When we talk about pollution from cars, we always think about the heat produced by the engine and the emissions from the exhaust. But do you know the tire wear can cause 1,000 times more damage to the environment than the discharge from the exhaust? A new study from Emissions Analytics confirms that.
“It’s time to consider not just what comes out of a car’s exhaust pipe but particle pollution from tire and brake wear,” commented Richard Lofthouse, Senior Researcher at Emissions Analytics. “Our initial tests reveal that there can be a shocking amount of particle pollution from tires – 1,000 times worse than emissions from a car’s exhaust.
This is very alarming for anyone who advocates all-electric cars to curb carbon emissions and contribute to a greener environment. We are also seeing the governments and automakers all focusing on the zero-emission cars where some governments plan to put a complete ban on gasoline and diesel vehicles in the coming years. The question is why everyone is turning a deaf ear to this matter?
It is also worth noting that the desire to buy bigger, heavier trucks and SUVs are making matters worse. Even the electric SUVs and trucks are the culprits. Unfortunately, there is no law on tire wear pollution anywhere in the world. We even need to consider brake wear if we really want vehicles to contribute toward a better environment.
“What is even more frightening is that while exhaust emissions have been tightly regulated for many years, tire wear is totally unregulated – and with the increasing growth in sales of heavier SUVs and battery-powered electric cars, non-exhaust emissions (NEE) are a very serious problem.”
Consider the legalized exhaust emission limit of 4.5 milligrams per kilometer and multiply it with 1,000, do you think the zero-emission can save the ecosystem.
Nick Molden, CEO of Emissions Analytics remarked: “The challenge to the industry and regulators is an almost complete black hole of consumer information, undone by frankly out of date regulations still preoccupied with exhaust emissions. In the short term, fitting higher quality tires is one way to reduce these NEEs and to always have tires inflated to the correct level.
“Ultimately, though, the car industry may have to find ways to reduce vehicle weight too. What is without a doubt on the horizon is much-needed regulation to combat this problem. Whether that leads to specific types of low emission, harder wearing tires is not for us to say – but change has to come.”
Source and Image: Motor1