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California DMV Test-Only Smog Centers

Does anyone know the history of the requirement that some vehicles in California obtain their smog certificates from a test-only smog center?

The California DMV website is silent on the matter, but from what I've read the reasoning behind the policy is that the "primary obligation [of a test-only center] is to conduct a fair and unbiased smog test."

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This reasoning appears illogical. If California is worried about reducing pollution, it should send owners to test centers capable of repairing vehicles. Those stations would be likely to err on the side of ruling that a vehicle does not meet emissions standards, because such a ruling allows them to charge the owner of the vehicle for the repairs.

By contrast, if California's concern is to protect vehicle owners from unscrupulous testers inclined to finding that a vehicle does not meet emissions standards, the requirement does not fully address the problem because not everyone is required to use a test-only center. Moreover, if the purpose is to protect vehicle owners, the choice of which testing-center to use should rest with the owner; the state should simply recommend a test-only center.

Am I missing something?

Thanks, Andrew

Reply to
adgish
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You won't get a lot of info from DMV, ARB administers the Smog Check program.

A regular Smog Check station can perform a "pretest" if requested, smart folks pay a couple of bucks extra for this because a failure isn't recorded in the statewide system; this prevents being tagged a "gross polluter". If the car fails the pretest it can be repaired before the actual test is performed so the state doesn't know that the vehicle exceeded pollution standards prior to the test.

No pretests are allowed at test-only facilities, so test results are fed directly into the system and they have a data base of the vehicles most often failing.

Reply to
John Kunkel

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