I took a long drive today at lunch to put some more miles on my new gears before this weekend's BMW autocross. When I was driving onto the highway, there was a big van, a bunch of orange cones, a camera-like thing on a tripod, and a sign that read "Emissions Monitoring" right on the entrance ramp. Have any of you seen this? I have no idea what they are doing. I'm hoping it is just a scientific study, rather than a trap! I would hate to get a $10K fine in the mail.

 

Tennessee is doing it.
http://knowledge.fhwa.dot.gov/cops/hcx.nsf...3f?OpenDocument

 

Not sure what it is, but I saw the same setup at the corner of Legacy and 75. Seems like there was a post on here a while back about this. (Maybe it was on one of the other board I read, though).

 

gernby, this is weird I just saw the exact same setup you described in my town yesterday! NEVER seen anything like it before. I first thought it was a sobriety checkpoint, but it was at 3:00pm. I wonder who's in charge of and/or funding this "project"???

 

oh, I should have read your link b4 I posted...looks like it's a FED "project."

 

Hmmm,
emmissions monitoring? I saw one of these vans and cone set-ups over a year ago in SW Fort Worth on a ramp to get on loop 820.

C-

 

I get on 75 at 380 every morning and know what your talking about. I'm not sure if there is a camera set up or if it's the sensor.
It may also have to do with Environmental studies. The city is wanting to move the entrance ramp on the other side (northbound) further back from the light, to alleviate traffic problems and back ups onto 75 when the light is red at 380.
The city traffic engineer said they were awaiting some environmental approval. This was 2 weeks ago. Maybe the 2 are related.

 

One of the cloverleaf rams at 635 and the Tollway had one once, and a few months after that they started doing construction of that facility...

I doubt they're trying to pick out individual cars.

 

The gear supposedly has the capability of taking a photo of individual cars and sending an order requiring an emissions test. I don't know if that is done here, but it is elsewhere.

 

I guess we'll know in a few days.