BANGKOK (NNT) – As part of the attempt to mitigate air pollution in Bangkok, police officers and officials from government agencies have launched an operation detecting cars emitting black exhaust smoke in front of Chatuchak Park, with only three trucks found to be emitting black smoke.
Officials of the Pollution Control Department (PCD) and the Department of Land Transport (DLT) used opacity meters to detect the quality of exhaust smoke emitted from personal cars, as well as larger vehicles such as trucks and buses.
The operation today in front of Chatuchak Park in Bangkok has found three pick-up trucks emitting black exhaust gas. These vehicles have been declared temporary out of service with yellow stickers pasted on the vehicles. The officials have given vehicle owners engine maintenance manuals. Vehicles emitting exhaust gas of poorer quality than these three will receive a red sticker, which strictly forbids such vehicles from being on the road indefinitely.
The operation, observed by the Office of the Prime Minister’s Permanent Secretary Theerapat Prayoonsit, and the PCD Director General Athapol Charoenshunsa, found no public buses emitting exhaust gas of poor quality, as the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has renovated some of its buses to use natural gas vehicles instead.
From October last year to September this year, the PCD has inspected 9,539 vehicles for their exhaust quality. During this period, 2,526 vehicles were found to be emitting black exhaust gas, with 390 cars at a severe level prompting a vehicle ban. Owners of these vehicles have been fined according to the law, and are required to upgrade or repair their vehicle’s engine to prevent black exhaust smoke.
Road users and members of the public can report their sighting of vehicles emitting black exhaust smoke, by taking photos or videos of such vehicles and sending that to the Department of Land Transport’s Facebook page, or to the @1584dlt account on the LINE messaging platform; or by calling the 1584 public vehicle complaint hotline.
