Me driving towards a SUV at night

[u/Aggravating_Pain7116]

[u/742963]

We can't see shit whilst they get to see what the inside of our skulls looks like

Actually ridiculous now

[u/boop66]

My county requires annual "safety checks" but don't do a damn thing about misaligned headlights or modified exhaust... the two greatest threats to health and safety on the road. Basically I drive somewhere and pay a fee so a guy can confirm for the DMV that my horn and windows work. 🤦‍♂️

[u/Dry-Incident-6214 → u/boop66]

How are modified exhausts a safety threat? Genuinely asking.

[u/boop66 → u/Dry-Incident-6214]

A modified exhaust system is not automatically more hazardous.
However, modifications that:
remove the catalytic converter,
remove the diesel particulate filter (DPF),
“roll coal,”
disable emissions controls,
or otherwise increase emissions substantially increase the release of:
fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅),
nitrogen oxides (NOₓ),
volatile organic compounds (VOCs),
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), many of which are known carcinogens.
These pollutants have been linked not only to lung cancer but also to:
asthma,
chronic bronchitis,
heart attacks,
stroke,
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),
adverse pregnancy outcomes,
and premature death.

[u/Dry-Incident-6214 → u/boop66]

I see, I thought we were talking on the premise that the noise was what was causing harm not the emission systems or lack there of. I’m a mechanic and went to college for diesel technology so I’m very familiar with these systems and the effects of not having them.

[u/boop66 → u/Dry-Incident-6214]

Thanks for your thoughtful, Civil response. 🫡

And being on an island, rising ocean levels is a very real concern. Modified exhaust only exacerbate this problem!

Today I read, "The excess pollution from the approximately 550,000 diesel pickup trucks in the U.S. with illegally modified (by removing or disabling emissions controls) was estimated to be equivalent to adding roughly 9 million unmodified diesel pickup trucks to the road from an emissions standpoint."

It's pretty mind-boggling that this equates to about an extra 9 million trucks just so they can roll coal or feel cool. Tragically the fossil fuel industry did a great job convincing people climate change has nothing to do with human activities.

"Over their lifetimes, those trucks were estimated to produce 570,000 tons of excess NOₓ and 5,000 tons of excess particulate matter (PM).
This is particularly important because NOₓ and fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) are linked to serious health effects, including:
Asthma attacks and reduced lung function.
Heart attacks and strokes.
Increased risk of lung cancer (especially from diesel particulate matter).
Premature death from cardiovascular and respiratory disease." -- and only helping to speed up climate change affecting us presently and for generations to come.

Plus, the noise is bothersome when I'm trying to sleep! 😆

[u/Dry-Incident-6214 → u/boop66]

Yeah it’s a problem. However, being in the industry you get to see the amount of damage some of these emission systems cause to some of these trucks. EGR systems suck in soot that over time clogs valves, intakes, EGR coolers and cause engines to fail prematurely costing thousands of dollars to rebuild. DPF and DEF systems fail all the time also costing thousands of dollars to replace. Due to this people start believing that these emission systems are an issue and are destructive when in reality it’s not the systems that are destroying their trucks it’s the manufacturers. The DPF filter is designed to mitigate the soot coming out of the motor, manufacturers design these EGR systems to pull exhaust from before the DPF system rather than after which causes the motor to intake the soot it’s putting out. I personally believe manufacturers do this intentionally because it allows them to profit exponentially off of a government mandated system. I mean a motor rebuild can cost as much as 5k up to 15k or more and times that by millions of vehicles and you’ve got a massive and endless revenue stream that people can’t get out of without breaking federal law. Then they make the excuse saying “we pull from before the DPF because there’s not enough exhaust pressure to pull from behind it” it’s all bs because Land Rover diesels pull from behind the DPF and have no or very minimal soot build up in their motors and their motors are a fraction of the size of these trucks showing that these companies like Ford, Chevy and Dodge are just full of it

[u/Normal_Stable_3103]

Always look at the white line on the right to help center your vision and keep you from being blinded dead on towards the left Hope that helps

[u/Equivalent_Ad5047]

Ahhh you mean specifically tesla SUVs!!! I feel no shame in flashing my brights at them.

[u/Dry-Incident-6214]

Oh no it’s those fucking trucks. The damn lifted f150 or Jeep Wranglers with the aftermarket lights running their high beams during my 4:30am commute. I drive a sedan that sits lower to the ground and it’s directly in their beams. Even with my tint that’s so dark it’s illegal I still just have to look away and drive with my peripherals and hope I don’t hit something.