Things you can do to reduce pollution from cars

A car is essential today to improve your quality of life. A car helps you in your daily commute to work, helps keep you mobile easily, helps in times of emergencies and is used for leisure trips to the movies or for spending time going on drives. However, the use of cars also contributes to increasing air pollution, more so in urban areas. Continuous exposure to fumes from car exhausts is a leading cause of illness in the respiratory system and is causing lung disease in people.

We all need to get together and do our bit in reducing pollution from our cars.

What are the things you need to do to reduce car pollution

Following are some of the steps you may take to reduce car pollution:

Obtain and ensure timely renewal of your Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate

A Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate states that the emission from your car is within the permissible limits for the different exhaust gases. It is your duty to get your car tested at the designated centres at defined intervals (usually 1 year) and get the certificate renewed before it expires. A PUC certificate is a mandatory document under the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988. You need to carry it along with documents such as your driving license, car registration certificate and car insurance documents and you may need to produce it to authorised officers if asked to. In case your car is emitting fumes above the prescribed limit when tested, you need to get it serviced and, if still not compliant, replaced.

Use of alternate fuels

Alternate fuels to run your car are getting quite popular in recent times for reasons ranging from environmental consciousness to cost efficiency which makes it an attractive proposition overall. Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is said to reduce car pollution as compared to petrol and diesel by around 75 per cent. You may also buy EVs or cars which run on hybrid engines – a combination of fossil fuels and electronic engines.

Maintain your car properly and regularly

If you carry out proper maintenance of your car at regular intervals, then you remove the accumulated debris and dust, resulting in less and cleaner emissions from your car. Regular maintenance will also increase the service life of your car and increase the resale value if you sell it.

Switching your engine off when not required

Leaving your engine on in idle mode at traffic signals or in traffic jams wastes fuel and increases the pollution from your car. Switch the engine off to reduce emissions and save on fuel costs.

Driving at a constant speed

When you drive at a constant speed, you reduce the necessity of changing gears frequently and using the brakes constantly. This saves fuel and reduces car pollution.

Avoiding rush hour traffic

Traffic jams are an unfortunate part of life in cities in India. The start-stop situation in bumper-to-bumper traffic results in a marked increase in fuel consumption and increased air pollution. Plan your journeys to be able to avoid such traffic conditions as far as possible.

Conclusion

While the government has introduced different standards of car emission norms like BS III, BS IV and BS VI and has mandated cars with devices like catalytic converters to reduce pollution, it is ultimately up to us who own and drive cars to do our bit. Apart from the measures mentioned above, consider car-pooling, using cycles for short-distance commutes or walking to places nearby to reduce pollution from car emissions and to do our bit in keeping the environment clean.