspection station could be
mistaken, or the inspection station could have been trying to blackmail
you into an unnecessary purchase with the threat of rejection.

[Jimmy]

It is not illegal to drive with a rejection sticker.  The car still has
to meet legal equipment standards.  Case law says police are allowed to
pull you over to check whether your car is legal to drive.

If you failed for safety reasons (as opposed to emissions), how could
the car meet equipment standards? (Unless you had the problem fixed,
but didn't get the reinspection yet.)

Is it illegal to drive in Massachusetts with an expired out-of-state
inspection sticker?

Jimmy

[Jeffrey Kaplan]

Post by NadCixelsyd
My next door neighbor had his car inspected in Massachusetts in late
September. It failed (but I don't know why). He still drives the car
on a daily basis with his rejection sticker.

When a vehicle fails the inspection, there is a grace period during
which the vehicle can still legally be driven. The expiration of this
period is printed on the rejection sticker. During that time, the
owner/operator is required to make arraignments for the failure
condition to be rectified. For most people, this means fixing what's
broken. Of course, alternatives to that include getting rid of and/or
replacing the vehicle.

Post by NadCixelsyd
If the police ever stop him, what will happen? Most importantly, will
the police impound the car on the spot?

If it's within the grace period, the most that should happen here is a
written warning. Most cops that I know of won't do anything about it
during the grace period unless the failure sticker is the reason for
the stop in the first place.

If it's outside of the grace period, then the vehicle may be impounded,
or the operator may simply be instructed to get the vehicle off the
road and given a moving violation ticket or warning.

When my car fails, it's always due to the brakes. I typically get mine
done when it fails the inspection. :)