Smog Snitches Driven to Help Clear the Air

Auto tailpipes that spew sooty clouds on the highway are driving thousands of Ventura County motorists to tattle on each other in an attempt to clean the air.

Now in its seventh year, the county Air Pollution Control District’s smog-snitch program, officially known as the Smoking Vehicle Hotline, remains popular--though participation has declined slightly this year, officials say.

While tipsters may receive a sense of gratification from reporting a polluter, calls to the hotline result in no enforcement action. Smog officials do not even keep track of chronic offenders.

Any time a clunker belches exhaust or a truck spews clouds of particle filth, California smog-control agencies urge residents to note the license number and report the offender. Since 1992, 16,320 such complaints have been reported in Ventura County, an average of nearly seven per day, according to the county air pollution district.

This year, 1,187 complaints have been logged in the county, an average of nearly five per day. Advertisements in theaters, newspapers and radio broadcasts are used to spur calls to 800-559-SMOG, Ventura County’s smoking vehicle hotline.

State law sets standards that prohibit cars from emitting excessive visible emissions. Rules are more lenient for buses and big trucks, which are powered by diesel, a dirtier fuel than gasoline, and carry big loads.

About half the smog in Ventura County comes from the 561,000 vehicles registered in the county, plus thousands of vehicles zipping through en route to other destinations. The rest of the smog comes mostly from consumer products, businesses and farms, according to district officials.

Despite the lack of enforcement, agency officials credit the tipster program for helping fight smog.

“There’s no doubt it’s cleaning the air,” said Barbara Page, spokeswoman for the air district. “It’s definitely taking emissions off the road. People are fixing their cars and polluting less.”

But just how much the program contributes to blue skies is open to question. The smog hotline has several shortcomings, officials say.

Once a smoking vehicle has been identified, air-quality officials mail the owner a questionnaire, asking the owner to explain why the car is making a mess and encouraging repairs.

But compliance is purely voluntary. No citations, penalties or black marks on a driving record occur, even for repeat offenders. Smog agency officials keep records of reported license numbers only for a short time, and won’t release those they do have on file to the public.

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State law precludes enforcement measures because the origin of the complaint comes from residents untrained in the nuances of pollution investigations, officials say.

Also, warning letters are sent only to owners of dirty vehicles registered in Ventura County, allowing some polluters to get away, said Keith Duval, a manager at the smog agency. California cars are subject to biennial smog checks, though the tests do not check for visible emissions.

Nevertheless, 30% of Ventura County vehicle owners who receive letters reply, albeit anonymously, officials say. Sometimes people apologize for excess pollution.

“Thank you,” one owner wrote to the air district recently. “What you do is a good thing. We appreciate your program and have called in a few smoky vehicles ourselves.” Enclosed was a receipt for $853, the cost of the repair.

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Sometimes owners are annoyed.

“Somebody obviously has nothing better to do than have you send notices, waste postage. Obviously, a member of the ‘Get even with Jaguar drivers’ club,” wrote another owner. Some owners complain they are victims of snooping neighbors or an intrusive government.

Wrote one owner of an alleged clunker: “I have a feud with a couple of my neighbors. It started when I let my lawn go to seed naturally. When they cannot get the city to make me mow my lawn, they threatened to complain about my Datsun’s noisy exhaust.”

Air-quality officials acknowledge they do not know if owners actually repair their vehicles, nor have officials quantified emission gains under the program.

Despite the weaknesses, smog hotlines are proliferating. The Ventura program is modeled after one launched in the Los Angeles Basin several years ago. Similar programs operate in the Bay Area, San Diego and San Joaquin Valley.

To cover any outstanding areas, the California Air Resources Board this year unveiled its 1-800 END-SMOG hotline. Cellular phone users can dial “#SMOG” anywhere in the state to report dirty exhaust.

Tim Carmichael, executive director for Venice-based Coalition for Clean Air, said smog hotlines are valuable because the steady stream of complaints reminds regulators that clean air is important to residents.

“Some people file it [warning letters] immediately in the round file, but a lot of people are surprised a bit and have their cars checked out.

“Even if it’s a small number of people, that’s helping to solve the problem. And it shows the air districts how many people on the roads pay attention to vehicles that are polluting,” Carmichael said.