Cars in bad condition contribute greatly to the bad air in our country. It should have disappeared from the roads long ago, thanks to Shrendrians and corruption in measuring emissions. Since 2016, test center rules have been tightened and more accurate devices have been mandatory since last year. However, this year’s stats show that the network still has leaks and has “flyed” twice as many cars as him in Germany, where much younger cars are driven since exhaust tests.
The measurement of emissions during regularly mandated MOT checks is a long-standing issue in the relationship between automobiles and the Czech environment. In a quarter-century of ineffective state oversight, a network of laboratories has created, at its worst, a parallel universe ruled by the invisible hand of the market. The driver put his $200-300 in an ashtray and the technician pocketed them and made sure the vehicle passed the test.
In one fell swoop, the interests of three parties were resolved: satisfied customers, profitable test facilities, and, together, car dealerships that could sell non-compliant cars with impunity.
We all pay the price with the polluted air on our roads. When a petrol car smells musty and a diesel smokes black, even a complete layman can tell something is wrong. Deep-breathing cyclists and nearby homeowners find it particularly unpleasant, but the carcinogenic components of exhaust fumes are harmful to everyone.
Moreover, as the practice spread throughout the country, it had another result. A testing center that did its job in good faith and revoked non-compliant car licenses went bankrupt. People talked about risking getting fired and went elsewhere.
At some point, such conspicuous oversight failures seemed unsustainable even to the Ministry of Transport. A panel of experts prepared several steps to modify the methodological procedures of the emission test facility. Starting in 2016, all workplaces will need to be connected to a network and send measurements to a consolidated database in real time. The connection to the vehicle’s control unit and the reading of the defect memory are checked by a computer.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough. On the one hand, a technician could cause a non-standard condition by covert intervention in the vehicle, thereby officially obtaining an exception from the procedure. It’s also possible that you deliberately stepped on the gas slowly during simulated acceleration so that the engine doesn’t tell the full truth.
And the gap was completely incredible. The technician didn’t have to plug the measurement probe into the car’s exhaust pipe, but used a DIY device to hang the measurement probe to the side so that clean air could be drawn in with the exhaust. Emissions were good and nothing happened until workers got caught in the act.
This is exactly what the latest update of the methodology, valid from July 2021, aimed at, mandating the testing lab to purchase a modern device with a temperature sensor. If the probe is not inserted into the exhaust, the temperature will not rise and the measurement result will automatically be declared invalid.
After this step, many, including the creators of these lines, hoped that the shameful operation would end and mandatory inspections would begin to serve their intended purpose.
However, the hope was only partially realized. The Ministry of Transport confirmed to the editors of Aktuálně.cz that 3.14% of his passenger cars failed emissions tests in the first half of this year. Compared to the same period last year, he has increased by three-fourths, and it cannot be denied that the impact of the measures is significant.
But even this result means that the tests detected half as many defective cars as compared to Germany. There, the number of non-compliant passenger cars fluctuates between 6 and 7%. This is ridiculous considering the average car age is his 8.5 years and ours is his 15.5 years.
The only possible explanation is that the test crew is exploiting the last remaining loophole, intentionally stepping on the gas slowly. Emissions are measured on a stationary braked vehicle and the technician puts the engine in neutral. The more slowly he steps on the gas, the slower the engine’s speed and pressure rise, so the whole truth is not revealed.
Emission station workers must not miss it. The duration of the acceleration is recorded and if it is too long the computer will not recognize the measurement. But the devil is in the details. How long is too long? Czech regulations allow up to 5 seconds from the time you press the accelerator until you reach overdrive.
“Such restrictions are overly favorable, unfair, and discredit the entire measurement,” said Libor Fleischhans, a longtime critic of the state of the industry and founder of the independent association of emission engineers. is commenting. He said the work of the ministry and its expert committees reflects the influence of lobbyists who want emissions stations to continue making easy money by approving ineligible vehicles.
His point is simple. “The relevant regulations of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe binding the Czech Republic explain that free acceleration is a sudden and sharp step on the pedal. In the original text, as fast as possible, that is, as fast as possible. Diesel cars in the 70s Really need 5 seconds but it’s not wrong with today’s cars leaving it at the same time means opening the back door for arbitrary manipulation in my opinion can someone give a reason for this You must have had it,” Revol Fleissance points out.
Whatever the intent of the methodology creators, the results are decisive. Hundreds and thousands of smoky diesels still drive our roads in apparently inadequate condition. Network broadcasters have never seen a problem with this and have been telling us for years that unfair practices must only involve a handful of rogues. When the ministry mandates the use of equipment to detect non-exhaust sampling probe fraud, the number of catches surges by 75%.
Nevertheless, inspections in the Czech Republic show half the number of non-compliant vehicles than in Germany, which no one can explain. Result? The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism should think.
Completely ironic, the station’s operator had to invest tens of thousands of crowns in a new device, while removing the last questionable point of methodology cost nothing at all. No emissions engineer would dare to log the measurements of a 5 second “breath” on the RS TDI. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another 6 years for this simple change.
