Date: Fri 09-Jan-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

state-emissions-test

Full Text:

Connecticut Drivers Face New, Tougher Emissions Test

BY DENISE LAVOIE

ASSOCIATED PRESS

HARTFORD -- The wait will be longer, but the air should be cleaner.

On Friday, the state will begin using a new and more rigorous vehicle

emissions test to meet tougher clean air standards.

The price will be the same: $20. But the test will require more time and

patience.

For starters, the new test is expected to take an average of 12 to 15 minutes

instead of the old average of seven to eight minutes. And instead of sitting

in their cars throughout the test, drivers will now have to get out.

Station employees will drive the vehicles onto a device that looks like a

treadmill and rev the engines up to 25 mph for 30 seconds or more. Drivers

will be asked to wait in a room inside the testing station. The new test is

designed to simulate cruise driving conditions in order to identify heavily

polluting cars.

The old system tested cars at idle, which officials now believe was not a

realistic driving condition.

Another new requirement: Gas caps will be placed on a pressurized hose to make

sure they are properly sealed.

Under the federal Clean Air Act of 1990, 38 state or regions, including

Connecticut, must reduce emissions from motor vehicles. Smog levels in

Connecticut are the 11th worst in the nation, with levels in the southwestern

portion of the state particularly high.

State Motor Vehicles Commissioner Jose O. Salinas said the state risked losing

$310 million of the approximately $345 million it receives annually in federal

highway money if it did not put the new testing program in place.

"We probably wouldn't lose (the highway money) tomorrow, but the federal

government pretty much gave us an ultimatum," Salinas said.

While the old program tested for carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons, the new

test will also check for oxides of nitrogen, gases that contribute to smog.

State officials expect more cars to fail under the new test, but say the

emission's contractor, Envirotest Systems Corp., is prepared to handle

additional failures. Under the old testing program, eight percent to ten

percent of vehicles failed. DMV officials say the failure rate could

eventually climb to 15 percent under the new system.

Drivers who fail the new test and then flunk again a second time will be able

to get a waiver if they have spent at least $250 trying to fix the problem.

For owners of cars made before 1980, $125 in repairs will qualify a motorist

for a waiver.

Motorists waiting to get their cars inspected at the Bridgeport testing

station Wednesday -- the final day under the old system -- seemed unfazed by

the new requirements.

"It doesn't bother me," said Paul Agosti of Easton. "If something has to be

done about the environment, then it's worth it. It might not be convenient,

but sometimes what's convenient is not realistic."

Simone DePaolo, who just moved back to Bridgeport from Florida, said she will

try to pick a slow time to get her next test, rather than waiting until

crunchtime at the end of the month.

On Wednesday, DePaolo found long lines of cars when she arrived at the station

just before 9 am. The estimated wait time that greeted her on the station's

electronic bulletin board was 59 minutes, plus the seven or eight minutes it

would take to actually test her car.

"I wish I had gotten up earlier; next time, I will," she said. "It's

time-consuming, but they're getting the job done."

As for the idea of getting out of her car for her next inspection, DePaolo

said that doesn't bother her.

"They have a sitting room. If they have coffee, then that's fine," she said.