In Belgium, ‘green safety cameras’ will be introduced to detect and remove polluting road users from traffic. A test in which 200,000 vehicles were measured has recently been completed.
According to the Belgian government, many motorists choose not to have the particulate filter under their old diesel renewed when it breaks down. They just have the filter removed. Belgium wants to prosecute these ’emission fraudsters ‘and has in the meantime passed a number of tests with ’ecological safety cameras’.
A study commissioned by Zuhal Demir, the Flemish Minister for the environment, shows that a small group of these fraudsters cause a lot of environmental damage. It also concerns trucks whose catalytic converter does not work due to fraud with AdBlue – a substance used to make the catalytic converter work. But old diesel engines, dating from before 2019, also emit far more nitrogen oxides than the manufacturers promise.
According to the minister, combating this type of fraud can reduce emissions of harmful substances by 40%, 70% and even 80% respectively. For the research, an innovative Measurement Programme with sensors on public roads was used in various locations in Flanders. In this way, the emissions of 200,000 vehicles passing by were measured. The ‘green safety cameras’ will initially be used in Brussels and in the port of Antwerp, reports VRT NWS.
