Drive Clean Emissions Report: heavy-duty vehicles, 2011 and 2012
This is a summary of Drive Clean emissions information for heavy-duty vehicles to the end of 2012.
Introduction
The Drive Clean vehicle emissions testing program was administered in Ontario between 1999 and 2019. Testing of light-duty vehicles and non-diesel heavy-duty vehicles ended on April 1, 2019. Heavy-duty diesel vehicles continue to be tested.
Drive Clean required vehicle owners to get regular emissions testing and required repairs before renewing licence plate stickers or transferring ownership.
Drive Clean reduced smog-causing emissions by about one-third every year.
This document summarizes Drive Clean emissions information to the end of 2012. The full 2011 and 2012 reports are available by contacting the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. This analysis was prepared by independent consultants de la Torre Klausmeier Consulting, Inc. and Stewart Brown Associates.
Key findings
The report shows that Drive Clean reduced harmful emissions from heavy-duty diesel-powered vehicles, especially particulate matter.
In 2011 and 2012, Drive Clean’s heavy-duty program reduced particulate matter emissions by 334 tonnes (29.8%) and 279 tonnes (29%) respectively.
From 2000 to 2012, Drive Clean reduced particulate matter emissions by an average of over 250 tonnes per year and a cumulative total of over 3,340 tonnes.
Numerous studies endorsed by medical authorities, including the Ontario Medical Association and Toronto Public Health, have linked particulate matter to aggravated cardiac and respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis and emphysema and to various forms of heart disease.
Diesel emissions also include smog-forming compounds of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides. Drive Clean reduced smog by keeping more smog-causing pollutants out of the air.
Drive Clean emissions reductions
Particulate matter reductions (tonnes) from 2000 to 2012 resulting from Drive Clean are shown in the following table:
| Year | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Particulate Matter (PM) | 259 | 252 | 245 | 226 | 205 | 287 | 283 | 253 | 234 | 209 | 280 | 334 | 279 |
| Year | 2011 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|
| Hydrocarbons (HC) | 1,854 | 1,594 |
| Carbon Monoxide (CO) | 11,334 | 9,008 |
2011 and 2012 emissions reductions reports
The 2011 and 2012 reports used an updated model which is similar to the model used to calculate the previous year’s emissions reductions. Over the years, improvements to the Vehicle Emission Modeling Software (the computer model developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is used widely in both the U.S. and Canada to calculate emissions), and changes to the approach used for allocating heavy-duty diesel vehicles to weight classes, increased the accuracy of the emissions reduction estimates.