EPA: Rolling Coal Is Verboten According To Clean Air Act
Once upon a time, tractor pull attendees who witnessed diesels churn out black smoke under the strain of a very heavy trailer decided to make their diesel-powered pickups do the same thing, sans said heavy trailer. The practice came to be known as “rolling coal,” and until last week, was nothing more than a potential subject for a country song or two amid lyrics about drinking lots of beer and getting with the blue-eyed blonde of the singer(s) dream(s).
However, rolling coal has taken on a political guise as of late, usually (and literally) aimed at Prius owners allegedly trying to force their asphalt realities upon the coal enthusiasts. Of course, the Environmental Protection Agency has something to say about the whole thing: No.
Jalopnik subsidiary Truck Yeah! reports Talking Points Memo got a hold of EPA representative Liz Purchia about the legalities of pretending to be a 19th century choo-choo train on the highways of the 21st century. In short: rolling coal is a violation of the Clean Air Act. The systems used to create black smoke on purpose, including computer software “that alters diesel fuel injection timing,” are illegally overriding emissions control, something the CAA frowns upon, to say the least.
That said, enforcement of the CAA is on the manufacturer level; thus, while it is illegal to roll the coal down that old dirt road, the only punitive action may come from the police officer who just had a ton of black smoke blown directly in their face.
Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.
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I know I'm late to this discussion, but the idiots who do this really need to take a minute for self-reflection (if they can figure out what that is -- even chimps can recognize themselves in a mirror, so there is hope.) Particulate inhalation can be deadly for people with asthma. A good lungful can trigger an episode in both kids and adults. And yes, people do die from the condition, all the time. It is a major cause of trips to the ER. So, whoever said upthread that this was assault is more right than they know. Civilized areas (ie, with enforced emissions laws) should ticket the offenders straight away and force them off the road until the cars are cleaned up.
May the morons who do this not only be fined but be afflicted with one of the many cancers associated with excessive exposure to PM10 and PM2.5.
I own an '89 F250 diesel (non-turbo, indirect injection, rotary Stanadyne injection pump). Fairly simple, straightforward stuff, nothing sophisticated. When accelerating hard (a very modest pace in comparison to traffic around me), it always emits some black smoke. Nothing like the above picture. I always think badly about it, as it is just unburnt fuel, and wasted money. A question - where do these folks get the money for this ? Diesel are inherently expensive. Expensive to buy, expensive to maintain. What jobs do these folks have to afford the fuel and, I expect, considerable non-warrantied powertrain repairs ?
I've seen this topic batted around a few places and my question is, why are Chevrolet trucks generally shown? GM sells the fewest diesel pickups and is a distant second to Ram in the percentage of jerk owners. Seems like more "Government Motors" bias to me.