Are Makati's Smoke-Belching Tests Legal?

[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.

[shadow]

I think it is better to put this out in the media..kasi first diba yun smoke test sa LTO when we register dapat good for 1 year na yun?....

eh kung ganun din na mag bibigay sila ng violation eh di huwag na tayo magpa smoke test sa registration tutal di naman nila sinusunod yun..at least sa Makati

[niky]

I think it is better to put this out in the media..kasi first diba yun smoke test sa LTO when we register dapat good for 1 year na yun?....

eh kung ganun din na mag bibigay sila ng violation eh di huwag na tayo magpa smoke test sa registration tutal di naman nila sinusunod yun..at least sa Makati

I'm not debating drive-by emissions tests... I actually think they're necessary, with so many people doing the non-appearance thing at the LTO... and you never know, the owner might just fix the car up for the emissions test, then let it belch again afterwards.

So, random testing... good. But testing without following standard procedure and without scientific basis? Complete manure. Again.

I've already forwarded this letter to the papers I could get an e-mail address for... still looking for contacts for the Star, the Bulletin, and others.

[drag_addict]

badtrip yan ah, dapat hinuhuli nila ung mga bus! ang dadaya nila

tama, ipaglaban yan!

[Taurus]

That is really wrong, no driver will be pushing their cars near the red line!

Looks like you already made your move niky, we really need to make this b*sta*rds pay. Let the public know how the proper test should be done so that they will not be fooled.

[CoDer]

Bring it to the media.

May kiniladkad ang tatay ko nyan dati at muntik na nyang masuntok. Abay akalain mo ba namang i redline yung sasakyan, talagang uusok yun.

Ayon nagmukhang mga basang sisiw ang mga tanga.

[scharnhorst]

badtrip yan ah, dapat hinuhuli nila ung mga bus! ang dadaya nila

tama, ipaglaban yan!

Yes. Araw araw tuloy tuloy yung andar ng mga bus na nagbubuga ng sobrang kapal na usok, tapos mang aapprehend sila ng mga motoristang medyo napalakas lang ng apak sa silinyador.

[glenngj]

Actually this is not only happen in the makati area, sa c5 road meron din ganito may mga dala sila na smoke belching device pag nakakita sila ng sasakyan na luma pinapara nila..

[MaxAJ]

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]

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

[lucid21]

Kalokohan ang Makati ASBU. Madaya. Hindi naglilinis ng hose ng emission test machine at macyadong mabilis ang pag apak ng gas. parehas kami experience nitong http://roadethic.blogspot.com/

[ghosthunter]

http://roadethic.blogspot.com/2010/1...ints.html#more

[SIZE="4"]Are Makati's Smoke-Belching Checkpoints Legal?[/SIZE]


Makati ASBU and its officers are full of crap. They have preferences when they apprehend vehicles on their Smoke-Belching check points. They flag down only diesel vehicles, specially delivery aluminum closed vans, L-300s, L-200s. I know this is because delivery vans are the most likely offenders. But don't you think its unfair? They are unfair in so many ways.

They are bias and don't dare flag down Pajeros, Patrols (Maybe the driver's politician), PUJs and PUBs (Most likely paid them). The people administering the emission tests are not
even qualified. They push the pedal to quickly, which is not the proper way. They don't clean the hose of the emission test machines.

Their aim is not to clean the streets of smoke belchers, but to have a permit to be a smoke belcher! Why and how? I was apprehended. By the way, their check-point didn't even have a signboard to inform the public they're with ASBU. And after testing, they told me my car emits way above of the legal limit, which is 2.50. They remove my plates and tells me to go to their office to pay the fine and clean my exhausts.

So I went to fix the problem and went to Makati near the fire department. I pay the fine of Php1,000 and to my surprise they didn't even bother checking my car again. They just gave me a certificate that gives me immunity for 3 months from smoke-belching checkpoints in Makati. See what I mean? You can get a certificate for Php600 (not sure) and be able to legally smoke belch in Makati. What a system they have! What can you say about that? Only in Makati?

I don't think it's just Makati doing it. I have seen the same thing happening at Pasig.

It has become just another money making scheme for the city involved.

[boybi]

The certificate actually costs only P300 or P350.

[AKI125]

For QC area

Edsa near munoz

C3 road near bonifacio

Manila area

Edsa sa baba ng edsa roxas flyover

Pasig area

C5 sa baba ng uturn slot near market market

[RedHotBlood]

Talamak na yang makati sa ganyang istilo, basta lumang sasakyan huhulihin ka! I was asked to pull over twice but dineretso ko takbuhan. The first one was at magallanes around noon and the second was at C5 kalayaan u-turn slot sa baba nun. Para kasing your submitting your vehicle to a voluntary smoke emission inspection pag pumara ka sa kanila, dun ka na sisitahin blah, blah, blah kesyo tanggal plaka at penalty! Tapos sabay sabi na 2k ang presyo and senyas na pwede areglo kahit 1k bibigyan ka pa ng passing ticket. Ilang beses kasi nahuli yung isuzu truck ng ofc namin dyan at yan ang sabi ng driver. P 350 pesos for 2 months (me expiry pa!) ang ibabayad mo sa di naman nag eexist na emmision test sa munisipyo! Ang Husay!

[V!S]

Last Tuesday 4 yung nadaanan kong ASBU.

1st in mindanao avenue, going to sm north, sa harap ng ginagawang starbucks, before reaching st. james.
2nd. after Uniwide coastal, after exiting coastal stop light, going to manila, merong naka orange dun.
3rd, makati northbound, after shell ayala, pag akyat mo ng tunnel.
4th, mindanao ave ulit, north bound, before reching st james.

I dont think, my mali sa ASBU, the thing is dapat walang areglo or kotong, so that yung talagang super mausok ay mahuli and ipaayos.
at gumawa sila ng tamang procedure how to conduct proper smoke belching test.

[Retz]

Is there a possibility that they could somehow tweak the smoke belching test? alam niyo naman dito sa atin.

[CVT]

Kaya hindi na rin Crosswind/Sportivo ang kinuha ko last month.....
(Malimit ma-sampolan ang mga ito...)...

14.9K:kodak:

[niky]

Is there a possibility that they could somehow tweak the smoke belching test? alam niyo naman dito sa atin.

That was the point of my first posts.

The standards of the LTO and DENR tests are to hold the engine at 3500 rpm, but to build-up slowly.

What the enforcers do is to floor the pedal and let go, floor the pedal and let go... up to redline... to create transitory rich conditions which will ensure smoke belching will take place.

Unless the test is done by a certified testing agent in the proper manner, there is no way to ensure they're actually fair. Best is if they catch you, ticket you for failing a visual inspection, and force you to report to a government (not private) testing venue after... not to ticket you and force you to pay to the Makati City Government based on their testing.

It's okay by me if the vehicle fails on its own lack of merit. But if they game the tests this way, it's inherently unfair.

[cokezero]

Last Tuesday 4 yung nadaanan kong ASBU.

1st in mindanao avenue, going to sm north, sa harap ng ginagawang starbucks, before reaching st. james.
2nd. after Uniwide coastal, after exiting coastal stop light, going to manila, merong naka orange dun.
3rd, makati northbound, after shell ayala, pag akyat mo ng tunnel.
4th, mindanao ave ulit, north bound, before reching st james.

I dont think, my mali sa ASBU, the thing is dapat walang areglo or kotong, so that yung talagang super mausok ay mahuli and ipaayos.
at gumawa sila ng tamang procedure how to conduct proper smoke belching test.

bro IMO sila talaga ang mali. first of all dapat inuna nila yung mga bus at jeep.. di hamak na mas makapal at maitim buga ng mga usok nun.. pangalawa sige sabihin natin walang areglo on the spot ng pag huli pero dun sa pagkukuhanan mo ng lisensya / plaka mo itetesting ulit ang oto mo sabay sablay na naman sa kanila.. bro never ending yung ginagawa nila wala talagang makakapasa sa kanila kahit anong linis gawin mo sa auto na tinatapakan hangang mag redline..