Are Makati's Smoke-Belching Tests Legal?

[niky]

Okay, here's the story:

My officemate was doing an errand, and was using a borrowed AUV to do so... and they were accosted for smoke belching. Being polite, they stopped. They were informed that this was a screening and that they were required to take the test. Take note at at this point, the vehicle was not visibly belching black smoke. It was stopped at random.

My officemate called me for advice, I asked her who it was... it was the Makati ASBU, she said. I said that, in my opinion, the Makati City government didn't have the authority or mandate to do emissions testing, and I asked why they were stopped, because I'd borrowed the vehicle myself before her, and I was sure it wouldn't smoke in normal use. In a few minutes, she called back informing me that the testing was over, and that the Crosswind had failed.

I was flabbergasted... I know the Crosswind is a "smoky" vehicle, but the vehicle had recently been reconditioned, oil change, coolant change, flush, injector cleaning, the works! I couldn't comprehend how it could fail a simple opacity test... and worse, fail so badly.

Here's the fun part:

I talked to the driver when they got back. Apparently, the test was done on the side of the road with a portable machine... and from the sound of the test, the Crosswind really did fail. It did belch smoke during the test.

But: They apparently whacked the hell out of the Crosswind for the test. Redlined it multiple times while standing still, until it started smoking. Obviously, given that, it would fail. If I'd have been there, I would have yanked the guy doing the test out of the driver's seat and shook him senseless... asking him if he was out of his frigging mind... were they going to pay for the engine if they broke it?

And when I reviewed the LTO guidelines, I found even more blood-pressure raising stuff:

From what I remember, opacity is tested at 2500 rpms... so I checked an old emissions testing report frm the LTO... according to the report, the 3.5 limit stated on the Makati report is accurate, BUT, it's 3.5 at idle. not at 2500 rpm, and NOWHERE CLOSE to redline. As any motorist worth his salt can tell you, if you redline an engine, it starts dumping excess fuel into the chamber to keep itself from overheating and eventually exploding. This will cause it to belch black smoke if stressed for too long, and this is exactly what this test shows.

So... the testing done by the Makati enforcers was spurious and incorrect, right?

Even better... the emissions report handed to me has no rpm readout and is not signed by the tester. Thus, there is no officiality to the reading, and the reading cannot prove that testing was done under the proper guidelines given in the law. Thus, it is completely invalid.



So... here's my choices... do I argue out of the ticket on a technicality? Do I take these guys to court? Or do I take my complaints to the newspapers and put this out in public? Or all three? Of course, I could always pay the fine and avoid trouble... but then, I don't care about trouble... I've been having a bad week, and I feel like fighting with somebody. I don't even care if they know who I am. I'm not one to hide behind anonymity... though, for the sake of the owner of the vehicle, I'm not revealing whose car it is.

So here it is... I'm taking my complaint to the public, first. And if any lawyer can tell me that this ticket is completely legal, with legal basis, I'll cough up the money. Otherwise, I'd like to know what kind of authority the Makati traffic boys have. Illegal parking? Fine. No U-Turn? Fine. Color-coding window? Well, it's their city... so fine. But inventing their own emissions test to make money off of hapless motorists? Bull. Complete and utter manure.

On to you, Makati City Hall.

[shadow]

I think it is better to put this out in the media..kasi first diba yun smoke test sa LTO when we register dapat good for 1 year na yun?....

eh kung ganun din na mag bibigay sila ng violation eh di huwag na tayo magpa smoke test sa registration tutal di naman nila sinusunod yun..at least sa Makati

[niky]

I think it is better to put this out in the media..kasi first diba yun smoke test sa LTO when we register dapat good for 1 year na yun?....

eh kung ganun din na mag bibigay sila ng violation eh di huwag na tayo magpa smoke test sa registration tutal di naman nila sinusunod yun..at least sa Makati

I'm not debating drive-by emissions tests... I actually think they're necessary, with so many people doing the non-appearance thing at the LTO... and you never know, the owner might just fix the car up for the emissions test, then let it belch again afterwards.

So, random testing... good. But testing without following standard procedure and without scientific basis? Complete manure. Again.

I've already forwarded this letter to the papers I could get an e-mail address for... still looking for contacts for the Star, the Bulletin, and others.

[drag_addict]

badtrip yan ah, dapat hinuhuli nila ung mga bus! ang dadaya nila

tama, ipaglaban yan!

[Taurus]

That is really wrong, no driver will be pushing their cars near the red line!

Looks like you already made your move niky, we really need to make this b*sta*rds pay. Let the public know how the proper test should be done so that they will not be fooled.

[CoDer]

Bring it to the media.

May kiniladkad ang tatay ko nyan dati at muntik na nyang masuntok. Abay akalain mo ba namang i redline yung sasakyan, talagang uusok yun.

Ayon nagmukhang mga basang sisiw ang mga tanga.

[scharnhorst]

badtrip yan ah, dapat hinuhuli nila ung mga bus! ang dadaya nila

tama, ipaglaban yan!

Yes. Araw araw tuloy tuloy yung andar ng mga bus na nagbubuga ng sobrang kapal na usok, tapos mang aapprehend sila ng mga motoristang medyo napalakas lang ng apak sa silinyador.

[glenngj]

Actually this is not only happen in the makati area, sa c5 road meron din ganito may mga dala sila na smoke belching device pag nakakita sila ng sasakyan na luma pinapara nila..

[[archie]]

i think that this is wrong in every aspect. they should regulate this further kasi hindi tama na red line nila yung vehicle. kaya nga "red line" eh.

niky i think tama na report mo sila sa media, they are taking full advantage of everyone that lives and passes by makati at nabibiktima.

[rst619]

Para po ma-enlighten lahat

nicky, the passing limit is not at idling speed po. For diesel engines, the opacity reading is taken at maximum engine speed.
Sa gas engines po ang idling speed ang basis ng pagkuha ng CO and HC readings.

as per DOTC recommended test procedure on Smoke Opacity Measurement section e:

" With the engine idling, depress the accelerator quickly, but not violently, to obtain maximum delivery from the injection pump. Maintain this position until maximum engine speed is reached for about 2-4 seconds and the governor comes into action. As soon as this speed is reached, release the accelerator until the engine resumes its idling speed. Record the maximum reading of the smokemeter"

The term max engine speed is the source of the confusion tho. Some may interpret it as the rpm just before the "redline" while most sensible car users (like us tsikoteers) would interpret it as the max safe rpm for the engine. Sadly, both are correct interpretations IMO tho.

LGUs have the power to conduct their own SB campaign as mandated sa RA8749 or the Clean Air Act of 1999.

On that note, the proper/correct way to do is to contest the ticket thru the traffic adjudication board?


shadow, the emission test done as a pre req to registration can never be good for 1 year. It is done just to prove that at the time of registration, our car is in good running condition. So legal pa din na may random SB campaign.


PS, most diesel engines have a redline starting at 4000 rpm. So it is possible and safe pa rin po talaga na i test ang engine at 3999 rpm.