Importance of the DMV By Brenda Williams At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

The DMV, also known as the Department of Motor Vehicles, is where everything takes place that has to do with driving. Driver's licenses are made there, learner's permits are made there, registering a vehicle happens there and sometimes vehicle inspections are done there but not all the time. The DMV is different from state to state in name and in what services they offer to their customers. Each state's government handles the operations of the DMV except for the state of Hawaii. In Hawaii, each different county is responsible for DMV functions. In the District of Columbia the DMV functions are handled as part of the city government.

The DMV usually issues vehicle inspections. Vehicle inspections are done to ensure the safety of the vehicle and that if conforms to certain rules and regulations stipulated by the government. Some of those rules and regulations involve safety issues, emissions and that the vehicle is running properly without any problems that could affect performance.

Car safety is extremely important today. These inspections help to avoid accidents by making sure there aren't any loose parts that could fall off while driving, making sure the seat belts are intact and can still buckle, they test the airbags to make sure they will still deploy during an accident and they make sure the headlights and horn still works.

Emissions are what the car lets out into the air when it runs. Exhaust emissions control systems were first introduced into American life in 1966 in the state of California where all cars made in 1966 were required to have them. It became a nationwide practice in 1968. These certain exhaust systems help to alleviate the amount of pollutants sent into the atmosphere. There are six types of emissions. They are hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, particulates and sulfur oxide.

Vehicles in the United States are required to be inspected either every year or every two years. A brand new vehicle, purchased from a dealership, does not have to be inspected until four years after the purchase. Because it is a new car it will rarely have safety or emission problems. It has yet to go through the wear and tear of thousands of miles of use. All of these measures are used to ensure the safety and well being of not only the people in that certain car but also the other drivers on the roadway around it.

Any driver who is a long term resident of a state, living there for longer than 30 days, must have a valid driver's license issued by that state of residence. Their vehicles must also have license plates and registrations issued by that state's DMV. There are exceptions to these rules. Anyone attending college in a state they don't reside in and anyone serving in the military at a base in a state they don't reside in is exempt from these policies. The DMV provides licenses to people that want to drive or that need a form of identification. The driver's license in the United States has become the country's universal form of identification because there was never a set form of I.D. prior to the onset of the driver's license.

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