Many of you will be aware of the VW emissions scandal, where the company reported that their cars emitted fewer pollutants than they actually did. However, less of you may realise why this is such an important issue, both to buyers of VW cars and everyone else as well.
The reason that car manufacturers have to measure their emissions is because buyers want to know how much they will be polluting the environment when they are driving their vehicle. There are also rules on emissions and regulations which state what levels cars need to be at and these need to be met by manufacturers. Those buyers that picked a VW because they thought that it would be kinder to the environment than other models will have been sold a vehicle under false pretences. This means that they could be very cross about the fact that they are causing more pollution than they thought that they would be. It is worth them knowing that it could be possible for them to get VW emissions compensation. This may give them some peace of mind, but what about the rest of us?
It is worth thinking about what impact these false reading ill have had on the rest of us. Firstly, other car manufacturers may have been doing the same thing or copy the idea now and so we could all be buying cars which are more damaging to the environment than we realise. Hopefully tests and checks have tightened up so this may not happen, but it could just mena that manufacturers get cleverer at cheating on the results.
It also means that cars are polluting the air more than we expected. It means that we are all breathing in dirtier air and having our planet damaged more than we had expected. This means that even if our health is not affected, it could mean that the health of our children, grandchildren and other future generations could really suffer.
The car manufacturers were obviously just thinking about their sales, cutting costs and keeping customers happy, rather than actually worrying about the environment and their responsibility for it. All car manufacturers are likely to behave in a similar way unless they are really well known for their environmental awareness and so it could mean that every time we buy a new car we are causing more damage to the environment than we realise.
We should all be thinking about what we can do to reduce our emissions on the roads. This is not only to help those future generations but also ourselves When we drive, we breathe in the fumes form the car in front through our windows or air conditioning systems. Queuing in traffic with lots of engines running around us can actually be more harmful to our health than walking along a busy road as drivers are more likely to be exposed to car fumes and are closer to them. The fumes also do damage to the environment which we all need to be taking more care of. So turning off the engine while queuing I traffic, using an electric car or another type that is more fuel efficient, driving less and car sharing when possible will all help the environment. When you purchase a new car, even if you are choosing a second hand model, it is worth thinking about the environmental impact of that particular model by considering the fuel it takes, the efficiency and size of the car.