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SALT LAKE CITY — Owners of newer cars won't have to submit to safety inspections as often and 20 additional state troopers would be on the road under legislation the House approved Friday.
HB298 calls for inspections in years four, eight, 10, 12 and every year thereafter. It would reassign seven Utah Highway Patrol troopers who work in the safety inspection bureau to the streets. It also contains money for six additional troopers, making 13 that would be on patrol starting July 1.
The bill also proposes to raise passenger car registration fees 94 cents to put another seven troopers on the road starting Jan. 1, 2013.
Rep. Don Ipson, R-St. George, said the measure increases highway safety, while not compromising the integrity of vehicles.
"The greatest threat on the road is the driver not the vehicle," said Rep. John Dougall, R-American Fork, the sponsor of HB298. The bill now goes to the Senate.
Public safety officials supported the bill after it was amended from eliminating inspections altogether.
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