SIMI VALLEY : CHP Plans to Check Car Smog Devices
Simi Valley motorists may be asked next month to participate in voluntary smog checks.
On May 21, California Highway Patrol officers will stop every third car at a checkpoint on a surface street, and researchers will check whether smog-control devices have been installed and are working, said Kate McGuire, a spokeswoman for the state Bureau of Automotive Repair.
Citations will not be given if cars violate the smog rules, nor is any motorist required to participate, McGuire said.
The bureau and the state Air Resources Board will use the results to help determine the statewide tampering rate.
“We need as much information as we possibly can get about what cars are doing in real life . . . instead of samples of cars from laboratories or off the assembly line,” said Bill Sessa, a board spokesman.
In the past, about 25% of the cars stopped had had smog-control devices removed, disconnected or modified, McGuire said. Some motorists tamper with the devices because they believe they can save money on gasoline, she said.
The agencies have conducted similar tests periodically in the past several years. They will be held across the Southland from April until July this year.
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