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  • thperez1972

    ESSAYONS
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    10   0   0
    Dec 28, 2015
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    Baton Rouge, LA
    It is what they use in the NOLA area for a Inspection Sticker because they are "Special People".

    Actually, it seems to be because New Orleans was forward thinking and ahead of its time. Bangswitch may be right in that a check of the brakes was the main focus of the inspection process in New Orleans at a time before there was a statewide law regarding inspections.

    ------------
    Louisiana State Police spokesman Lt. Doug Cain responds in an email: *In the early 1960s, Louisiana saw a need for an inspection program which would ensure vehicles driven on state highways and roads are safe.

    Prior to the new law, Kenner, Westwego and New Orleans had an inspection program in place.

    In New Orleans, the inspection consisted of the vehicle being driven onto a metal platform and the driver applying the brakes.

    The brake machine would measure the effectiveness of the brakes on the vehicle.

    The inspection also consisted of checking the proper aim of the headlights. Since the main emphasis was on the brakes, the inspection sticker was known as a brake tag."

    https://web.archive.org/web/2011042...VOCATE-Inspection-stickers-or-brake-tags.html
     

    Emperor

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    11   0   0
    Mar 7, 2011
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    My guess is because the most important thing they verify is your brakes are working. I don’t know the history on inspection stickers but there was a time when horns mirrors, signals, etc were optional.

    The last "Brake Tag Inspection" I had the pleasure of participating in when I was in N.O. was located at the end of Bayou St. John (near Orleans Ave.). It was in the early 80's.

    They checked for a multitude of things: Flashers working, horn working, wipers working, tail & head lights working (along with reverse tail lights), and interestingly enough, brakes. In fact, I remember that there was some sort of meter in the floor that supposedly measured the effectiveness of your brakes. You actually had to drive forward onto the scale, and hit the brakes while in progress. It looked very antiquated in the early 80's.

    Aside from the above, if you had heavy smoke coming out of your exhaust or your vehicle was too loud (due to modification of the muffler), you were denied the tag; and I believe they collected "cash" up front.

    Turns out, they would take extra cash and push your vehicle through if they thought you were a cool cat!

    This^ is the short version of the story of New Orleans brake tags. Below is the funny version of the true story of my visit.


    Now, this^ is all factual! And so, I had a '78 Chevy S10 pickup that had an inline 6 cylinder motor. It was a hand me down and it was a mess; but it got me around. And if you were a white kid in N.O. you hung out at the lakefront. But if you didn't have a "Brake Tag", the infamous Levee Board Police were most assuredly writing you a ticket.

    I needed a brake tag, so I ended up at the place mentioned above. But, my muffler had rotted to crap, and was barely hanging on when I got there. It was loud and smokey. I paid the guy that was collecting and proceeded forward. After about mid-way, I was told that I was denied because my muffler was too loud. I didn't argue because if you argue with a city run bureaucracy of idiots, they screw you as much as they can. So I left.

    When I got home, I looked around my Mom's house for something to help silence my exhaust. I noticed that an alleyway gate (which was no longer there), had left the fence pipe sitting there stuck in the ground. Believe it or not, the diameter was pretty damned close to the diameter of my exhaust from the cylinder head to the muffler. I thought, what the hell; I'll try it.

    Hacksaw in hand, I cut it as low to the ground as I could, figuring the longer it was, the more sound I could baffle to the back of the bed. I cut off the muffler, and proceeded to connect the fence post pipe only to discover that the pipe was slightly larger than the actual exhaust pipe. I need to think fast, because it was Friday, and there was no way I wasn't going to make the lakefront to party that night. With adjustable pipe clamps, and some old roofing tin I made a relatively decent collar or union, if you will. After thinking this was sufficient I hauled ass back to the inspection place, and low and behold the same bunch was there. The guy that denied me, saw me and came over to see if I rectified the problem. Now he was way too f'n lazy to actually get down on his knees and look at what I did, so he just played it by ear and kind of gave me the same look as last time. It really didn't sound any quieter after all.

    At this point, he could tell I was in a jam so he told me to pull up outside the place. He came over and said, "Look man, yo **** aint fixed! Tell you what, gimme a twenty and I'll make it happen!" With that, I gladly gave him my last $20 bill. "Hang tight," he said. Three minutes later, he comes out; scrapes of the old one, and affixes the new one, and says; "This shits between you and me!" I happily agreed and was outta there like lightning.

    When I got to my Moms, the fence pipe, and the collar fell off and rolled down the driveway. I couldn't have cared less! I had a new brake tag and I was making the lake! I had a year to figure out what I was going to do next trip.

    Shortly thereafter, the news broke of the massive scandal at the N.O. Inspection places. Seems I was not the only one that a $20 was just between me and them. :mamoru:
     

    Kraut

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    4   0   0
    Oct 3, 2007
    1,799
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    Slidell, LA
    I've been to places where they came out and scraped the old one off, and applied the new one without checking anything, $10 cash exchanged, see you next year. You can tell when a place has been spot-checked and hammered, because they start doing the whole routine all of a sudden. My personal opinion is that it's just a way to get a $10 tax out of people, and this is confirmed by the article. Do away with the tag and just add $10 to my renewal saves me some hassle, but if they were giving those shops almost 50% per tag, I can see where it might crimp their cash flow a little, although most of those places are shops doing actual work on cars the rest of the day.
     

    Bangswitch

    Well-Known Member
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    1   0   0
    Jan 10, 2019
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    a location near you
    The last "Brake Tag Inspection" I had the pleasure of participating in when I was in N.O. was located at the end of Bayou St. John (near Orleans Ave.). It was in the early 80's.

    They checked for a multitude of things: Flashers working, horn working, wipers working, tail & head lights working (along with reverse tail lights), and interestingly enough, brakes. In fact, I remember that there was some sort of meter in the floor that supposedly measured the effectiveness of your brakes. You actually had to drive forward onto the scale, and hit the brakes while in progress. It looked very antiquated in the early 80's.

    Aside from the above, if you had heavy smoke coming out of your exhaust or your vehicle was too loud (due to modification of the muffler), you were denied the tag; and I believe they collected "cash" up front.

    Turns out, they would take extra cash and push your vehicle through if they thought you were a cool cat!

    This^ is the short version of the story of New Orleans brake tags. Below is the funny version of the true story of my visit.


    Now, this^ is all factual! And so, I had a '78 Chevy S10 pickup that had an inline 6 cylinder motor. It was a hand me down and it was a mess; but it got me around. And if you were a white kid in N.O. you hung out at the lakefront. But if you didn't have a "Brake Tag", the infamous Levee Board Police were most assuredly writing you a ticket.

    I needed a brake tag, so I ended up at the place mentioned above. But, my muffler had rotted to crap, and was barely hanging on when I got there. It was loud and smokey. I paid the guy that was collecting and proceeded forward. After about mid-way, I was told that I was denied because my muffler was too loud. I didn't argue because if you argue with a city run bureaucracy of idiots, they screw you as much as they can. So I left.

    When I got home, I looked around my Mom's house for something to help silence my exhaust. I noticed that an alleyway gate (which was no longer there), had left the fence pipe sitting there stuck in the ground. Believe it or not, the diameter was pretty damned close to the diameter of my exhaust from the cylinder head to the muffler. I thought, what the hell; I'll try it.

    Hacksaw in hand, I cut it as low to the ground as I could, figuring the longer it was, the more sound I could baffle to the back of the bed. I cut off the muffler, and proceeded to connect the fence post pipe only to discover that the pipe was slightly larger than the actual exhaust pipe. I need to think fast, because it was Friday, and there was no way I wasn't going to make the lakefront to party that night. With adjustable pipe clamps, and some old roofing tin I made a relatively decent collar or union, if you will. After thinking this was sufficient I hauled ass back to the inspection place, and low and behold the same bunch was there. The guy that denied me, saw me and came over to see if I rectified the problem. Now he was way too f'n lazy to actually get down on his knees and look at what I did, so he just played it by ear and kind of gave me the same look as last time. It really didn't sound any quieter after all.

    At this point, he could tell I was in a jam so he told me to pull up outside the place. He came over and said, "Look man, yo **** aint fixed! Tell you what, gimme a twenty and I'll make it happen!" With that, I gladly gave him my last $20 bill. "Hang tight," he said. Three minutes later, he comes out; scrapes of the old one, and affixes the new one, and says; "This shits between you and me!" I happily agreed and was outta there like lightning.

    When I got to my Moms, the fence pipe, and the collar fell off and rolled down the driveway. I couldn't have cared less! I had a new brake tag and I was making the lake! I had a year to figure out what I was going to do next trip.

    Shortly thereafter, the news broke of the massive scandal at the N.O. Inspection places. Seems I was not the only one that a $20 was just between me and them. :mamoru:

    My grandparents had an old Buick Leseebre back in the 90’s that was stolen and recovered in Jackson, MS (Remember I’m a Mississippi boy). When it was recovered it was barely damaged so they replaced the window, and repaired the steering column, but the left signal no longer blinked automatically. So for years my grandpa just would move the turn signal up and down so the left blinker would blink. It worked for 10 years. :mamoru:
     
    Last edited:

    Emperor

    Seriously Misunderstood!
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    11   0   0
    Mar 7, 2011
    8,376
    113
    Nether region
    I've been to places where they came out and scraped the old one off, and applied the new one without checking anything, $10 cash exchanged, see you next year. You can tell when a place has been spot-checked and hammered, because they start doing the whole routine all of a sudden. My personal opinion is that it's just a way to get a $10 tax out of people, and this is confirmed by the article. Do away with the tag and just add $10 to my renewal saves me some hassle, but if they were giving those shops almost 50% per tag, I can see where it might crimp their cash flow a little, although most of those places are shops doing actual work on cars the rest of the day.

    Yep!

    In the mid 80's I worked at a small to mid-sized distribution company with about 8 trucks. The mechanic shop that did the work on the trucks also did inspections as you described. One day I was told to bring "him" this check, and pick up a package. I forget how much the check was, but the package had 10 brand new sequentially numbered brake tags inside.

    They were promptly placed on each vehicle when I got back, and the 3 extra were for the owners pick up truck, and his wife and kid's cars. I eventually got mine from him too. Never saw the inside of his place! :rofl:

    Ahh, the days of business with a handshake and a wink!
     
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