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As most of you are aware, we've been keeping a very close eye to what's going on with our local inspections. There is good news, and there is some further concerns as a result.

The good news is that this summer has seen a decrease in the MPI/VIU inspections. These are the mobile inspection station set up by the joint effort of MPI and WPS VIU where vehicles are corralled into a local for a full inspection.

While this appears to be a response to the hobbyists pleas to end targeting, we're still seeing a fair bit of roadside inspections done by WPS using cruiser cars. This seems to have far less negative impact on the hobby, and probably does a better job of finding the real problem vehicles.

Even this method raised questions, however. The primary question being if this is a real viable use of police resources. The next question being what is the reasoning behind these inspections and citations.

We're going to break down what transpires. Whether it be a roadside inspection by WPS in a cruiser, or a full inspection by MPI and VIU, the result is the same.

The inspection is completed, and a citation is written for the faults found. Time is given for repairs, but the citation is a given. Generally, the time frame to bring the vehicle into compliance is far shorter than the earliest court date for the citation.

This means that if you believe your vehicle is in compliance and choose to fight the citation, you will more than likely have your insurance cancelled waiting for your court date.

As well, should you choose to fight the citation, you're looking at losing wages because you're taking time off work. Some have reported avoiding this issue by using night court, but the reality is that you're still investing a bunch of time. So most simply choose to pay the citation.

The monies received by the courts for those citations goes into general revenue for the province. Half of that money is returned to the city of Winnipeg. And this explains a lot about why the WPS are so heavily involved.

We're looking at  a fair bit of revenue generated for the province and for the city from what we're hearing. No number appear to be available, we're just talking to recipients of these citations to get a feel for the amount.

Let's look at the "corralling" method of inspections. From information we've gathered, the directive for the inspections comes from the administrative level within WPS. The VIU then sets up a date with MPI to go mobile and conduct these inspections.

The WPS go out and find suspect vehicles, and direct them into the inspection station where MPI employees complete the inspection. We're told that these MPI employees are all mechanics, and all properly trained in regards to the inspection handbook used by accredited shops.

The results of these inspections are turned over to WPS who in turn discuss the results with the owner and present the citations.

The roadside cruiser inspections are not so
thorough. The basically consist of a check for compliance with HTA regulations. Still, a citation is written and all that follows is similar.

To the average citizen, this probably seems to be a great idea, this drive to find and get unsafe vehicles off our roads. And initially, we agreed with the principal, just not the method.

Upon further investigation, we discovered some interesting numbers from MPI that make us ask why WPS involvement should be so heavy, and if MPI isn't stepping beyond their bounds.

We first attempted to get some numbers on accidents where faulty equipment was the cause. We were given the run-around. Wrong departments to call, being told that that information wasn't tracked, etc. At one point, MPI demanded to know out policy numbers so that they could open a file on us.

It wasn't until they were reminded about FIPPA that MPI miraculously found us what we were looking for. The statistics on accidents for 2009, citing contributing factors. Evidently, 2010 statistics have yet to be compiled.

The information that we were after shocked us. It turns out that in 2009, only 0.5% of all motor vehicle collisions in Manitoba had faulty equipment as a contributing factor. That's right, 0.5%. and not necessarily the cause of the accident, but rather a contributing factor. Meaning that it played a *part* in the collision.

So why all this effort to protect us from the risk posed by these unsafe vehicles? Because if you simply look at the numbers, vehicles with faulty equipment actually don't seem all that dangerous at the end of the day.

Don't get us wrong, we're not advocating derelicts be allowed to be on the road. What we're trying to do is understand why the resources are being put into something that effects us so little.

As always, when you want to truth in anything that involves the government, follow the money. That at least makes more sense than what we're seeing out of MPI's own numbers.

We've spoken with a number of WPS members who for obvious reasons have declined to speak on the record. For that reason, we've not recorded their names or badge numbers.

We had one supervisor explain to us that inspecting motor vehicles results in less manpower and more revenue than fighting other types of crimes. Such as prostitution. We had mentioned to that officer that we knew of one hobbyist that had phoned daily for years about a prostitution problem on his block before finally moving to another end of town.

The officer used a recent scenario as an example that had involved a prostitute problem. A number of police officers were involved, and close to two hours were consumed. In the end, they didn't expect that the fines issued would be paid, so that was a waste of time.

Yet the chances of a ticket for a burned out bulb on a motor vehicle being paid is 100%. If the recipient of the ticket attempts to avoid paying the ticket, their insurance or driver's license is at risk.

This is the reality that we now face. It would appear that our police officers are now responsible for generating the revenue required to keep themselves employed. And to us, that's plain wrong.

This past summer has seen a serious spike in real life-threatening crimes in Winnipeg. With a biker turf war on the horizon, and arson being the flavour of the day amongst kids with nothing constructive to do, we're thinking it's probably better to use our police resources for protection.

We've heard tidbits here and there about a financial study done by the Manitoba Street Rod Association (MSRA) that showing that our hobby puts $90M plus into Manitoba's economy every year. This number represents everything from vehicle purchase through restoration/modification, maintenance, social activities surrounding the hobby, and finally to monies raised for charities. according to MSRA, these numbers are deliberately on the conservative side.

The end result of all this is that these inspections really aren't making us safer, but have the repercussions of having police resources used to generate revenue rather than protect our citizens, and ultimately having a negative impact on such a large part of our local economy.

Add to the mix what appears the heavy involvement of MPI, and how much power they appear to wield. For what was supposed to be an insurance company to protect our interests. Now, they control driver's licensing as well, and appear to have far more control over our roads and laws.

There appears to be a move about to alter how the HTA is controlled. Currently it takes an act of the Legislature to change the act. All reliable sources tell us that this is changing. The HTA will be easily modified in the future by a panel. Rumour has it that MPI will be the biggest player.

There is a real concern to most hobbyists in regards to what MPI and others may want to see in the HTA. We believe that it's imperative that we are properly represented.

AutoClubs.Ca has always supported the Manitoba Association of Auto Clubs (MAAC). MAAC has spent years creating and maintaining communication channels with City Hall, WPS, and MPI. They have worked to present our hobby in the most favourable fashion.

With the resent activities and the reported changes to the HTA that have and will continue to impact the automotive hobby here in Manitoba, perhaps now is the time to look at how we can best preserve what we love.

The reality is that things are changing on a political level. All guidelines, laws, and regulations comes from the government. One look around at other special interest groups shows that success for them is derived from political movements.

There are many points of view amongst local hobbyist about how to deal with what we're facing. The reality is that we are all taxpayers and voters. If you wish to preserve your hobby, now is the time to find out where our local politicians stand. Now is the time to add our names the member list of organizations that are prepared to fight for our hobby.

The future truly is in our hands. Let's not let it slip away by being complacent. Let's become the political and economical force that we should have become years ago. We are a major part of Manitoba's economy, and we have a right to be heard.