44,600 vehicles get up people's noses

A staggering 44,694 vehicles have been reported to the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) since August last year for belching offending exhaust fumes.

However, only 3,737 vehicles have been called in for testing. An ADT spokesman said the other vehicles had not received enough reports to be called in. In order to put off pranksters, the ADT had decided to only test vehicles that get a minimum of three reports.

To date the ADT has tested 2,855 vehicles - 186 of which were buses. Figures from the authority show that 500 vehicles are due to face a second test after failing the first.

Another 676 vehicles have had a restriction placed on their licence after they failed the second emissions test. The owners cannot renew the road licence before providing proof that the vehicle passed the test.

Last year the ADT launched an innovative way for the public to assume the role of enforcement officers. People were urged to send a text message with the registration number of vehicles emitting fumes.

It seems that people irked by smokey emissions are continuing to take matters into their hands and report the offenders. A total of 90,007 SMS reports were received by the ADT up to November 13. Just over half of these - 45,809 - were received this year, with all the rest received between August 24, 2005 and the end of last year.

Reported vehicles are called in for an inspection at the Emissions Test Centre in St Andrew's. The owners of vehicles that fail the test are fined Lm20 and asked to fix the problem within a week, before being called in for a subsequent test. Vehicles that fail again get a restriction placed on their road licence.

ADT enforcement officers carry out a number of tests on diesel engines manufactured after August 1979 and those manufactured earlier undergo a visual test, with judgement based on the density of the emitted fumes.

A leaflet published by the ADT explains that repeated exposure to emissions might increase the risk of cancer, reduce lung function in children, contribute to premature death in people with heart and lung disease and aggravate or bring on respiratory illnesses.

Emissions, it explains, are caused by too much oil in the combustion chamber, faulty fuel systems, ignition problems, overloaded vehicles or diluted fuel.

Emissions can be reported by sending an SMS on 5061 1899 giving the vehicle's registration number.