The ramifications of the Volkswagen emissions deceit are ongoing and will probably be felt for some time. Whether it is to be believed that it came as anything like the surprise to the authorities that it was presented as is a moot point. Software doesn’t write itself, and some may take the view that maintaining secrecy of that order on that scale would have taxed even the designers of the Bletchley Park set up. That’s not to mention the dubious contention that so many government agency ‘experts’ were fooled into believing the vehicles’ own emissions and MPG output reports over real world performance.
The public demands clean air to breathe and a reduction in ‘greenhouse’ gases; government agencies duly set lower emissions levels for vehicles. What happens? Fuel economy goes down, driving costs go up, car manufacturers and hauliers say they will go out of business if their vehicles have to comply. What to do?
Simple: Set increasingly high emission reduction targets, while simultaneously allowing car manufacturers to get around them by turning a blind eye.
Worryingly, as recent reports testify, diesel particulate emissions are now being acknowledged as a serious health issue, but it appears that government agencies have removed emissions testing completely from the HGV MOT.
In the November issue of MOT Testing Jim Punter and Dave Garratt (Chief executive of the Garage Equipment Association) look at what has been going on with emissions Testing and the MOT, and ask “Why are MOT Testing Stations wasting time and money testing emissions when it’s all a ridiculous farce?”