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Tuesday, December 23, 1997 Published at 07:55 GMT

Drivers urged to 'shop' polluters
image: [ 10% of vehicles cause 50% of smoke pollution claim the RAC ]

10% of vehicles cause 50% of smoke pollution claim the RAC

Motorists are being invited to go on 'pollution patrol' and report black smoke-belching vehicles.

Research from the motoring association, the RAC, shows that 10% of vehicles are responsible for 50% of pollution problems.

[ image: Emmissions tests and better servicing could help the problem]
Emmissions tests and better servicing could help the problem
It has published a step-by-step guide to emissions enforcement to drive gross polluters off the roads.

The RAC wants motorists to:

Take the registration number and a description of the offending vehicle

Make a note of the date, time and place the vehicle was spotted

If possible, take the name of the vehicle operator and the company owner

Report these details to the Vehicle Inspectorate

"Motorists are concerned about the environment and many feel frustrated when they see a bus or lorry belching black fumes," said Edmund King, RAC head of campaigns.

"Anyone who shares the RAC's concern should report these dirty vehicles and get them driven off the road. Motorists can clean up their own act by ensuring their cars are serviced regularly."

The Road Haulage Association said the RAC's views on polluting vehicles were "partial and unbalanced."

It said it was "amazing that the RAC had chosen to target 450,000 lorries while at the same time glossing over the environmental impact of 25 million private cars".

It went on: "Black smoke is obviously a problem, but sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxide and hydrocarbon emissions, which are doing considerable environmental damage and which are the result of car rather than lorry emissions, have been totally ignored."

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	Internet Links Department of Transport Air Quality Resource RAC - Royal Automobile Club Road Haulage Association The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.