The study of motor vehicle emissions has been enhanced in recent years by the development of remote sensing. Remote sensing is an on-road emission measurement technique which is not intrusive and requires no participation from the drivers of the vehicles being tested. Vehicles can be monitored at a rate of more than a thousand per hour, and the technique can therefore be used for large-scale surveys at a fraction of the cost that would be incurred using conventional vehicle testing methods. Remote sensing was designed as a means of identifying high-emitting vehicles, and it is likely that this will continue to be its main application. However, TRL is currently investigating the possibility of using this technique to evaluate the impacts of different traffic management policies. This paper describes the remote sensing equipment and method, and presents a critical examination of some of the results from two case studies in which the use of the technique has been demonstrated. These case studies involved the assessment of traffic calming measures and parking controls. Although remote sensing can be used to measure a number of exhaust pollutants, only the results for carbon monoxide obtained in the case studies are reported. (A)
Abstract