Washington Emissions Testing

First of all, this review is more about the Washington State emissions testing program than this particular facility. The Fife inspection station and its employees were adequate.
I’m all for a cleaner environment, and support most government programs to that end. Plus, who loves being stuck in traffic behind a vehicle thats belching nasty clouds of smoke? The problem is that the Washington State system is loophole-​ridden scam that does virtually NOTHING to ease the pollution situation.
Only PORTIONS of FIVE COUNTIES (King, Pierce, Snohomish, Clark, Spokane) in the entire state are even required to have their vehicle emissions tested– the rest of the state is exempt. How much sense does it make that a worker in Seattle or Tacoma who lives in the city and gets to work on the bus while the car remains parked must pass an emissions test while another worker commuting (many miles, each way, every day!) from unincorporated Pierce County is exempt?! The extra time and expense required for *certain* WA State vehicles to be tested is also unfair– why are some vehicle owners required to spend $ 15 and take half a day off work every other year for this test when most owners in the state are not?
If a vehicle fails the emissions test, the owner must prove they «have spent at least $ 150 on diagnosis/​repairs aimed at emission reductions» in order to obtain a waiver and renew the license. This means that if your car is always producing a thick cloud of noxious, choking exhaust and you don’t want to do anything about it (or register it in a different zip code), you can essentially buy a waiver for $ 150 and that makes it OK.
Emissions testing should be required for ALL licensed vehicles in the ENTIRE state or not at all– and perhaps vehicles should actually be required to pass the test (rather than buy a waiver) if the program is to have any real effect.

I’ve never had to do this before? Closest I’ve done is a Smog Test back in California. I grabbed a ticket and paid my $ 15. Waited one car ahead of me and moved on forward. The lady was formal with directions. I waited literally less than 5 minutes! No pain at all other than losing $ 15. And I was freaking out… about what if I don’t pass?! All is well again.