‘Can’t believe people really try [this]’

A Redditor shared a satisfying story about someone who tried to “roll coal” on them.

The practice is illegal because it employs aftermarket tailpipe exhaust control devices to spew large amounts of toxic diesel fumes, which can endanger people’s health and obscure their vision. It’s often done to pedestrians, cyclists, and electric vehicle drivers, perhaps to make them aware the coal roller disapproves of their healthy life choices.

“I was suspicious that he might so I was ready when the light turned green,” the poster wrote in November. “He started normal and then floored it with a huge cloud of black smoke. Couldn’t compare to the acceleration of the HI5 though!!”

“My kids were laughing at the acceleration (they love ‘go fast!’),” the OP continued. “And the black cloud was only in the rear view mirror. Love this car! Can’t believe people really try to roll coal on EVs though. Amazing what must be going on in their mind.”

To stop diesel vehicles from being modified to roll coal, the Department of Justice in September filed a lawsuit against eBay for facilitating the sale of 343,000 aftermarket defeat devices that bypass motor vehicle emission controls in violation of the federal Clean Air Act. It could lead to $2 billion in fines.

The health impacts of diesel exhaust are manifold, but rolling coal can be extremely dangerous for victims as well as perpetrators. In 2021, a Texas teenager crashed into six cyclists while rolling coal, while a different Redditor shared a video of a coal roller who crashed head-on into a highway barrier.

The plumes of pollutants include microplastics, nitrogen oxides, arsenic, benzene, formaldehyde, and nickel, which can contribute to cell mutations that lead to cancer, according to the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. More immediate problems include eye, nose, throat, and lung irritation, coughs, headaches, lightheadedness, and nausea.

People with allergies and respiratory illnesses are also more susceptible to those issues when exposed to diesel exhaust. Children and older adults are also especially sensitive to the fine-particle pollution.

“Ugh, I hadn’t thought about this happening to me now that I have an EV,” one user wrote. “Of course as a cyclist, over many years I’ve encountered all kinds of bizarre adult children (men), from rolling coal to just incoherently yelling at a women’s cycling group because we tap into their deep insecurity. I can’t wait to anticipate this and leave them in the dust.”

Another said, “I thought it would be cool to have a system where you could blow bubbles out of the back end of the car in retaliation.”

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