Students, Technicians, Local Law Enforcement Complete State-Inspection Training

Four Penn College Police officers, three College students, three area body-shop employees, a trooper from the Pennsylvania State Police barracks in Montoursville, a local auto mechanic, an adjunct collision repair instructor and one College employee from General Services . . .

What does this diverse group have in common? For two Saturdays in February, Pennsylvania State Inspection training at Penn College's collision repair lab in the College Avenue Labs building.

Commencing last fall, Stephen T. Duna, collision repair instructor, began offering Pennsylvania state-inspection and emission certification for second-year students in collision repair classes. This spring, with interest from the local law-enforcement community, classes have generated blended attendance.

"I hope that our students will gain a greater understanding and appreciation of their responsibilities in and to the community through this nexus of training with local and state law enforcement." Duna says. "I also hope we can continue to train our students in concert with the law-enforcement community indefinitely."

Students participate in nine hours of classroom study and a variety of shop activities (measuring disc-brake rotors and pad thickness, as well as rotor run-out, checking brake-drum diameter and tire-tread depth, and checking ball joints, shocks, wheel bearings for excessive wear) to help prepare them for written testing and a tactile (hands-on) examination in the lab on live vehicles.

Upon successful completion of training, students are licensed by the state Department of Transportation to perform Pennsylvania state inspections on specific classes of vehicles. Licenses may be renewed every three years.