Morning Lineup – June 15

Wednesday Morning – Another Kind of Inspection Ahead

Later this morning I have to take my car to the shop for its annual safety inspection.  In my state this is required for all vehicles that use the public roads, including trailers (but not bicycles).  They have been doing this since way back before my memory picks up, so I'm not sure when it began.  But despite the inconvenience of having to set aside time and money to get it done, it's a good program and certainly goes a long way to keeping the highways safer.

What brought this topic up was my recollection that it has been several years since I have seen the inspectors check the headlight alignments to see if the low-beams and high-beams are aimed in the proper directions.  The right headlamp is suppose to shine straight ahead and slightly downward to illuminate the road X-number of feet ahead, and the left lamp is supposed to be aimed slightly to the right so that the beam stays in your lane and not directed into the eyes of the oncoming drivers.  The inspection stations all had a gadget on wheels that they would roll over to the front of the light and get a reading on where the beam was aimed, and if it was astray, then out would come the screwdriver to remove the decorative rim over the light fixture and a couple of simple adjustments until the beam came back within the magic circle.

But recently it dawned on me that there doesn't seem to be any access to the light to make adjustments anymore.  The entire lamp is part of one complete – and expensive – housing with everything included.  Are they engineered so precisely that they don't have to be realigned periodically?  Or maybe there is an adjustment and I just haven't seen one.  I'm going to have a chat with my mechanic and ask him about this evolution.  Gone also are the days of measuring the amount of free play in the steering wheel.  I think I'll ask him what else has changed in the world of auto safety inspection and perhaps post an update tomorrow.  And please, no wisecracks about vacuum-operated windshield wipers.

And speaking of inspections, we'd better get started on this morning's equipment check.  I'll get the coffee started while you stare at the headlights.  See you back in the day room.

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