California Construction Trucking Association (CCTA)

The California Air Resources Board declared August “Clean Truck Month” and launched a statewide enforcement push with some scary statistics leaking out of Sacramento

The preliminary results according to Paul Jacobs, chief of mobile source enforcement, were more than 6,000 inspections and 700 plus citations written.  Jacobs says that the tickets given to individual truckers will be followed up with fleet inspections, looking for more violations. The violations included all programs: smoke opacity, tampering, TRUs, drayage, idling, truck and bus, etc.

This is serious stuf. Violations with CARB diesel programs may result in the following penalties and sanctions:

• Civil penalties ranging from $300 to $10,000 per vehicle per day.
• Collection procedures with additional late fees and fines.
• CARB may obtain a judgment in superior court and if successful, can place liens on assets such as real estate or personal property such as vehicles and other assets.
• A Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Vehicle License Title Stop (VLT). A DMV VLT Stop will prevent registration, renewal, or transfer of your vehicle(s).
• At the request of CARB, the California Highway Patrol may remove the vehicle in violation from service.
• CARB may file with the State Controller a request to offset any amount due a state agency from a person or entity, against any amount owing that person or entity by any state agency. Generally, CARB may file a tax offset request with the Franchise Tax Board for any amount owed due to unpaid violations.

Since the passage of SB 1402, you have some additional protections, which are slowing down the enforcement division’s ability to implement penalties, but you can’t ignore the ticket. 

Call us at 909-982-9898 if you’ve gotten a ticket and need help, or you can follow the CARB procedure below…but don’t expect much mercy.

If  you have received a citation, a notice will be mailed to you with in 2-3 weeks. The letter will explain the necessary steps required to clear the citation. It is important that you follow the instructions provided to you to avoid any late penalties or further enforcement actions.

If you have questions about the citation, please contact the appropriate number at the top right corner of the citation - in general, there will be a check mark next to the listed number. More information can also be found on the back of a citation regarding appeal deadlines and procedures.