BANGOR (AP) -The time-honored tradition of motorists trying several different mechanics in hopes of finding one who’ll let their jalopies pass inspection is coming to an end later this week.

A revision of Maine’s motor vehicle inspection rules that goes into effect Friday will require mechanics who flunk a vehicle to remove half of the existing inspection sticker, creating a scarlet letter for flawed vehicles.

“That gives everybody a heads up that somebody has already found something is wrong,” said Wayne Bouchard of Bouchard & Sons Towing in Hampden.

In turn, that’ll prevent people from going from service station to service station, shopping around in hopes of getting a sticker, he said.

Diagonally removing the half of the sticker of a car that fails inspection is one of 26 major changes included in the revision of the state’s 139-page motor vehicle inspection law.

The idea is to make it clear to police that a vehicle has a safety problem, said Bangor Police Chief Don Winslow. “More importantly, it’s going to motivate the person who owns the vehicle to get the vehicle fixed,” he said.

The revisions hold mechanics accountable for inspections by requiring them to print their full names on the sticker and requiring them to provide a written list of problems that cause a vehicle to fail inspection.

The basic $12.50 fee for the annual inspection remains unchanged and will continue to be charged whether or not a vehicle passes inspection. In Cumberland County, the annual fee is $18.50 because of additional emissions tests.

Other changes provide leniency for changes or upgrades to vehicles equipped with antilock brakes. The new rules allow motorists with antilock brakes to change the size of their tires and wheels and to raise or lower the height of a vehicle.

Before the changes, the original vehicle inspection law passed in 1993 made it illegal to raise or lower the body, alter the suspension or change the tire size of vehicles equipped with anti-lock brake systems.

Now that more is known about ABS-equipped vehicles, the state felt comfortable changing the standards so they’re the same as for non-ABS vehicles, said Lt. Christopher Grotton, director of the Maine State Police Traffic Safety Unit.

The revision became a 2004 project for the state Motor Vehicle Advisory Board, created two years earlier by state police.

“It’s not a stagnant program,” Grotton said. “In fact, we’re constantly looking to make things more clear and reasonable.”

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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com

AP-ES-12-13-06 1521EST