Both empirical evidence and candid reflection suggest that current approaches to vehicle pollution are extremely inefficient, economically costly, and of only limited help in improving air quality. The use of remote sensors, mobile, roadside emission‐sensing devices, could do more to improve air quality than all other approaches combined at only a fraction of the cost. Moreover, a remote‐sensing program would embody the concept that the polluter–not society at large–should pay for pollution. But remote sensing is largely neglected by the Clean Air Act.
A detailed examination of how such a program could be implemented in Los Angeles indicates that remote sensing would prove far more effective and about five times less costly than the current decentralized inspection and maintenance program, known as Smog‐Check.
Accordingly, Congress should amend the Clean Air Act to allow states to adopt remote‐sensing programs in place of the unpopular and less effective programs currently required by the act. Such a reform would be a boon to drivers everywhere and would better meet environmental goals.
