“Dieselgate” and technical inspection. What (not) to be afraid of?

“First of all, it should be emphasized that that parameter

the amount of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in exhaust gases, which became the axis of the so-called “Dieselgate”, was not and is not measured during technical inspection in any European country. It is not even theoretically possible to do this, because these chemical compounds are recorded in laboratories using special equipment. What and how must be checked upon arrival at the TA center is very precisely defined by the applicable laws. So far, no changes have been made in them. and not new requirements are expected, therefore, at least in the near future, the quantities of nitrogen oxides will not be measured”, underlined R. Velavicius.

The expert from “Transport Studies” also pointed out that it is not possible to check during the technical inspection whether cars with engines marked with the code EA189 visited representatives of the company “Volkswagen AG”, took care of reprogramming the engine control unit and received the corresponding certificates of conformity or entries in the service books. Although letters sent to customers state that “it is necessary to adopt this technical measure”, car owners are guaranteed that in any case the cars are “technically safe and suitable for driving on public roads” and that there will be no obstacles with the registration of the car. In other words, neither the “whip nor the “cake” is foreseen: whether to change the engine computer program depends on the awareness and benevolence of each person.

“Whether a car meets current environmental requirements regarding emissions is checked when the car is first registered, i.e. when it is given permission to drive in public traffic, and this is done by analyzing the documents issued by the manufacturer – the certificate of conformity, commonly known as “COC” (Certificate of conformity). If the car has a valid COC, there are no obstacles to registration. In the case of Dieselgate, this document was obtained by providing incorrect information, but as far as we know no one has dared to invalidate it. The Volkswagen AG company has agreed with the regulatory authorities that the problem will be solved by reprogramming the engine control units free of charge: after doing this, emissions of harmful substances should fall within the norms. However, at least in our country, there is no obligation for car owners to take care of this operation, so there is no reason to demand anything from people during technical inspection,” said R. Velavicius.

It should be noted that it is possible to change this situation-

to check whether “dieselgate” cars have been properly repaired – after the State Transport Inspectorate adopts the relevant resolutions. On the other hand, in Lithuania there was not and still does not exist a policy for the formation of a transport fleet: the state allows the importation and registration under the same conditions of both extremely polluting and extremely “green” cars. Therefore, it would be strange to say the least if sanctions were taken against owners of Audi or Volkswagen cars who do not respond to requests from company representatives to reprogram their engine control units.

Environmental and medical specialists point out that transportation is still one of the largest air polluters and that, in the structure of morbidity and mortality of the population, chronic non-infectious lung diseases rank third to fifth among other diseases. Need brake Specialists consider the reduction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) extremely important, because this substance negatively affects the nervous system and lowers blood pressure. NO reacts with oxygen to form a highly poisonous gas NO2, which irritates the upper respiratory organs, causes coughing, watery eyes, higher concentrations affect the lungs and can cause death.