Ontario’s Smog Patrol

Ontario’s Vehicle Emissions Enforcement Unit—commonly known as the Smog Patrol—was formed in 1998 to support the Drive Clean program by conducting province-wide roadside inspections of both heavy duty and light duty vehicles to ensure compliance with Ontario’s motor vehicle emission standards. The program uses a risk based approach in order to focus inspections on specific transportation sectors that present the greatest risk to air quality.

Smog Patrol officers are uniformed and drive specially marked ministry vehicles. Officers also use bicycles and motorcycles to better access polluting vehicles in congested traffic conditions. The unit often works with other enforcement agencies such as the Ontario Provincial Police, Ministry of Transportation and other local police services during vehicle inspection blitzes.

Smog Patrol inspections can occur anytime, anywhere in Ontario, on vehicles registered in Ontario or from out-of-province.

When inspecting passenger cars, vans, pickup trucks and other light-duty vehicles, Smog Patrol officers will give a vehicle a thorough visual check to ensure the emission components haven’t been tampered with. Any visible smoke emission is timed to determine if it’s excessive. Officers inspecting heavy-duty trucks or buses place a sensor in the exhaust pipe to measure the thickness of the exhaust. If a vehicle fails or the emission control equipment has been altered or removed, officers can issue fines, Provincial Officer Orders and seize vehicle licence plates.

For information on Smog Patrol call 1-866-482-9967 (toll free). For information on Drive Clean, call 1-888-758-2999 (toll free) or visit www.driveclean.com.