Abstract
According to the data of diesel-fueled vehicle provided by Motor Vehicle Offices, there are 42,741 diesel-fueled vehicles registered in Tainan City, and 14,254 of them are large passenger and cargo vehicles, while 28,487 are small passenger and cargo vehicles. From 1999, Environmental Protection Bureau of Tainan City Government initiated the inspection of exhaustion on diesel-fueled vehicle and commissioned professional consulting companies to execute the inspection. The Bureau hopes the owners and drivers of diesel-fueled vehicle to be aware of the importance of keeping vehicles properly maintained and thereby to improve Tainan City’s air quality.
In December 2003, Environmental Protection Administration (E.P.A.) amended old inspecting rules and announced new provisions, Inspection of maximum horsepower. According to the provisions, vehicles with a horsepower ratio that does not reach to the vehicles’ maximum horsepower will be disqualified and rejected. Disqualification and rejection due to rpm below par commonly seen earlier are lessened. However, from 2004, the number of vehicles disqualified and rejected by such criterion began to escalate. After years of implementation, the percentage of vehicles disqualified and rejected by horsepower inspection, which has been lagged in renewal for years, still reaches up to as high as 19%. Such number suggests that the situation of illegal adjustment continues to exist.
The inspection in which drivers are demanded to pull over on the roadside is kept carrying out this year. During the inspection, drivers are asked to step on the gas pedal and a visual inspection of exhaustion is conducted. Vehicles which seem suspicious are examined particularly. Vehicles that failed the inspection will be punished. Such inspection is successful in deterring those who illegally adjust their diesel-fueled vehicles before having dynamometer inspection. Thus, the program optimizes the efficacy with limited number of cases tested. In addition, the audition of diesel-fueled vehicles was strengthened to prevent the using of diesel containing excessive sulfur, which, as it is incinerated, pollutes air.
Certificated by CNLA in 2001, Liuying Dynamometer Inspection Station in Tainan City has being kept good quality in inspection, and the credibility of inspection is improved as well. In September 2009, the Station passed the supervision assessment done by TAF; in July 2010, again passed the extension assessment, which is conducted triennially. The Station will continue the efforts in quality improvement and make the inspection quality recognized time and again.
