The Technical Vehicle Inspection (ITV) is a procedure that cars must pass periodically after a certain age. The objective of this examination is to guarantee that the conductions are perfect for driving on public roads. But beyond the revision of elements so vital to safety such as the braking system, tires or lighting, a control of particles, harmful gases and noise is also carried out with the aim of removing vehicles whose emissions exceed the limits set by the applicable regulations. This helps to reduce air pollution, which is related to the death of more than 27,000 people a year in Spain.
According to the study Contribution of the ITV to Road Safety and the Environment of the Duque de Santomauro Institute for Automobile Vehicle Safety (ISVA) of the Carlos III University of Madrid, ITV stations avoid every year, due to exposure to particles (PM ), 575 premature victims. In addition, if absenteeism in the mandatory inspection were to end, this figure could increase to 782 deaths, that is, 207 more deaths would be avoided annually.
AECA-ITV ensures that, according to the data published by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, excess polluting emissions is the third cause of rejection of the ITV, after the defects included in the lighting and signaling section and the axles, wheels, tires and suspension.
In 2021, the last year for which there is a record, 16% of ITV rejections were due to incorrect operation of the pollutant emission control systems. A figure that increased in the last year, going from a total of 1,191,673 polluting emission defects detected in 2020 to 1,302,971 in 2021.
The European Commission has given ITV a key role in the fight against climate change. The body approved in 2021 a rule that contemplates that ITV stations are the ones that carry out the monitoring and notification of data on CO2 emissions from passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, as well as information on CO2 emissions and the fuel or energy consumption of such vehicles.
That is why, in Spain, since May 20, ITV stations have begun to collect information on fuel and energy consumption obtained in real driving conditions. Information that is collected through the electronic vehicle connection interface (OBD), to those registered as of January 1, 2021.
It is important to emphasize that the result of this data collection does not cause any type of rejection in the inspection, since its purpose is purely statistical and, therefore, the collection of this data is anonymous, without registering the identification of the vehicle.
The result of the data collected by the ITV is and will be essential to define the European lines of action in mobility policies in order to protect the environment.
