Scrapped by state, brake tags still required in New Orleans
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The city of New Orleans offers brake tags at one- and two-year intervals. Photo: Chelsea Brasted/Axios
Louisiana scrapped brake tags during the last legislative session, doing away with most required vehicle inspections.
Why it matters: New Orleans drivers are the exception to the new rule.
Catch up quick: After years of attempts, State Rep. Larry Bagley succeeded last spring at passing a bill to nix most of Louisiana's inspection stickers, which are known in New Orleans as brake tags.
- The new law strips the requirement to display a brake tag in your car's windshield. Instead, starting Jan. 1, drivers will need a QR code sticker in their windshield.
- The stickers will cost $6 a year and be synced with a car's VIN number. They'll be available through the Office of Motor Vehicles and mailed to drivers' homes. They won't require a vehicle inspection to obtain.
Zoom in: Louisiana State Police have already stopped pulling people over for failing to display the tags, or for having expired ones, the agency says.
The fine print: Vehicles used in commercial and school transportation still need inspections.
- And federal emissions standards require all Baton Rouge-area vehicles be inspected, too. Go deeper.
Yes, but: Some cities — Kenner, Westwego and New Orleans — have had their own vehicle inspection sticker requirements.
- Kenner and Westwego quickly scrapped theirs when the state did.
New Orleans, however, isn't poised to follow suit.
- There's been "no movement, no discussion" on brake tags, says New Orleans City Councilman and Transportation Committee chair Eugene Green. "There hasn't been conversation that anybody has shared with me."
- Mayor Helena Moreno's spokesperson, Jonah Gilmore, says some review is underway. "We are evaluating the law and its potential impact on operations within Orleans Parish to determine how the city will proceed," he says.
What we're watching: "The rules and procedures for implementation and enforcement [of the new stickers] are still being developed by the Office of Motor Vehicles, the Legislature, and the Governor's Office," said LSP spokesman Sgt. Ross Brennan.