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Now I am just curious but do any regions do an inspection of members cars for safety reasons. There are old car folks out there that do their own work on cars from full restorations to changing a light bulb. A majority of them are extremely mechanically gifted but the odd one should have a court order banning them from being in position of a wrench. A club I belong to up were has a yearly inspection by volunteer club members with some being licenced mechanic's and some not. In the past we have found everything from dry cracked tires  to a steering box that was not tighten to the frame. Another item we check is the presence of a fire extinguisher. Some have to dig it out of their trunk then after finding it I tell them to late your car has just burnt up jokingly. Very rare does a person take offence to pointing out a potential problem. On last years Glidden every car had to go through a safety check. Does any other regions or clubs do any checks with members cars and how involved??

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Although  you said the inspectors are volunteers, are the inspections themselves voluntary?  Personally, I would appreciate having other sets of knowledgeable eyes check out my cars for safety/mechanical problems.

 

Cheers,

Grog

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I'm aware that some groups publish guidelines for how to prep your car.  There is (and should be) a lot of individual responsibility in preparing a car for a tour, but that extra set of more experienced eyes would be helpful.  I know of one club member that found a serious crack in a model A two blade fan this way.  That's a particularly common but dangerous fault in those parts.  Calling it a "safety inspection" may be incorrect and might incur some degree of liability, so something like "Tour pre-check" may be more appropriate.

Terry

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I like the idea, but agree with Terry's reservations on the assumed liability. It's a shame, but you'd be most safe working up a waiver. It would be a great idea if you could make it viable to have a club based certified inspection station set up somehow. I'll put that on my "Things to do when I'm rich" list!

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They call it a touring inspection for the exact reason Terry. The VMCCA that held the Glidden last year sent in their registration package that all cars were required for an inspection. It was a basic inspection and just a quick visual such as lights. Yes I thought it was well done and appreciated. I am just curious what other members thoughts are on the subject. 

Edited by Joe in Canada (see edit history)
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In a past life I was an SCCA Tech Inspector and the purpose was to determine if a car had met the SCCA safty requirements AND was safe to be on a race track with other competitors. I never heard of any question of liability but then all drivers had already signed a release to be allowed to complete. It is all a process and needs to be viewed that way.

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My guess at an SCCA event though is that there was event liability insurance to cover should something go south. When you inspect something you're giving it a stamp of approval. If a failure then happens relating to an inspected item, and it turns out it was something that "should" have been caught, you could be putting yourself and the club against a wall. There are entire booklets on "how to sue churches", so I wouldn't view the club as immune. And it might not be from a member, but a surviving heir or something along those lines. It's a shame, but when you help someone out, you have to be careful. That's why there is such a thing as a good Sumerian law, because some people suck.

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52 minutes ago, Frantz said:

 That's why there is such a thing as a good Sumerian law,

I know you meant "Good Samaritan":)

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Another issue is the insurance company wanting their money back from a claim.

 There was a 15 year old girl that was baby sitting and one of the kids set the house on fire. The girl was called a hero by the mayor of the town and got recognition in all the local papers. BUT the insurance company did not see it that way and started litigation against the girls parents. Saying the girl as an incompetent sitter and wanted their money back for replacing the house from her parents.

The best thing is to not do any mechanical inspection that involves tools. Only verbal advise.

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