TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) – It’s been more than a year since New Jersey eliminated most aspects of automobile inspections.  Now, state inspection stations check only your vehicle’s exhaust emissions.

How has this affected drivers in New Jersey?

The average wait at an inspection station used to be 45 minutes. Now that safety checks are a driver’s responsibilty, and the only thing the state checks is the vehicle’s emissions, that number’s been cut in half, according to Mike Horan, a spokesman for the Motor Vehicle Commission.

“It does depend on the time of day that you go and the time of the month,” he tells KYW Newsradio.  “We’ve always been very up-front with our customers and said to avoid the very end of the month and avoid the very beginning of the month.”  Those are the busiest times.

While many vehicles have electronic sensors that can speed you through your inspection, older cars require the tailpipe check, which takes longer.

And you might try other inspection stations if you know the one you usually go to will be busy.

The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission also has webcams online pointed at the waiting area of each of its inspection stations so you can see how many people are in line.

Reported by David Madden, KYW Newsradio 1060