Question: Why is it that people can still drive our streets in vehicles puking out pollution? Isn't there laws against this? If so please contact the owner of BC plate [deleted] and ask to get the thing repaired. Not fair to be trapped behind one of these and have to breathe in the stench!
Engine Emission Pollution
The Schedule to Division 7 of those regulations, paragraph 16:
16 The engine and exhaust system of every motor vehicle shall be equipped and adjusted to prevent the escape of excessive fumes or smoke as compared to other motor vehicles of the same or similar types and sizes.
Police Action
The police or Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement (CVSE) may choose to act on this either through a ticket and / or inspection order. The inspection order requires that the vehicle be taken to a Designated Inspection Facility, inspected and any identified repairs be made.
The order will likely be the most effective of the two choices.
Vehicles belching excessive smoke may be reported the same way as you would any police matter and CVSE will accept commercial vehicle complaints at 1-888-775-8785 (Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM).
Designated Inspection Facility
When a vehicle has visible smoke, an inspector follows this instruction during the vehicle inspection:
Primary Selection: Section 1.9 (Emission Control Systems)
- Item: Emission Control Systems and Devices.
- Reason for Rejection: The inspector will note that the system is "not functioning as intended" or "failed to operate". Since smoke is a byproduct of a system failure (such as a faulty catalytic converter, PCV valve, or internal engine wear), it serves as the physical evidence that the emission control system is not meeting the Section 1.9 standards.
Ministry of Environment
One would expect that the Ministry of the Environment would have a stake in this too. Their web site does mention reporting violators of environmental laws but a call to their report line directed me to visit the BC Air Quality web site, which in turn pointed me right back to the reporting line that I had called. Regardless, the person I spoke with advised me that the Ministry of the Environment did not accept complaints about excessive vehicle exhaust.
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