Many drivers are unaware or want to be unaware of what is polluting their cars, even when it is quite obvious to the eye. Well, there is legal support to stop and punish these vehicles, especially in urban areas with specific regulations in this regard.
We have all seen a vehicle with serious problems in the exhaust system or engine on the road. In the case of diesel, they are colloquially called “squid”, because they make some drivers lose visibility.
Is it possible to do something with these vehicles, which are clearly polluting beyond their means? The first norm that a traffic agent can hold on to is the General Vehicle Regulations, RD 2822/1998, of December 23.
In Chapter II of Technical Conditions in its article 11, section 19, we read: «Motor vehicles must comply with the provisions of the corresponding provisions on the emission of smoke, polluting gases, noise and electromagnetic compatibility, in accordance with the provisions of the regulations contained in Annex I».
The perimeter of the Central District is an area of special environmental protection, which was previously called Central Madrid
However, it is most likely to receive a wake-up call already in an urban area, for which it would be necessary to see what the corresponding ordinance says. In the case of Madrid capital it is the Ordinance 4/2021, of March 30, on Air Quality and Sustainability.
Article 29 already mentions the obligation of drivers and vehicle owners to respect what is established in the current provisions on emissions of smoke and polluting gases, and when necessary, collaborate in detection and inspection tests mentioned in article 30.
In this article mobility agents have the power to stop any vehicle to check your exhaust gases, even if there is nothing to indicate a non-compliance. If the agents judge that there may be something wrong, or if they have been able to verify it on-site, you may be required to pass an inspection at a municipal center or ITV.
There may be circumstances where the non-compliance is very obvious, for example such a level of visible contamination that it makes it difficult for other drivers to see. It is planned the immobilization of the vehicle and its removal by crane to a municipal deposit.
If this is the case, the owner of the vehicle will be obliged to pay all the corresponding obligations and fees, and to undertake to repair the origin of the smoke emission, and obviously to undergo the planned examination again.
In short, it is easier for traffic officers in urban areas to stop vehicles, carry out checks, sanction them, and even immobilize the vehicle. In extra-urban areas this is more complicated., although there is legal support to issue a sanction -especially if you agree that the ITV is not in order-.
Throttle test of a heavily tricked-out TDI – Photo: Pavel Kacerovský
The experience of the LIFE GySTRA project
Four years ago we echoed an initiative in which the DGT collaborated to test an emissions detection system that did not require vehicles to stop. A kind of “emissions measurement radar”, to understand us.
Yes, the technology exists to detect visible and non-visible contamination by RSD+ remote sensing. It is an analysis of light, inside and outside the visible spectrum for the human being, undetectable and invulnerable to inhibition. From September 2017 to 2020, the system was being tested, although no sanctions were issued.
City councils can, if local pollution is a problem, get borders on the matter, they certainly have legal support to do so. Each major offender in this regard contributes to the problem as several healthy vehicles at once. It might even be a good idea.