Outdoor Air Quality
Vehicle Inspection Clinics
Every summer or fall, the Lung Association works with trained staff from Environment Canada, the Department of Environment and Local Government and community volunteers to bring two or three day vehicle emissions clinics to communities around New Brunswick. The New Brunswick Lung Association has held over fifteen clinics around the province in such places as Saint John , Fredericton , Moncton , Bathurst , Edmundston , Sussex , Oromocto and Miramichi.
These clinics are meant to inform drivers about the harmful effects of vehicle emissions on both our health and our environment. The vehicles we drive are one of the largest sources of emissions that lead to smog formation and climate change.
What happens at a clinic?
- The motorist is greeted by a volunteer who explains briefly the purpose of the clinic and what takes place during the “no fee, no fines” inspection. For each vehicle, a survey form is filled out. The information is voluntary and is used by Environment Canada for research purposes to learn more about the province’s vehicle fleet. The volunteer asks the motorist for information about the car, such as the age of the car and its odometer reading. The motorist is given literature about vehicles and their emissions. The survey form is then passed along to a mechanic to complete. As well, one volunteer tests the effectiveness of the fuel cap seal. Another checks the tire pressures.
- The motorist then moves the car forward and stops under the inspection tent, ensuring the vehicle is in park or neutral, with the brake on. (For safety reasons, motorists are asked to remain in their vehicles). The car is left idling. The analyser technician connects a tachometer to a distributor wire and inserts the analyser probe into the vehicle’s tailpipe.
- The engine speed is increased to 2500 RPM as shown on the tachometer. Once the analyser readings have stabilized, the levels of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide are recorded.
- The car is allowed to return to low speed idle and a second reading is taken once the analyser has stabilized.
- The motorist is given his/her test results and thanked by the debriefer, who explains the results to the motorist.
- If a vehicle fails the test; a technician then inspects the vehicle’s under-the-hood pollution control devices and fills out the relevant parts of the survey form.
End of Inspection:
- The whole inspection should not take much more than five minutes. Pollution devices are checked visually. No modifications or adjustments are performed on the vehicle.
- Come on out and have your free “no fee, no fines” vehicle inspection – and do your bit for air quality! Dates for vehicle clinics are posted each year in the “News” section of our website.
| 
