Dallas, TX- A coal roller who posted videos of themselves on TikTok appearing to be acting dangerously had some unexpected repercussions.
The video was posted to the r/IdiotsInCars thread by a Redditor. It was taken in the Dallas-Fort Worth region in 2022.
That is simply incorrect, a user said. “Wall of shame, those jackasses; you all need cameras and plate readers.”
The detrimental acts infuriated enough people that local company owner Kevin Soucie was named in a piece by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram as the one who “rolled coal,” or drove a modified diesel truck to spew copious amounts of hazardous exhaust.
People kept asking Soucie questions, but his business was getting one-star reviews on Google. He made an apology that didn’t include an apology, saying that it was wrong for his acts to affect his business.
Rolling coal is against the law at the government level, but execution varies. In Texas, it’s a crime with a $350 fine, and the Star-Telegram said that state law lets bicycles ride in traffic lanes. It is possible to file a report with the North Central Texas Council of Governments about “smoking vehicles.”
It has been known for coal rollers to get what was coming to them, whether from the Massachusetts Environmental Police, police on horses, or damage to their cars. The DOJ sued eBay in September, which could result in a $2 billion fine. This was done to crack down on aftermarket devices that get around car pollution limits.
Many people on Reddit said that moving coal might as well be an attack. Diesel fumes can cause cancer, and they can also make it hard for drivers, bikers, and walkers to see or cross the street.
In 2021, a teenager from the Houston area was charged with six counts of aggravated attack with a deadly weapon. This was two months after he hit six riders with his rolling coal.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that over 550,000 diesel pickup trucks had had their emissions controls taken off in the previous 10 years.
This caused more than 570,000 tons of nitrogen oxides and 5,000 tons of particulate matter to be released into the air over the life of the vehicles. Even though those trucks only made up 15% of diesel trucks that were originally approved with emissions controls in the US, they put out as much pollution as more than 9 million other clean cars.
One person said, “I didn’t know what ‘rolling coal’ was before reading this.” “So these jerks change their cars so they make these exhaust fumes.”
“More proof that we live in a stupid government.”
“Some people don’t need an excuse to be a raging a—–,” said someone else. That’s the world we live in, which is a shame.