Smokey and the diesel bandits
I am far from being an expert on car engines, less so on diesel engines, so there are things to which a total ignoramus like myself cannot attach a logical explanation.
Firstly, in no other country have I seen such a huge proportion of diesel-engined vehicles puffing out black smoke, not even in the so-called third world (to which we so stoutly profess not to belong). The popular explanation is, I believe, dirty injectors. Do ALL our diesel-engined car owners neglect to clean their injectors (or whatever they’re called) while ALL their counterparts in other countries do?
The funny thing is that even new cars seem to do it. When I put this conundrum to my trusty car mechanic, he explained that this is not always due to dirty injectors. Boy racers tweak their engines to improve performance, he declared, and the resulting enriched mixture does not burn completely. So, the unburnt fuel exhausts in the form of thick black smoke.
Now, knowing the large numbers of wannabe Schumachers on our roads, this sounds very plausible, except for one thing: large, opulent-looking executive cars, driven by dignified, white-haired gentlemen and very obviously not long out of the showroom, are unlikely candidates for either category. Is, then, the fact that many new diesel-engined cars smoke, not enough to put both theories in serious doubt?
And the buses.
This is probably an exaggeration, but it seems to me that EVERY bus on the island makes its progress along the road followed by a thick cloud of black fog. Now it used to be said that bus owners laced their diesel oil with kerosene, thus improving running costs, but causing smoky exhaust emissions… and that the price of kerosene has been hiked up to render this trick no longer cost effective. But then, why do the buses still smoke? Is there some other medium besides the now-too-pricey kerosene with which you can dilute your propellant?
Unworthy thought: and could it be that buses are exempt from prosecution on this count? (Remember the recent police “go-easy-on-hunters” memo debacle)
And anyway, continued my knowledgeable car mechanic, whatever the reason, this situation is not going to prevail for long: in future, in every vehicle inspection, ADT are going to seal the governor (if that’s the word he used) on every diesel engine so that it can’t be tampered with without the seal being broken. If this is so, is it actually happening?
Another thing. If my memory serves me well, there was a press release some time ago to the effect that we were going to be getting better-quality diesel fuel henceforth. Did this actually come about? Because if so, the new stuff couldn’t have been much better, since the black smoke is still with us.
So why do vehicles still smoke? The 5061 1899 number to which you send an SMS to report smoky vehicles is still in operation, but does not appear to be effective. Many people have given up using it: they feel no improvement is evident, and they are just wasting their time by SMS-ing. They suspect that the whole rigmarole is merely an elaborate bit of eyewash to cover the fact that the authorities are powerless, or disinclined, to do anything about it; either because with the quality of diesel fuel available, clean operation is just not possible; or because they think  that imposing unpopular disciplinary measures might lose them votes. (In my humble opinion, showing clearly that you are unable to control a given situation is more of a vote-loser, but that’s another matter.)
Is the operation actually producing tangible results? Also, do police constables and wardens consider that the existence of this 5061 1899 facility exempts them from the obligation to report offenders?
If the desire to improve matters is genuine, there has to be more effort. To maintain momentum, ADT should report regularly on complaints received, vehicles tested, number of penalizations, and increase or decrease of each of these figures; if a decline is evident, particularly in the number of reports received, they should intensify their exhortations, on all media, for this facility to be used.
The public deserves an answer to these questions. Or do we wait till the EU slaps another fine on us?

Michael
Camilleri
Salina