HomeMy WebLinkAbout20110900.tiff To whom it may concern,
I am deeply upset with recently having my truck rejected for testing at the Ft.
Collins facility for emissions. The testing center told me they could not test -
vehicles with over/under size tires on their dyno machine. My truck has 35" tires
which is barely over their limit. .
How can the state pass such a law without making proper accommodations for
these legally modified vehicles? At the very least, these vehicles should be
exempt & tested without the dyno, as has been done in the past in Colorado.
Even though my vehicle has passed all the road side portable stations, I had to
have it tested because I was selling it to someone else. I spent half the day
exchanging tires so I could get the test completed not to mention the extra $100
spent to rent the smaller tires.
I called the state in disgust and was told by an employee that, "this is the price
you pay for modifying a vehicle". As I informed him, and as I'm writing this
letter to explain: it is my choice as an American taxpayer to have the right to do
so as long as it's within the legal constraints of Colorado law, which mine is. I
now ask how many vehicles owners are being unfairly singled out and burdened
with this added expense for legally using oversized or undersized tires?
Did the state even consider this when passing this law? I have no problem with
having to do emissions but when the state passes such a law and does not
accommodate legal vehicles, I have a problem with that. I am a hard working
American taxpayer and this is unacceptable to me. Like I said before, why can't
these vehicles at least be exempt from the dyno or the testing stations be
mandated to obtain the right equipment?
I would like a written response to my complaint on what could be the possible
reasoning for the way this law is structured. It makes absolutely no sense to me,
why these air quality stations can't test every legal, road-worthy vehicle. Please
take into consideration when reading this how you would feel personally if you
were in my shoes.
The state needs to address this problem for the consumer and not burden the
people with it as I am and sure many others are. The state should be working for
the people, not against them!
Cris Lewis (crislewis@yahoo.com)
6903 Ranger Dr. Ft. Collins, CO 80526
CC: Randy Fischer(D53), John Kefalas (D52), Jim Riesberg(D50), Brian DelGrosso
(D51), Gleen Vaad(D48), B.J. Nikkei (D49), Scott Renfroe(D13), Robert Bacon(D14),
Kevin Lundberg(D15), Sean Conway, Lew Gaiter III, Steve Johnson, Tom Donnelly
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- lR-11 C 2011-0900
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Even your-tires can fail this emissions test F Face the State Page 1 of
Even your tires can fail this emissions test
Meanwhile, a bill Is pending to push the controversial program out of Larimer,
Weld counties
January 31,2011
By Greg Campbell l eategory'bylmes.greq-eampbelil,Face The State
Commuters in northern Colorado who are still smarting over the need to have their vehicles'
emissions tested(http,:faccthestate com/by-the-wayi 1965&north-front-range-still-stinginq-emergency-emissions-(ix(have
more to worry about than whether their old clunker can meet state air-quality standards.They also have
to worry about whether their cars will even fit on the machinery used to test them.
1111 -_ Vehicles with oversized or low-profile tires—in
other words,many off-road SWs and
customized sports cars—must swap out their
wheels and tires,at owner expense,before they
can get tested.
s o "I don't understand why that should have to be
our problem,"said Doug Curtis,a Fort Collins
resident who raised a stink with elected officials
in northern Colorado after his son was turned
away at the Air Care Colorado facility in Fort
Collins because his car wouldn't fit on the
testing equipment.He drives a Chrysler 300,
purchased brand new from the dealer with low-
,s,tes:default files:: agccache shadgvebox mil/ullsize- profile wheels.
taiee.,.2Q1 01 'C55jpgi Greg Campbell/Face The State
Lt.Feared,loathed in northern Colorado "They said'You've got to go buy a set of tires
and rims,put them on the vehicle and come on
over and do your test,'"Curtis said."To me,that is just absolutely asinine."
Envirotest spokeswoman Renee Allen said that testing centers simply can't accommodate vehicles with
tires larger than 32 inches and smaller than 17 inches.
"Almost always,those are aftermarket tires,"she said.In those instances,it's up to the vehicle owner to
replace the tires to get the test.The only exception is for vehicles whose stock tires are too big.
"There are a few instances where there are stock tires that are too large or too big and then we send
them to the state of Colorado Technical Center and they'll allow us to do a tailpipe test on those
vehicles,"Allen said."However,if those tires were purchased aftermarket and put on the vehicle
aftermarket,then(state health department regulations goveming the emissions program)generally do
not allow"for a tailpipe test.
Curtis's son spent$600 on tires and rims just so he could get his$25 emissions test.He was able to sell
the tires back for$525,essentially renting them for$75.
"I think that's kind of indicative of the result of rushing to get this into place,"said Rep.Glenn Vaad,R-
Mead,who has introduced a bill to remove Larimer and Weld counties from the emissions program,
which began in November.Ostensibly,the program is intended to reduce ozone levels in the area,but
Vaad points out that the counties are not only meeting the current air quality standards—and has for the
past three years—but also stricter standards to be adopted in 2014.
Indeed,Weld County Commissioner Sean Conway,who's long been a critic of the emissions program
as a"feel-good revenue enhancer"for the state,says that only two monitoring stations in the entire state
exceeded air quality standards for ozone in 2010,and neither was in Northern Colorado.
"You can't even measure,according to the Colorado Department of Health,the impact on air quality
(from the program),"he said."It is not even having a measurable impact on air quality on the Front
Range."
http://facethestate.com/by-the-way/20148-even-your-tires-can-fail-emissions-test 3/30/20.
Even your,tires can fail this emissions test Face the State Page 2
Conway said he's received dozens of complaints about the testing program,including about the
restrictions on tire size.Of greater concern to him are poor and elderly motorists who are more likely to
have cars that would fail the test and who can't afford to repair them.
"I've heard from senior citizens who literally are going to have to give up their cars,and thus their
independence"because they can't afford the repairs required to pass the test,he said.
Both Vaad and Conway said the bill is garnering bipartisan support beyond just northern Colorado.It's
scheduled to be heard Thursday in the Health and Environment Committee,where they're hopeful it will
be passed on to the full House.
"I don't know how the health department is going to continue to justify the residents of Weld County
being in this program,"Conway said."We all know this program was rushed through at the end of the
Ritter administration,and now the consequences are coming home to roost."
Contact the author at gregpfacethestate.com(madro grog@face h sere„om.or 720-279-9870 x107.
http://facethestate.com/by-the-way/20148-even-your-tires-can-fail-emissions-test 3/30/:
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