I Scream For RapidScreen
Posted on | September 18, 2007 at 7:20 am | 4 Comments
Pet Peeve Of The Day: Colorado RapidScreen. Well, actually, RapidScreen is pretty cool. I just don’t understand why they don’t use it for normal emissions testing.
So, here’s the deal. In Colorado, we have the Air Care Colorado program, where you have to get your auto emissions checked like every two years in order to get your license registration renewed. Some lawmakers (from both parties) have been trying to get the program shelved for years without luck. I doubt it really helps cut down pollution much. Anyway, it costs $25 and you end up spending a lot of time sitting in line in your car (polluting the air and wasting gas) at one of the busy Envirotest stations. And then once you get into the bay, the test itself takes like 15-20 minutes. I suspect all but the oldest, dirtiest cars pass this with flying colors. I’ve never had a problem with any of my cars.
As an alternative, there is the RapidScreen program. They set up vans on highway on/off ramps and such, and measure the emissions on your car as you drive past. If your car has two clean readings within ten months, then you can just pay the fee when sending in your registration card instead of having to go the emissions testing facility. I’ve seen those vans around a lot lately, but they always seems to be on the other ramp than the one I’m on.
Anyway, what I don’t understand is why they don’t use the RapidScreen technology for the regular emissions testing. Why does it take so much longer to get tested at the station? It takes one second for RapidScreen to do it! I understand that RapidScreen uses stricter emission limits than the Envirotest stations, and you have to be accelerating past the detector, but still you’d think they could work something out. Maybe they could have a few Rapid Screen machines in the parking lot for people to drive past a couple of times, and if you don’t pass that, then you would have to go into the bay. Has no one thought of this? I bet if I do a web search, someone has, and there’s some problem with it. But that doesn’t stop me from whining anyway. Research is for losers.
There. I feel better now.
BTW, I just read on the Air Care Colorado website that the Toyota Prius is exempt from emissions testing, so I don’t know what I’m going on about. Although I seem to remember my Dad (whom I bought the car from) telling me that it’s not. There’s a lot of things my Dad told me that turned out to not be true, but that’s a Pet Peeve for another day.
Latre.
Comments
4 Responses to “I Scream For RapidScreen”
September 18th, 2007 @ 11:20 pm
Maybe I’m stupid, but I want a way to click to the next topic from the bottom of your blog page. I can’t stand reading through the comments, then having to scroll back up. Oh, the carpal tunnel stress!
September 19th, 2007 @ 6:54 am
Yeah, why isn’t there a van-based system for rapidly moving between blog posts? The technology is clearly available, just look at Amazon’s trademark 1-van ordering system…
September 19th, 2007 @ 7:57 am
Maybe I’m stupid, but I want a way to click to the next topic from the bottom of your blog page.
Sheesh. Make me go look at PHP code, will ya? So how’s this? Better now?
September 19th, 2007 @ 11:26 pm
Yeah, baby! That’s the RapidScreen link technology we’re looking for!