 Air Care News
April 2001
A drive-by roadside auto emissions screening system was launched in Greeley, Fort Collins and a
few other northern Front Range communities March 14.
RapidScreen roadside testing equipment and van.
(Visit the new RapidScreen website at
www.rapidscreentest.com)
The roadside emissions screening system, called
RapidScreen, will add a significant element of convenience
for vehicle owners who reside within the basic auto emissions test program area and maintain
clean-running vehicles.
RapidScreen vans equipped with special emissions sensors will set
up at announced, rotating locations in Larimer and Weld counties to measure the emissions from passing
cars. Motorists whose vehicles register two clean RapidScreen readings will get a card in the mail when
their vehicle registration is due for renewal, exempting them from their scheduled emissions test.
This new program for exempting vehicles using the roadside
system is the second of its kind in the nation. The first is in operation in the
St. Louis, Missouri area.
The vans will gather emissions data for several months before
enough data is available to begin mailing out cards. Vehicle owners should start receiving RapidScreen
notices in the mail sometime in the summer or fall. Environmental Systems Products Holdings Inc. (ESP)
will operate the RapidScreen program under contract with the
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
and the Colorado Department of Revenue.
ESP, parent company of
Envirotest Systems Corp., utilizes remote sensing equipment to
instantaneously measure a vehicle's exhaust plume as the vehicle drives by. Beams of infrared and
ultraviolet light shoot across the roadway. When a vehicle drives by and breaks the beams, the license
plate and vehicle speed and acceleration are recorded. The analyzers evaluate the emissions plume,
recording carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) levels. All of this occurs in less than a
second, allowing passing motorists to get their emissions tested as they drive by.
"The purpose of the program is to provide a measure of
convenience to consumers and to reward residents who maintain clean-running vehicles," said Jane
Norton, executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Norton explained that owners of vehicles that are less than
optimally clean will not be penalized, and simply will have to get a standard emissions test when they
are next scheduled to do so.
Anyone who lives within the Basic auto emissions program in Larimer
and Weld Counties, or commutes into the area, is eligible to participate. The program area includes
Berthoud, Fort Collins and Loveland in Larimer County, and Greeley in Weld County. Vehicles changing
ownership still will need to get a standard emissions test prior to sale.
"We are pleased that this roadside program will increase the
convenience of emissions tests for motorists in the North Front Range," said Kathy Gilliland,
chairperson for the North Front Range Transportation and Air Quality Planning Council.
Norton said that because of a bill pending in the Colorado
Legislature, it is not yet clear how notification and payment of the RapidScreen fee will occur. If
House Bill 01-1091 passes, residents simply will see a statement on their registration renewal notice
stating that no emissions test is required because they've been "RapidScreened," and the
applicable emissions test fees will be itemized as part of the cost of registration renewal.
Area motorists will be encouraged to seek out the RapidScreen vans
and drive past them a number of times in order to maximize their chances of logging two valid, clean
readings. The equipment does have some limitations and can be affected by rainy, snowy or windy
conditions. License plates need to be clean and readable. Van locations will be posted on the planned
RapidScreen website at www.rapidscreentest.com.
Derrick Pickeral, ESP's operations manager for Colorado, said,
"We are eager to get this new program up and running. We think we're going to provide residents of
the area with an added measure of convenience, and we hope folks will help to make this work by seeking
out the RapidScreen vans and maximizing their chance to participate."
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Tech Night
focuses on OBD II Readiness Monitors
by Doug Decker
OBD II Readiness Monitors, and whether they should be used as a
repair verification tool, were the subjects of a two-part Tech Night clinic held in January at the
Aurora Emissions Technical Center. The topic was presented over two nights, using four different vehicle
makes as a basis for comparison.
The first night focused on the basics of OBD II functions and
monitors from the technician's perspective. This was followed by a detailed discussion of readiness
monitor completion criteria and a live demonstration of an LA-4 drive in an attempt to set all monitors
to complete on a Toyota vehicle. As suspected, the fuel evap monitor did not run on this vehicle.
However, the cat monitor did not run either. This discrepancy and the fact that federal regulations
require that all monitors run on an LA-4, made this session very "real world" and created a
lively discussion.
The second night was devoted to detailed discussions and
demonstrations on Ford, Chrysler and GM vehicles' readiness monitors. The similarities and differences
in strategies, communications protocols, terminology, hardware and ease/difficulty of completing monitors
were explored in depth, from the technician's perspective.
The discussion lead back to three issues:
1. Since it is
unrealistic to assume that the repair tech/shop can be responsible for running all monitors prior to
returning the vehicle to the customer, the service advisor will have to educate the customer differently
from the past. In some instances, it is possible to have a Malfunction Indicator Light illuminate several
days or weeks after a repair, leading the motorist to believe that the vehicle was not properly repaired.
2. Despite the
efforts of SAE and EPA to standardize everything under the OBD rule, there remains considerable
variation from manufacturer to manufacturer. These variations have substantial implications for the
independent service technician.
3. The
availability of detailed service information is critical to the success of repair attempts made by
technicians.
This Tech Night was unique in several ways. It was the first
two-nighter, it was the best attended and it generated the most discussion and positive feedback. There
were 54 technicians in attendance the first night, and all but eight returned for the second. There were
several guest speakers who donated their time, expertise, test equipment and vehicles freely. The type
of information presented at this Tech Night is not available from any other source.
While a direct emissions reduction benefit would be difficult to
attribute to Tech Night, it continues to be an outstanding training and outreach mechanism that benefits
the local repair industry and will result in increasingly more cost effective emissions repairs for local
motorists. The networking opportunity that Tech Night creates within the local repair industry has
established a core of advanced knowledge that continues to grow.
Doug Decker is an environmental protection
specialist at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
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Ace inspector at
Denver Southeast station
by Tom Myrsiades
The Department of Revenue (DOR) is required, by law, to perform
undercover audits with an unmarked vehicle at all Air Care Colorado Program stations once a month.
Generally, we are looking for compliance with the inspection process. Our job is to identify inspections
and repairs that have not been performed properly and point out errors in order to make the emissions
program better and to improve inspection performance.
Over the past few years, I have focused on emissions penalties and
wrong-doers, improper inspections, poor repairs and those who try to beat the system. However, sometimes,
we like to recognize those who are doing the job correctly day in and day out. I recently reviewed the
covert records of Envirotest inspectors and found an Ace.
Vivian Clark, an inspector working at the
Denver Southeast station, 10190 E. Warren Ave., Aurora, has performed 14 of 15 covert audits
correctly since 1995 and has a record of 11 in a row without a violation over the last four years. This
is an outstanding record in any profession.
"I like what I do and I enjoy coming to work," Clark
said. Clark credits her success to having a good attitude, taking pride in what she does and asking
questions when in doubt. Her advice to other inspectors is to work as a team, ask questions and assume
that every car is a potential state undercover vehicle. Also, develop a routine pattern for performing
your job and be consistent. Clark's supervisor, Nate Putallaz, says she is the go-to person when it
comes to emissions equipment inspections.
I would like to take this opportunity to recognize Vivian Clark as
an outstanding emissions inspector. She has performed well over 10,000 emissions inspections while
working for Envirotest since January 1995.
Great job Vivian, and thanks!
Tom Myrsiades is an Emissions Compliance
Supervisor at the Colorado Department of Revenue.
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