Spare the Air's 1-800-EXHAUST program helps to remove the financial and informational barriers to repairing or retiring older, polluting vehicles. By recruiting 1-800-EXHAUST Clean Air Advocates to help us get vehicle assistance information to smoking vehicle owners, we’re working with the community to keep our air fresh and healthy.
If you are the driver of an older, heavy-emitting vehicle, 10 percent of your emissions are circulated back into the car and can wind up in the lungs of you and your passengers. So reporting isn’t just a matter of fixing or replacing cars, it’s a matter of public health. In fact, fixing or removing one smoking car from Bay Area roads is the equivalent of removing 30 regular cars – it’s all for a cleaner environment.
Soot emitted by smoking vehicles is extremely detrimental to the environment and respiratory health of our community. When you make a 1-800-EXHAUST report, you’re doing your part to remove a major source of particulate matter in our air. Best of all, reported vehicle owners don’t get fined, but they do get information on assistance programs.
If a vehicle is seen emitting visible exhaust for more than 10 seconds, the owner may be cited anywhere from $100 to $250. Our policy is to make reporting free and anonymous. If you report a smoking vehicle, we’ll help the owner save money by sending them information on programs that can help them repair or retire their car.