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System outage crashes Texas' vehicle inspection system

Thomas Pead inspects an SUV at the General Motors Assembly Plant in Arlington, Texas June 9, 2015.
Mike Stone
/
Reuters
Thomas Pead inspects an SUV at the General Motors Assembly Plant in Arlington, Texas June 9, 2015.

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The Texas Department of Public Safety announced its vehicle inspection system experienced issues following an outage on Aug. 23.

DPS said in a release the outage was ongoing and did not allow stations in "safety-only" counties to conduct proper inspections.

While all vehicles registered in Texas are required to receive an annual vehicle inspection, so-called "safety-only counties" only require comprehensive safety inspections, not emissions tests.

Bexar County is considered a "safety-only county."

Gasoline powered vehicles registered in 17 designated counties, including Dallas, El Paso, and Harris counties, require both a safety inspection and emissions testing.

DPS said emissions inspections were not impacted by the outage.

The outage could potentially impact vehicle registrations, which require an up-to-date vehicle inspection.

DPS did not indicate when the outage may be resolved.

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