TRENTON — Without a no-vote cast, the state Senate today approved a bill to ban "coal rolling," which modifies diesel engines to belch black smoke on the highway, often to intimidate or harass drivers of alternative fuel vehicles.

The bill, (S2418), sponsored by Sen. Linda Greenstein (D-Mercer and Middlesex, passed by a vote of 36-0. The bill was first proposed by Assemblyman Tim Eustace (D-Bergen) after a pick-up truck blew smoke at his Nissan Leaf — an electric car — while he was driving on the New Jersey Turnpike. The state Assembly bill is pending.

State Sen. Linda Greenstein (D-Middlesex), shown in 2013, is the Senate sponsor of a bill to ban "coal rolling," which was unanimously approved by the full Senate. (Patti Sapone/The Star-Ledger)

In coal rolling, cars with diesel engines are retrofitted with a smoke stack or similar device that allows the driver to release a cloud of smoke on demand. Environmentalists say the practice is commonly used to protest the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan, and to target individual motorists on the highway. Critics say the smoke is so thick that the soot can completely obscure the view out a windshield, temporarily blinding drivers to traffic.

"We need this legislation because [coal rolling] is not only one of the stupidest concepts ever, it is very dangerous," said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. "Coal rolling is intimidation and harassment using pollution by polluters and their allies. This is not only used to threaten people, but to try to prevent activism by people who are concerned about coal pollution."

The Senate bill, which would ban “retrofitting any diesel-powered vehicle with any device, smoke stack, or other equipment which enhances the vehicle’s capacity to emit soot, smoke, or other particulate emissions” as well as “purposely releasing significant quantities of soot, smoke, or other particulate emissions into the air and onto roadways and other vehicles while operating the vehicle.”

Violations would result in a fine set by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

While the practice has long been a feature of tractor pulls, lately it's become trendy among young highway drivers, who use it to blacken electric cars or hybrids, often posting videos of their sooty exploits on YouTube.



DEP regulations say vehicles "shall not emit visible smoke, whether from crankcase emissions or from tailpipe exhaust, for a period in excess of three consecutive seconds," and officials also say the practice violates federal law. Eustace has said he wants to make the ban explicit.



Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow hin on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.