Tuesday, August 28, 2007 LTO admits not having smoke-testing gear By Carlo P. Mallo
THE Land Transportation Office (LTO)-Southern Mindanao cannot crack down on smoke-belching vehicles and those that do not pass minimum standards of smoke emission simply because it does not have such machine.
"We have yet to procure the said machines," Eleanor Calderon, chief for operations of the LTO-Southern Mindanao, said in Monday's Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao.
Calderon added that they would be bidding for the machine by next month and they hope to have the roadside smoke emission testing machine by the end of the year.
He reminded vehicle owners that maintaining one's vehicle against emitting fumes that are harmful to the environment does not start and end with the vehicle's registration.
"Apart from the emission test that the vehicles have to undergo prior to the registration of the vehicles, there is a need to regularly check if the vehicles conditions are well maintained," Calderon said.
Since smoke emission test has been required for vehicle registration, LTO has had to face the fact that owners simply tune-up their vehicles just before renewal of registration and then allow the vehicles to deteriorate soon after. Thus, smoke-belching vehicles still abound.
"With the roadside machine, we will definitely make apprehensions against vehicles that have dirty smoke," Calderon said.
