The California Air Resources Board is infamous in the trucking world for imposing the most strict emissions standards of any state in the US. Carriers and drivers who run in California know that if they don’t run compliant, they’re going to get slapped with harsh fines, but most don’t come even close to the $418,000 fine that CARB just issued for… non-compliant wiper fluid.
Yes, the Texas-based FleetPride Inc. has just agreed to pay a $418,000 settlement to CARB for selling wiper fluid that contained concentrations of “volatile organic compounds (VOCs) exceeding 25%.” The higher the percentage, the colder it has to be outside for the fluid to freeze, and in the mostly-balmy state of California, freeze-resistant wiper fluids are illegal in all but the more mountainous areas.
According to a press release, the issue that CARB has with the fluids is that VOCs are emitted from the wiper fluids as they evaporate and “react with other pollutants under sunlight to form ground-level ozone, a main ingredient in smog.”
“It is important that the composition of windshield washer fluid meets ARB’s VOC limits established for the region where it is sold,” said Jim Ryden, enforcement chief at CARB. “Our goal is to protect public health.”
FleetPride had been selling the illegal wiper fluid for approximately 3 years before CARB found out, but once the issue was discovered, the company voluntarily self-disclosed additional noncompliant products and agreed to pay the $418,500 as a settlement which will go to support projects and research that aim to improve air quality in California.
Next Story: “Dangerous Pattern Of Serious Falsification” Prompts Carrier Closure
Source: carb, thetruckersreport, noodls
Ugh
I don’t understand why the trucking industry, instead of talking about shutting down the country to get the bull crap regulations off our backs, don’t just work one state at a time. No freight in or out of California would put an end the this kind of stupidity in short order. You still have all the other states to work, so no worry about going hungry… well those in CA would have to worry a bit.
Ok, that’s it, i vote we stop bringing freight into that nut-house, then see how much crap they’ll give Trucking…I no longer accept any routes going there, pain in the you-know-where, keeping it at 55 on all those hills…
I haven’t gone to CA in two years and I’m doing just fine monetarily. I’ll never drive truck in CA again and I’m sure glad I’ll never work fot a company that will force me to.
I agree with the drivers that have to go to California and say from either Canada or Michigan where we have winter and need that windshield washer with some anti freeze in it . So the best thing to do would be to drop the trailer in Arizona or Nevada at the foot of the Mountain and let the Californian find for themselves the cost of all that. I know there is a reason for my retirement off the highway is too much BS from those states and rules and regulations.
All I enjoy now is read all about the troubles that the new generation of drivers have to go true.
I can’t believe these guys settled. Why didn’t they fight it? CA is to broke to go to court anyway.
I’d say truckers should refuse to take loads into California. These idiots are looking for any reason to attack a Truck driver.
And Global Warming is a big pile of crap too, look at the winter we had and all the snow in the Arctic. Then look up geo engineering and the effect it will have on the earth, again the government passing the buck blaming emissions for destroying the planet. Only to waste the tax payers money, because global warming dosnt exist.
And this comes from the state with one of the most polluted skies and totally broke.
WT California? Carb has been smoking way to much pot and taking to many hits of LTD and everyone that works for them need to find another job besides harassing truck drivers that work 5 times harder than they ever have or ever will……ASSHOLES!!!!!!
Like most of the country we are waiting for it to fall off the map and make the united states a better country. That’s where most of the garbage is anyhow.
Actually, considering the smog problem southern CA used to have, if wiper fluid has the ability to contribute to smog and CA can reduce smog by regulating wiper fluid, the fine may not be totally ludicrous. It does look a bit steep though, doesn’t it.
i wonder how many 4 wheeler have the wrong ww fluid in them in calif.
the fine was against the manufacturer, not a trucker. and either there are other compounds to stop your fluid from freezing, or every other fluid manufacturer is about to get this same deal.
this is a pretty cut and dry case. there are plenty of reasons to hate on the gub’mint without being ignorant. this is not one of them.
I vote no commerce into the disneyland state of the usa.
why do we allow one state to dictate what we do? pretty stupid too if you agree to a bs fine! what do you do change fluid when leave cali?
You should live in this fascist state of CA. We have to go out of state to buy a decent gas can, carb cleaner, brake cleaner, windshield washer fluid, gun parts, lawn mowers (no Kohler small engines allowed here), fireworks…but we manage…just a short drive to the border 🙂
And that is why I will refuse ALL freight to California. If the big companies would get smart, they would do the same. Guaranteed to see a change.
We use Methanol based washer fluid in Colorado , and some parts of California rely on water from the Colorado River. So I hope they enjoy drinking it 🙂 Also I am sure they would have a real fit, the fact Colorado uses Magnesium Chloride on roads for deicing.
Drink up California ha ha
Just another reason they call it the land of fruits & nuts