I’m sure it’s probably better. I was only wondering how it might measure emissions under different conditions, to the degree that that even matters. It might not. If they do it at on-ramp, as Machine Elf describes, we can assume they’re getting the most relevant measurement.
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Generally speaking, these systems are set up on highway on-ramps, so the cars are always passing the test point going in the same direction. I don’t know exactly how they detect passage of a vehicle, but this seems like a trivial challenge. Example, if the measurement beams are completely interrupted, then the system would known that a vehicle has passed by, and it needs to grab the required measurements.
The systems appear to place the measurement beams at a height above the pavement that’s a decent match for the height of the tailpipe on most light-duty passenger vehicles. Since they’re reading the license plate when each vehicle goes by, they’ll know (from state vehicle registration databases) what kind of vehicle is involved; if it’s something with a tailpipe configuration that prevents a valid reading, they’ll know it, and the test results can be invalidated.
Here are a couple of videos about Colorado’s system:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eLwYJLhSfQThey have a person reading the plate. I thought it was license plate recognition software, hence the question. Thanks again, Machine Elf.
Perhaps you are boarderline, good enough to pass the general emission test but not good enough for this test, or even failing it. You may be running it with your engine still cold, thus failing it at the time you are testing. Or your exhaust is directed in a way that your car is not reading correctly, or your license plate is obscured.
In the UK an emissions test is one part of the annual safety check that is mandatory for cars over 3 years old. What has happened in those areas where emissions checks have been dropped? is it:
[ol]
[li]There were no annual safety checks[/li][li]There were safety checks but those have been dropped too[/li][li]There are still mandatory safety checks[/li][/ol]
In most of the US, there are no safety checks ever.
In Oregon there are emissions tests in only a few urban areas, none at all in the rest of the state. No safety inspections.
My well maintained car, now 18 years old, has never been inspected by anyone. When registration tags are about to expire I renew them on the internet and new stickers arrive in the mail.
If a police officer happens to see a possible safety issue, or equipment not functioning correctly, they may pull a car over and issue a faulty equipment ticket. Fix the problem, show the police that it is repaired and no fine. Otherwise, most vehicles are never inspected at all.
Commercial vehicles are inspected and can be pulled over at anytime for a spot inspection, but not passenger vehicles.
The Arkansas department of motor vehicles stopped their safety checks several years ago.It was a racket for some garages. “Those brakes ain’t safe, M’am. You’ll need a break job to pass.” $$$ I don’t believe they ever did emissions testing.
you would be appalled at what is allowed to be driven on the road here.
And many Americans would be appalled at ‘the government’ ordering them to do something to their own car.
There are plenty of these. Example, you can get a ticket for a broken headlight or taillight, and if your windshield is cracked badly enough, you can be forbidden from driving it until it gets fixed. These are as much about preventing you from posing an undue hazard to other people - and the situation is the same if your car is found to be spewing emissions in excess of the legal limit.
See post #15. In areas of the US that are in violation of national ambient air quality standards, the state is required to step in and do something about it. Emissions checks may be part of such remedial efforts, and an emissions inspection program may be terminated if/when it is shown that NAAQS can be met without them.
If your car is broken to he point where it’s a hazard to other people, then it doesn’t belong on the road. Your freedom to swing your fists ends at the tip of another person’s nose.
I’m a member of a large facebook group dedicated to a particular model of older jeep, and literally every few days there is a post from the US about a safety failure, usually while being driven on a public highway. Generally the formerly proud former owner finishes their tale of woe by exhorting other members to get under their jeep and check something similar is not about to happen to them.
Gas tanks dropping out the bottom of the car, axle fastenings rusting loose, brake lines bursting, steering bars snapping, frame rails failing (so the car structurally breaks in half only held together by bodywork), prop shafts dropping loose (if front end of shaft, occasionally leading to the vehicle pole vaulting on it), it’s an endless cavalcade of horrors.
Ever since I joined that group I have been very happy to pay the mandatory annual $50 or so charged in my country to have someone go through all the safety related items and hand me a list of anything that is a problem now or could potentially become a problem in future.
I support safety inspections but…
…none of these things would have been included in the Virginia state safety inspection, except possibly the brake line bursting, which would only be caught if the line is leaking or visibly damaged.
PA has annual inspection & emission testing (<5000 mi/yr exempt). if you fail emission, you must pay to get it fixed up to $600(?).
Sure. But most states have realized that making everyone with a vehicle get an annual inspection is a very wasteful way to try to achieve the policy goal of keeping unsafe vehicles off the road.
Only something like 2% of crashes are due to equipment failures, and the vast majority of those aren’t caught by safety inspections. States without safety inspections are statistically just as safe as those with them.
It’s like: we don’t want people to commit assault, but having every person go through an annual anger management evaluation is a dumb way to achieve that.
Hard to tell exactly how they run the checks from that list, but in addition to the line about brake hoses being in poor condition they specifically mention:
- rusting or sagging frame/unibody
- “any part of the fuel system is not securely fastened”
- positioning parts leading to axle shifting including specifically spring hangers
- steering linkage play
- and last but not least “Any play is detected in the drive shaft u-joints, CV joints, or center load bearing.”
Certainly in my country I have come away from inspections with a note of rusty brake lines that may become a problem unless addressed and have had one fail due to a rusty frame member that needed cutting out and rewelding.