EPA Proposes Dramatically More Stringent Heavy Vehicle Emission Standards

Usually, when we talk about the federal government tightening up emissions standards for vehicles, we’re talking about passenger vehicles. Still, there are many other classes of on-road vehicles, specifically heavy-duty trucks , buses and the like, that are also subject to emissions controls. It’s these vehicles that may be about to get a swift kick in the shorts from an emissions regulations standpoint, according to a report Monday by Automotive News.

What do I mean by that? Well, the Environmental Protection Agency is considering mandating a 47% to 60% reduction in the maximum oxides of nitrogen emissions standards (PDF). This is huge, especially since those oxides are the primary greenhouse gas emission of diesel engines and, because, let’s face it, 47% is a massive number, and 60% is downright bananas. For some perspective, think about your paycheck and then imagine it being 47% smaller all of a sudden. There’d be a few adjustments that you’d likely have to make to your lifestyle, right?

But these cuts aren’t coming immediately, so there’s time to prepare. The EPA proposes that the cuts start in 2027 and max out in 2045. That seems like a long time, and it is, but developing and implementing the kind of emissions control equipment necessary to meet the EPA’s goals won’t happen overnight either. The same is true for those sectors of industry that can convert to battery-electric vehicles — like city buses and short-haul trucks — because that will take huge sums of money for the vehicles, infrastructure and training for maintenance personnel.

Why is all this important? Because medium and heavy-duty vehicles make up just 5% of the total number of vehicles on American roads, but according to the EPA, they produce 24% of the total greenhouse gas emissions. Cleaning up this slice of the transportation pie will make a huge difference overall, and it will require making changes to far fewer vehicles.

We asked the EPA for comment, but didn’t hear back in time for publication.

Check out the Level 2 Freightliner Cascadia big rig at CES 2019

1/22 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow At CES Daimler announced that the Cascadia big rig would come standard with Detroit Assurance 5.0, a suite of level 2 advanced driver’s aids.

2/22 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow A standard emergency braking system can bring the truck to a complete stop with no help from the driver.

3/22 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow During a demo at 35 miles an hour, the truck stopped with feet to spare.

4/22 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow Also on tap is an improved adaptive cruise control.

5/22 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow The truck can now come to a complete stop behind a lead car and pause for two seconds.

6/22 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow Automatic windshield wipers and headlights are also standard.

7/22 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow A blind-spot monitoring system as well as lane keeping assist and departure mitigation are optional.

8/22 SLIDES © Provided by Roadshow Daimler is investing half a billion Euros into its semi-automated class 8 trucks, and hopes to deploy a fleet of Level 4, high-automation semi-trucks within the next 10 years.