The chassis and undercarriage are one and the same thing. The “frame,” as columnist Bill Nemitz giddily refers to it, is the body (“Scrapping vehicle inspections would strip drivers of a security blanket,” Feb. 28).

To say the body has a few holes in it is exactly an example of why the yearly vehicle inspection system should be, if not scrapped, then modified. If visitors to Maine or, say, a space alien observed the vehicles in Maine, they or it would conclude that Maine must be a wealthy state from all the pretty new vehicles.

Originally, the vehicle inspection concept was good. But like any other “camel’s nose under the tent” solution becomes so nitpicky and financially burdensome that it is cheaper to finance a new vehicle than pay for “work needed.”

The inspection concept was for persons who don’t know a dipstick from a shift stick. For example, tires, brake lights, headlights, reverse light, windshield wipers, etc., were the fundamental safety checks and relatively quick, cheap fixes for any “backyard mechanic,” although granted, nowadays not-so-wham-bam replacements.

And, conversely, I don’t know why turn signals are included in the inspection, as people in Maine either don’t use them when switching lanes, entering or off ramps or even turning. According to the Maine drivers manual, signals are to be turned on at least 100 feet prior to turning, and it doesn’t help much as most Mainers don’t know what 100 feet is.