Just like cars, trucks on California roads need smog-checks
The honesty system often doesn’t work.
That’s why California lawmakers should implement a smog-check program for heavy-duty trucks and buses like we already have for cars. Without loopholes. And without delays.
Pass the test or get off the road. It should be that simple. The state’s air quality and the health of our residents are at stake.
Currently, most vehicles under 14,000 pounds that are model year 1976 or newer must undergo an inspection every two years to ensure the exhaust does not exceed legal limits.
We all know the drill. You get the notice in the mail when it’s time to renew your auto registration. Take it down to the smog-check station for the test. And if the car passes, you’re usually done in about 30 minutes.
But, amazingly, there’s no similar program for heavyduty trucks and buses to ensure they are in compliance with the state’s emission standards, which were updated in 2010.
Instead, the state relies on self-inspections by truck owners and random field inspections by staff of the state Air Resources Board at border crossings, CHP weigh stations, fleet facilities and randomly selected roadside locations.
That’s not enough. According to an analysis by the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources, heavy-duty diesel vehicles are one of the largest sources of air pollution in California.
“Even with modern emissions controls and on-board diagnostics monitoring systems,” according to the analysis, “heavy-duty diesel vehicles are responsible for the majority of on-road mobile source emissions due, in part, to broken emissions-related components.”
The air board’s roadside inspections found that 11% of trucks had an illuminated check-engine light. In other words, if it’s broken, it doesn’t get fixed. The honesty system isn’t working.
Senate Bill 210, by state Sen. Connie Leyva, D-chino, would change that. The Senate has passed the legislation; so should the Assembly. It directs the air board, working with the Department of Motor Vehicles, to develop a pilot smog-check inspection program with the goal of eventually expanding it statewide.
Like with cars, truck owners would not be able to renew their registrations until their vehicles passed smog-check inspections. The system would also provide a mechanism for out-of-state owners of heavyduty vehicles to establish compliance before entering California. All told, an estimated 1 million vehicles would be inspected annually.
However, as the Assembly analysis notes, there’s no timeline for the air board to conduct its pilot program. That must be completed before the state can roll out inspections statewide. Lawmakers should set deadlines to ensure there’s no bureaucratic foot-dragging.
Similarly, there is no limit on the number of citations that can be issued to vehicles that violate the inspection program regulations. That’s unacceptable. Penalties must be sufficient to ensure compliance.
For, if we’ve learned anything, it’s that some truck owners won’t do it on their own.