The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has certified only one telematics provider to participate in its Clean Truck Check (CTC) program with just over a quarter of the year left before heavy- and medium-duty vehicles traveling to or through California will be required to report results of emissions testing.
The scan window begins Oct. 1. Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, any commercial vehicle that operates within the state will be required to undergo testing twice a year and four times per year beginning in 2027.
Though only one continuously connected (CC) device – a telematics device that is assigned to one vehicle for ongoing testing events – has been certified, CARB Information Officer Kate Lamb said the organization doesn’t anticipate a lack of testing equipment when periodic emissions testing requirements become effective. Twelve non-continuously connected (NCC) devices – handheld shop tools that can be used for testing events on multiple vehicles – have been certified.
“CARB staff is in the process of certifying multiple telematics OBD testing devices but doesn’t comment publicly on their certification status or identify the vendors until certification is complete and an executive order is issued,” Lamb said. “CARB staff is also certifying additional non-continuously connected devices.”
CC vs. NCC
Which type of device is more convenient depends on what a fleet is already doing, said Greg Colvin, senior director of solutions engineering at Zonar, the first and, so far, only CARB-certified telematics device for CTC.
Colvin said if a large portion of a fleet’s vehicles are older – too old for a remote on-board device – those fleets are already bringing rigs into the shop for smog testing via a handheld tool, so it would be just as easy to bring in the small portion of newer rigs.
“However, when you end up with vehicles that are running around a lot, particularly over-the-road freight vehicles, when you've got large volumes of vehicles … adding this test to all the rest of their periodic maintenance is kind of a pain in the butt,” Colvin said. “That's when it hits the sweet spot for folks saying, ‘I really just want my telematics to do this on the automatic side of it while the vehicles are in operation.’”
He said shop tools for emissions detection have long been in existence; what’s new is the remote aspect.
So telematics providers that want to go through the rigorous certification process must also implement the functional components of these existing shop tools into their telematics devices and then format it to CARB’s specifications for CTC.
Fleets that already have an ELD provider that isn’t certified will be subject to using a shop tool or switching to a certified telematics provider.
Colvin said Zonar is trying to find a way to make its emissions tracking feature available as a standalone piece; it is currently only offered with Zonar’s base package, which tracks the vehicle and monitors if the vehicle is running – both of which are required components for emissions scanning.
For trucking companies that operate in California that don’t use a certified telematics provider or shop tool, Colvin said there may be another option.
“I suppose you could go to a shop that has a certified tester. If you're going to use the non-continuously connected shop tool approach, the tester themselves have to be certified,” he said. “So there are going to be trucks that can head toward California, and through searching they can find a provider that's probably on the outside border of California and get in a queue of some sort to pull in there and get their truck scanned.
“But you need to be certified or registered in the CARB database so that any of those scans that get collected can be used. Even in the shop tool version, if they send a file of data from a vehicle that's not registered in the system, it will just get rejected,” he added. “So get it registered first, then get it scanned when you need to have it scanned.”
Cheating the system
CARB is using the California Highway Patrol to enforce compliance.
As an example, Colvin said if a trucking company only has one truck a month go into California and decides not to worry about registering for the CTC program, they risk the repercussions.
Lamb said if vehicles in the state are not reported in CTC-VIS and/or do not pass a required emissions test, they may face DMV registration holds, enforcement actions and potential monetary penalties. They also may be denied entry into seaports, railyards or other facilities.
“If you get pulled over in California, the California Highway Patrol has the ability to look and see if that vehicle is even registered for the Clean Truck Check program,” Colvin said. “If you're on-highway and you fit the description of Clean Truck Check, you're expected to be registered in the program already. So if the highway patrol looks and says your VIN is not even registered, then they know darn good and well you haven't done any scans.”
Colvin said CARB has also applied required minimums for the number of warmup cycles and miles driven since the last diagnostic scan tool cleared fault codes on a vehicle.
“If you're thinking that you're going to be able to just clear all your fault codes and then go get it scanned, they actually now have implemented a new component to see if your vehicle monitors have been reset recently,” he said. “If you've had the codes cleared on your vehicle and it reset those monitors, there is some amount of drive cycles and distance to be driven in order for those monitors to become ready again… before they will actually allow those scans to be used.”
He said shop techs need to be particularly aware of this because they could be perceived as trying to deceive the system, even if unintentionally, because many techs clear all fault codes the minute a truck comes in and then send someone out to drive it to see if those codes come back.
Lamb said some common issues with emissions controls systems that can cause a vehicle to fail a test and require repairs include low level of diesel emission exhaust fluid (DEF), a broken selective catalytic reduction system (for NOx control), or a broken particulate filter (for PM control).
CTC aims to reduce smog-forming and carcinogenic air pollutants produced by all commercial vehicles that travel through California, which CARB estimates to be over 1.8 million daily.
“While total lifetime program costs are not insignificant, they are not expected to decrease trucking operations in California,” Lamb said. “The critical air quality benefits and monetized health benefits Clean Truck Check provides the people of California far outweigh potential cost increases resulting primarily from annual per vehicle compliance fees, vehicle repairs and vehicle testing.”
