Have you been to one of NJ’s inspection stations lately?

If you drive a leased car or a new car every four years, chances are you haven't been to an inspection station lately. New Jersey is one of only 18 states that require some form of auto inspection periodically to keep your car on the road.

That may come as a surprise to many of us here in this state where we're used to the government looking into every aspect of our lives.

I can remember years ago when I moved my new wife down here from Connecticut and she had to go to get her car inspected. She had never heard of a car inspection. When she went, she was horrified at the treatment she received.

She said it was like a Soviet-style check point. That was then and this is now. They've streamlined the process and made it much more user-friendly.

There was a brief time in the 1990's where they'd put your car on a dynamometer and put your car in gear and rev the engine pretty high to get a proper emissions reading. That, thankfully didn't last long. I don't think anybody died, but it was disturbing.

After recently buying an older used car I discovered it had to be inspected. I could feel my pulse quicken and my heart racing. There were no good memories of getting a car inspected in New Jersey.

I took it on a Tuesday afternoon in mid-June and was pleasantly surprised how simple, easy and painless the whole process is now.

Maybe I picked the right station and a good time, but shockingly, it took no more than ten minutes.

No horror stories to tell. No long wait times. No aggravation. It's still pointless and annoying, but we live in New Jersey. That's kind of the state's thing. But the people were nice enough.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy. Any opinions expressed are Dennis Malloy's own.'