This is what "coal rolling" looks like, as diesel exhaust spews from the tractor of Jeremy DeLuca, of Hackettstown, during an August 2008 competition at the Hunterdon County 4-H Fair at the county fairgrounds in West Amwell Township.
Fueled by quests for Internet fame, and the ignominy of the environmentally conscientious, diesel drivers who coal roll in New Jersey could face a hefty bill.
Coal rolling, alternatively known as rolling coal, is now banned in the Garden State.
Gov. Chris Christie on Monday signed legislation passed in the Senate as S2418 and Assembly as A3583 prohibiting "retrofitting diesel-powered vehicles to increase particulate emissions for the purpose of 'coal rolling'" and prohibiting "the practice of 'coal rolling.'"
The law takes effect immediately.
Bill sponsor Assemblyman Tim Eustace, D-Bergen, got the idea for the bill after a raised pickup truck coal-rolled his Nissan Leaf, nj.com reports. The Internet boasts a whole community of diesel enthusiasts who get laughs from belching thick black smoke — on purpose — in the direction of, say, Toyota Priuses.
Other online celebrations of the practice show bicyclists, pedestrians, even roadside produce meant to suffer the pollution. Some participants in the videos stick their heads in the exhaust, despite word from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health that "whole diesel exhaust be regarded as 'a potential occupational carcinogen.'"
As for penalties, the measure points to existing New Jersey law on "fine particle emissions from certain vehicles and equipment powered by diesel engines" that calls for a fine of up to $5,000, set by the state Commissioner of Environmental Protection.
According to the nj.com report, the law is redundant: New Jersey Department of Environmental regulations already say that vehicles "shall not emit visible smoke, whether from crankcase emissions or from tailpipe exhaust, for a period in excess of three consecutive seconds." And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says modifying trucks to belch smoke is illegal under federal law.
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