The California Air Resources Board on Thursday announced that, starting for year-model 2022 vehicles, heavy-duty engines will need to store data related to emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and fuel consumption. The data will be used by regulators to “identify vehicles with excess smog-related and greenhouse gas emission,” CARB said in a press release Thursday.
CARB says the new rule will not require any new equipment or technology and will not apply to older vehicles.
Overdrive has queried the California Trucking Association for its analysis of the new REAL requirements and will add their commentary if it becomes available.
Modern onboard diagnostic systems already detect emissions malfunctions and are designed to monitor emissions controls systems. When they detect a malfunction, an indicator is illuminated on the truck’s dash and the engine stores the fault to allow technicians to address it.
CARB’s new Real Emissions Assessment Logging, however, would require more than that of trucks that operate in the state. It requires year-model 2022 and later engines to collect and store data on NOx output and fuel consumption “that would be used to characterize [carbon dioxide] emissions on all heavy-duty vehicles in use,” CARB says.
Data would be retrieved via the engine by plugging in a scanning tool or data reader.
The measure is intended to ensure that emissions control systems continue to perform properly throughout the life of the vehicle, said CARB Executive Officer Richard Corey.
