Are Makati's Smoke-Belching Tests Legal?

**ans_lim168** · August 19th, 2009 08:20 AM

Just avoid the streets frequented by these road vultures. I make it a point especially when I'm going to Makati and I would drive a diesel-powered vehicle a few years back, I would make it a point to go there on a Sunday, or if it can't be avoided I would take a street that these guys would not conduct their illegal? activity.

**SaberRider** · August 21st, 2009 08:00 AM

Teka, do these guys have MO's? Mission Orders? Kasi if they just do it randomly w/o providing any proof that there was a document stating they should and on that specific location and on that specific date then they have no legal right to stop you, in fact pwede mo na sila i demanda dun for harassing you. Yan ang mahirap sa Makati, para silang MILF may mga sariling batas.

**CVT** · August 21st, 2009 12:29 PM

Isa na namang gimik ng Republika ng Makati?!

8505:bat:

**jave** · August 21st, 2009 06:17 PM

"Ganito kami sa Makati."

**MaxAJ** · August 21st, 2009 06:35 PM

Originally Posted by niky

Okay, here's the story:

My officemate was doing an errand, and was using a borrowed AUV to do so... and they were accosted for smoke belching. Being polite, they stopped. They were informed that this was a screening and that they were required to take the test. Take note at at this point, the vehicle was not visibly belching black smoke. It was stopped at random.

My officemate called me for advice, I asked her who it was... it was the Makati ASBU, she said. I said that, in my opinion, the Makati City government didn't have the authority or mandate to do emissions testing, and I asked why they were stopped, because I'd borrowed the vehicle myself before her, and I was sure it wouldn't smoke in normal use. In a few minutes, she called back informing me that the testing was over, and that the Crosswind had failed.

I was flabbergasted... I know the Crosswind is a "smoky" vehicle, but the vehicle had recently been reconditioned, oil change, coolant change, flush, injector cleaning, the works! I couldn't comprehend how it could fail a simple opacity test... and worse, fail so badly.

Here's the fun part:

I talked to the driver when they got back. Apparently, the test was done on the side of the road with a portable machine... and from the sound of the test, the Crosswind really did fail. It did belch smoke during the test.

But: They apparently whacked the hell out of the Crosswind for the test. Redlined it multiple times while standing still, until it started smoking. Obviously, given that, it would fail. If I'd have been there, I would have yanked the guy doing the test out of the driver's seat and shook him senseless... asking him if he was out of his frigging mind... were they going to pay for the engine if they broke it?

And when I reviewed the LTO guidelines, I found even more blood-pressure raising stuff:

From what I remember, opacity is tested at 2500 rpms... so I checked an old emissions testing report frm the LTO... according to the report, the 3.5 limit stated on the Makati report is accurate, BUT, it's 3.5 at idle. not at 2500 rpm, and NOWHERE CLOSE to redline. As any motorist worth his salt can tell you, if you redline an engine, it starts dumping excess fuel into the chamber to keep itself from overheating and eventually exploding. This will cause it to belch black smoke if stressed for too long, and this is exactly what this test shows.

So... the testing done by the Makati enforcers was spurious and incorrect, right?

Even better... the emissions report handed to me has no rpm readout and is not signed by the tester. Thus, there is no officiality to the reading, and the reading cannot prove that testing was done under the proper guidelines given in the law. Thus, it is completely invalid.

So... here's my choices... do I argue out of the ticket on a technicality? Do I take these guys to court? Or do I take my complaints to the newspapers and put this out in public? Or all three? Of course, I could always pay the fine and avoid trouble... but then, I don't care about trouble... I've been having a bad week, and I feel like fighting with somebody. I don't even care if they know who I am. I'm not one to hide behind anonymity... though, for the sake of the owner of the vehicle, I'm not revealing whose car it is.

So here it is... I'm taking my complaint to the public, first. And if any lawyer can tell me that this ticket is completely legal, with legal basis, I'll cough up the money. Otherwise, I'd like to know what kind of authority the Makati traffic boys have. Illegal parking? Fine. No U-Turn? Fine. Color-coding window? Well, it's their city... so fine. But inventing their own emissions test to make money off of hapless motorists? Bull. Complete and utter manure.

On to you, Makati City Hall.

do ALL 3 OF THEM~ hehe seriously do that, it will help not only you in the future but to all the citizens of this freaking government corrupt country..
I suggest to get a lawyer , file a report to the media then to the supreme court and so on and so forth.. Fight for your right; fight for what's right

Besides it is illegal for police or whoever to confiscate your license plate and whatnot.. Check my ultra long article/document that I copied from some legal site, show it to your lawyer maybe he can understand it better than any of us..Given that the lawyer is not one of the bad or backing the corrupt ones

http://tsikot.yehey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62108

**liam andrei** · November 29th, 2009 05:39 PM

Hi niky,

kakahuli ko lang kahapon, Sabado, sa may C5 Southbound bago dumating ng kalayaan... ang sisipag ng mga ito...kahit Sabado... walang patawad... anyway hinahanapan ko ng ID yung nang hinto sa amin, wala kasing suot... ang sagot kukunin daw nya sa bag nya... pagkatapos hindi na bumalik, ibang tao na lumapit sa amin, babae na may suot nang ID... dahil holiday bukas eh sa tuesday ko pa makukuha license ko... yun kasi kinuha nila instead na plaka... bad trip talaga yun mga ASBU na iyon... tanong ko lang kung ano na nangyari sa issue na ito... magkano bayad sa ganitong ticket?

salamat

**ronw123w124** · November 29th, 2009 07:49 PM

Isa pang mga ogags e yung CENRO boys na tumitira sa Marcos Hiway sa Pasig o di kaya sa may C5, mismong tapat ng SM Hypermart. Tip ko lang sa mga tsikoteers e takbuhan nyo nalang dahil di naman hahabol yan dahil abala yang mga yan sa mga iba pa nilang mabibiktima, lalo na kung dun kayo tirahin sa C5, kung dadaan din lang kayo sa flyover e takbuhan nyo na kasi pagbaba ng flyover sa kabila e QC na yon at wala na sa jurisdiction nila yun.

**slalom** · November 30th, 2009 12:03 AM

Bakit puro private lang ang hinaharang nila napapansin ko? gaya dito sa makati yung mga jeep na ang iitm ng usok di pinapansin pero mga private eh hinaharang kahit bago pa sasakyan. exempted ba ang mga jeep at bus? meron ba nasusulat na hindi sila pwede hulihin? bakit ganun?

**yapoy86** · November 30th, 2009 01:35 AM

bulok kasi sistema dito sa pilipinas hayyy.. pero minsan dito sa may malapit moa puro delivery truck na mauusok hinuli lahat..

legal naman kasi may clean air act na di ba??

better have your vehicle in good maintenance para mahuli man eh hindi kayo tuluyan kasi hindi mausok sasakyan nyo..

yung mitsu l300 namen dati weekly nililinis ko yung tambutso ng tubig para hindi mausok

sana maging concerned tayo sa environment natin at wag na tumulad sa mga ogag na jeepney driver na walang pakialam sa mausok at bulok nilang jeep..

pasintabi po sa may brandnew isuzu lalo na yung crosswind kasi madami ako nakikita brandnew at wala pang plaka eh sobrang mausok na.. alam ko naman na very reliable at matipid ang 4ja1 ng isuzu pero hindi naman ata tama na masakripisyo ang kalikasan para lang makatipid nakakairita lang kasi kabago bago eh mausok daig pa minsan yung jeep na pangpasada

**CVT** · November 30th, 2009 08:48 AM

The Republic of Makati kasi... Pero sana,- pati mga bus at pampasaherong sasakyan,- hinuhuli nila. Sila talaga ang malakas mag-usok....

8900:painting: