Talk:California Smog Check Program

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Removed unreferenced
I have removed the following sections/items, because they were not referenced; some appears to be original research, which is not permitted; please add them back with appropriate reliable sources if possible.  Chzz  ► 02:30, 7 May 2011 (UTC)

Smog Check
The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) sends a registration renewal notice which indicates if a smog check is required and whether the test must be done at a Test-Only or Gold Shield station. Test-Only stations are those that are only allowed to test cars but are not allowed to make any repairs. A Gold Shield Station has met certain performance criteria that allow it to test and to perform repairs on all cars. If the DMV requires a smog check for a vehicle, the owner must comply with the notice within 90 days and provide a completed smog check certificate. Until a smog certificate can be provided registration will not be renewed. If the vehicle fails the smog check, the owner will be required to complete all necessary repairs and pass a smog check retest in order to complete the registration. If the costs of repairing the vehicle outweigh its value, the state may buy it for $1000 and have it scrapped. The buyback program is part of California’s Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) that also offers consumer assistance for repairs related to smog check. The program is administered by the Bureau of Automotive Repair.

The following counties require a smog inspection for vehicle registration renewal:

In addition there are six counties that require smog certifications within certain ZIP codes only.
 * El Dorado
 * Riverside
 * Placer
 * San Bernardino
 * San Diego
 * Sonoma

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Californians drive more than most other Americans. The consequences of this, according to the California EPA’s Air Resource Board, are that motor vehicles are California’s number one cause of air pollution. The California smog program was created to deal with the problem of air pollution and to reduce the impacts of global warming due to high greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.

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For the purposes of the smog check Hydrocarbons, Carbon Monoxide, and Nitrogen Oxides are the gases that result in a pass or fail. The other gasses are used for diagnostic purposes.

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And scientists expect that air pollution in the coming decades may worsen. Reductions in human-made pollution will be very important.

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Before the study was published, it had already been known that smog can make asthma worse, but little was known about it causing asthma.

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This will impact the electricity generating sector.

In order to combat air pollution in California, the state implemented the smog check program in hopes that it would help reduce some of the air pollution. Since transportation was identified as one of the major causes of air pollution, the program was designed to significantly reduce or eliminate car emissions that are contributing to the problem. California was known as the “smog capital” due to the poor air quality in Los Angeles. Due to the public's concern over the health effects of smog and the environmental damage the state decided to implement the Smog Check program.

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Anthropogenic sources are human made sources of air pollution as a result of human activity. They are characterized in two ways: mobile and stationary. Mobile sources include those from transpiration such as cars, trucks, airplanes, etc. Stationary sources are power plants and industrial facilities.

Vehicles emissions are significant contributors to air pollution. Because air is a public good available to everyone, increased number of vehicles on the road results in negative externalities, higher emissions. More vehicles on the road contributes to reduced air quality. The idea behind Garrett Hardin’s “Tragedy of the Commons” (1968) can be applied to the problem of air pollution from vehicle emissions.

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As that number increased so did the number of vehicles being driven. As that number increased, so did the number of vehicles being driven resulting in an increase of smog. Cities became denser and more people were driving further for both work and leisure.

During the summer of 1943, a cloud of smog cut visibility in the Los Angeles area. Those exposed suffered from eye irritation, respiratory problems, nausea and vomiting. Scientists, eventually, recognized that smog was caused by pollution from fossil fuel combustion and gases evaporating from fuels and solvents and reacting together in sunlight. As the state’s population grew the number of cars on the road increased and those cars were being driven further than before, contributing to further smog pollution. According to the California EPA, as California’s population grows and the climate warms, forests, croplands, and native vegetation become altered.

California became known as the smog capital because of the poor air quality in the Los Angeles area. The area is often described as a “bowl” trapped by a layer of air that won’t permit heavy particulates to break up in the atmosphere. In the 1960s people became very concerned about the poor quality of air outside. Due to the rising concerns, in 1963 California was the first state to institute emissions controls on new vehicles sold in the state.

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In 1992 “SB 1997” was implemented, which was passed in 1988. SB 1997 required upgrades to idle emissions test equipment, a sliding repair cost ceiling ranging from $50 (pre-1971 vehicles) to $300 (1990 and newer vehicles), additional inspections, and additional mechanic certification requirements. This program is generally known as the “BAR 90” program.

In 1994 after Congress passed the Federal Clean Air Amendments of 1992 negotiations between California and the US EPA resulted in the passage of AB 2018. It created a blueprint for the current smog check program and later became known as Smog Check II. Smog Check II was designed to meet the new requirements of the Federal Clean Air Act. Under Smog Check II, which was aimed at “gross polluters” motorists had to fix their vehicles if they did not meet standards, otherwise the vehicle could not be registered with the DMV. Then in 1996 “AB 2515” allowed small independent businesses to operate test-only stations.

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In order to maintain clear air and reduce smog, California has chosen to regulate vehicle emissions through its Smog Check program.

The various agencies involved with the Smog Check Program have chosen regulation as their policy tool. This regulation is designed to provide uniform standards. Enforcement is done in a number of ways. Vehicles failing to pass the smog check will not be registered by the DMV. In addition, the Air Resource Board has created a way for consumers to file complaints if they see a smog emitting vehicle. Various counties in California have a toll-free phone number that you can call to report a smoking vehicle. The Air Resource Board is the general agency that can be contacted throughout California at 1-800-END-SMOG. You may also fill out an online complaint form through the Air Resource Board’s website.

Stakeholders
The California Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) administers the Smog Check Program. The California Air Resource Board (ARB), a department of the California Environmental Protection Agency, oversees all air pollution control efforts in California. These two agencies work together to ensure the effectiveness of the program. The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) ensures that smog checks have been performed when required and will not register a car that has not passed a smog check.

Various stakeholders have an interest in California’s Smog Check Program. They include the automotive industry, consumers, US, state, and local governments, various government agencies, businesses that perform smog checks, and others. The automotive industry, for example, has to comply with stricter requirements under the law. Smog check stations and repair shops generate revenue from smog checks they perform. Consumers have to comply with the regulation and maintain their vehicles. Thus the smog check regulation affects various stakeholders in different ways.

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The California Smog Check program has its critics. Some consumers are opposed to it because of the additional costs and time requirements. They believe it places additional burdens on them. Car makers for years have been making the argument that the more stringent regulation imposes additional costs on consumers, while the net benefit is small. However, many believe that the stringent regulation is necessary in order to decrease greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles and improve California’s air quality, which is among the worst in the nation.

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Thus the program has had some success in reducing the amount of air pollution from vehicles. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the program, the agencies that administer it not only look at the amount of smog that has been removed from the air, but also the effectiveness of the smog tests and how they are conducted.

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The 2000-2002 data revealed that of the pre-1996 vehicles that failed their first Smog Check but passed a re-check, 40 percent failed again within a year of the passing test. Sierra Research, Inc. found that the 2003-2006 data showed a 9 percent increase. Thus the percent of vehicles failing the Roadside test was 49 percent for data collected in 2003-2006. The data also revealed that of the 1976-1995 vehicles that passed the smog check initially, 19 percent failed the Roadsides test within a year.

In order to determine why almost half the vehicles that initially failed the smog check and passed the re-check but failed the Roadside test, Sierra Research Inc., looked at the performance of smog check stations to see if a correlation existed. The results suggested that many of the vehicles are not being repaired or are not being repaired properly. In addition, the analysis indicated that these vehicles were more likely to have received an aborted test or a pretest. According to the analysis conducted by Sierra Research Inc., “it appears as though some Smog Check stations are attempting to determine whether a vehicle is likely to fail before they conduct the official test and that a vehicle’s subsequent failure during a roadside test is somehow related to whether it received a pretest or an aborted test”. A technician may attempt to determine if the official test needs to be altered in some way in order to generate a passing score.

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Proposition AB 2289, which passed and takes effect in 2013 addresses the issue of improper vehicle testing. The new law imposes stricter fines on stations and technicians who perform improper or incomplete smog check inspections. According to a joint press release by the Air Resource Board and the Bureau of Automotive Repair, AB2289 will address the problems in the following ways.
 * AB 2289 will authorize the use of On Board Diagnostic II testing to expedite the process
 * Those vehicles known to release large amounts of pollution must test at stations with the highest performance ratings
 * Impose stricter fines for improper inspections
 * Will allow the state to contract with the private sector to manage franchise-like networks of independently owned smog check stations
 * Require an annual evaluation of station performance using Roadside tests
 * Encourage training institutions (community colleges and others) to develop technician-training programs

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The new standard will be administered by the Department of Transportation and the EPA. The policy is designed to bring together 14 states, 10 companies, environmental groups, and other stakeholders under one national standard. California has agreed to support the national standard. Problem is it not really about smog if it were there wouldn't be a visual inspection,did you know your vehicle will not pass if the check engine light is on even though the vehicle can have clean emissions it will not pass.The state would rather force people into making unnecessary repairs,you see this creates revenue for the Bureaucrats,an other example is outlawing code reading instruments being available for free at your local Auto Parts store,ask yourself why. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.90.183.225 (talk) 20:57, 16 July 2011 (UTC)

Causes
The causes section talks about greenhouse gases in some detail as though they were relevant. This is confused. Cars emit various small amounts of oxides of nitrogen, sulphur dioxide, unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide (= incompletely oxidized/burned carbon dioxide), and sulphur dioxide, which is what catalytic converters reduce and what smog checks look for. Most of the emissions from a well-tuned car are the atmosphere's two most influential greenhouse gases, namely water vapor and carbon dioxide, but the smog check program targets neither of these because the former is harmless while there is currently no practical technology for reducing the latter from cars (wonderful though that would be). Cement production is likewise relevant only as a major source of CO2, not as anything relevant to the smog check program. I'd fix this except I'm not sure what to put in its place (my fix would be just to delete the section). --Vaughan Pratt (talk) 02:05, 11 April 2012 (UTC)

Smog checks are older than stated in the article
While the laws since 1984 are accurately described - I distinctly remember having to have both my '65 Mercury Comet and my '70 Chevy Camaro tested as part of the title transfer process. The testing was done at state run inspection stations and for cars from '65 to '74 and really only looked to see if you had what they called a "Nox" device that defeated the vacuum advance during around town driving. In addition once the new laws came into effect - I had to have my Camaro tested every 2 years just to ensure that the device was still attached. I'm not sure when they stopped checking the pre-unleaded cars as I sold it in '93 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gklindsey (talk • contribs) 10:57, 16 October 2016 (UTC)

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Page needs updating
A lot of this page is rather old - it refers to the Obama administration in the current tense, and describes the period of 2012-2016 in future tense. 68.37.34.41 (talk) 04:48, 5 November 2020 (UTC)

Wikipedia Ambassador Program course assignment
This article is the subject of an educational assignment at San Francisco State University supported by WikiProject United States Public Policy and the Wikipedia Ambassador Program&#32;during the 2011 Spring term. Further details are available on the course page.

The above message was substituted from by PrimeBOT (talk) on 16:39, 2 January 2023 (UTC)

Smog checks in participating counties in California-- the presented information in the current listing is most assuredly wrong information
San Bernardino County and Riverside counties in the metropolitan areas most definitely have smog requirements for cars built after 1976. owners be aware -they are required to be smogged every 2 years or else be removed from the road.

Someone needs to update Wiki information because it is currently not been updated 108.184.120.144 (talk) 03:31, 19 January 2024 (UTC)

Ignition timing
I'm having trouble finding information about this, but I think until the 1970s or 1980s, taking a motor vehicle for a "tune-up" meant taking it to a technician who would adjust the ignition timing, via the distributor, presumably to compensate for aging of the spark plugs and other factors. Worn spark plugs take longer to ignite the fuel-air mixture in the engine cylinder, so typically the ignition timing would have to be advanced to compensate for this. However, the California Smog Check program requires ignition timing to be "reset to the factoring setting". This means retarding the timing, so that more combustion happens in the exhaust manifold and less in the engine. The result is that older cars in California make a moaning or a rumbling sound and have poor acceleration performance and poor mileage. They are also smellier than they would be if owners were allowed to have a properly tuned engine.

Today, because of the California Smog Check Program, a professional "tune-up" involves no tuning at all, but has come to mean replacing all of a vehicle's spark plugs, which is very expensive, and which typically doesn't fully compensate for other factors that may require ignition timing to be advanced on an older engine. It would be like requiring piano owners to replace their strings rather than twisting the tuning pegs to periodically adjust the tension.

I was told that the reason for not wanting to have too much combustion occurring in the engine is that the cylinder walls will get too hot, and that nitric oxide will form on hot cylinder walls. However, smog technicians are not allowed to verify this hypothesis, because they are not allowed to make measurements of vehicles which have been tuned. Until interacting with a smog technician, I had never heard it argued that an internal combustion engine would produce more pollution if all of the combustion were allowed to take place internally to the engine. Also, note that for a smog technician to check the ignition timing requires a warrant-less search of the engine compartment, which is unconstitutional, particularly as the search happens before any measurements of the exhaust are allowed to be made. I am not sure why the courts allow such regulations.

It is also obvious to anyone who visits California that the California Smog Check Program does not place any limits on the amount of noise that a vehicle can make. Vehicle noise is a very serious form of pollution, which especially affects city dwellers. New, expensive vehicles are often deliberately noisy, and as noted above, the smog check program makes older vehicles noisier. Recently, new vehicles are even required to make high-pitched noises with electric speakers to repel pedestrians. It seems to me that the purpose of the smog check program is not actually to reduce pollution or provide relief to pedestrians, but rather to give the appearance of caring about a serious health problem while actually making it worse. This is quite understandable, given that governments don't really benefit from allowing citizens to speak and assemble in large groups in public. By filling the outdoor environment with machine noise and hydrocarbons and pretending that our main concern should be an invisible odorless gas like nitric oxide, the government can appear to encourage free speech and assembly in theory, while actually suppressing it in practice.

This article appears very one-sided to me, and I would like to see more information about how the California Smog Check Program and other government regulations serve to increase pollution from automobiles. A5 (talk) 06:32, 16 July 2024 (UTC)