If you are a person who embraces karmic justice, this is how you frame it.
A Reddit user shared the dash cam video on the r/ConvenientCop subreddit. It shows a truck driver “rolling coal” only to be promptly stopped by police on horseback (if the embed doesn’t appear, click here to watch the video).
Videos on YouTube dating back to 2012 show the practice is nothing new. Coal rolling is a move by drivers who modify diesel trucks to emit large amounts of smoke. It usually targets environmentally conscious people such as pedestrians, cyclists or electric car drivers.
It’s unclear exactly why the truck driver rolled coal in this case. That they recorded their behavior on a dash cam may indicate that it was a regular part of their daily lives.
Regardless, police on horseback emerged from the smoke and pulled over the driver.
Rolling coal releases harmful pollutants that contribute to air pollution and health problems such as asthma and heart disease. As a result, U.S. law now prohibits engine modifications that increase pollution. Doing so violates the Clean Air Act.
In 2023, the government filed a lawsuit against eBay, alleging that the site allowed the sale of devices that allowed users to disable pollution controls. EPA says ‘blanket removal’ of emissions controls could increase pollution equivalent to 300 regulated trucks
While there are laws restricting coal rolling, enforcement varies from state to state.
The worst outcomes are that other drivers, cyclists and pedestrians are exposed to contaminants, endangered or involved in accidents. Rolling coal reduces visibility and distracts drivers, as was the case in Texas where six cyclists were hit.
Commenters on Reddit were confused by the driver’s behavior.
“To be honest, I don’t know who this person is trying to impress,” one person wrote.
“It’s meant to be a prank, not to impress,” one commenter argued. “A coal press is a type of person who just wants to defraud innocent strangers.”
One Reddit user concluded: “What a waste of time and money.”
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