Are YOU risking a £1,000 fine for driving your diesel car without this crucial piece of equipment fitted?
Mechanics can legally remove this vital piece of kit from your car. But if you are caught on the road without it fitted, you will face a hefty fine
THOUSANDS of Brits could be hit with fines of up to £1,000 for driving around in diesel cars that are missing a crucial part.
And these motorists who are looking to skip repair bills are also contributing to the high levels of toxic diesel pollution in the country.
A large number of drivers have their diesel particulate filters (DPF) removed rather than deal with them regularly becoming clogged and needing to be replaced, an investigation has found.
Many motorists will opt to pay the few hundred pounds to remove the part rather than risk more expensive damage to the car's engine should the filter become clogged.
And while it is illegal to drive a diesel car without a DPF, a legal loophole means mechanics are allowed to remove the part at the request of a car owner.
Current regulation only comes in the form of a visual inspection during MOT - not whether it's working.
As there is no physical test of the filter required, a faulty part could easily pass through an MOT, or simply be removed once their car has been deemed roadworthy.
But anyone found guilty of driving a diesel vehicle without a DPF could be slapped with a £1,000 fine for a car, and as much as £2,500 in penalties for a van.
All diesels produced after 2009 are legally required to have a filter to reduce their pollution levels.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency claims just 1,800 drivers have been caught without a DPF in their car since 2014, but an investigation by has found the number of cars without a filter could actually be significantly higher.
A car's DPF acts as an important barrier to prevent deadly particle matter and soot from entering the earth's atmosphere through the gas exhaust of diesel vehicles.
If it is removed, experts claim that the process can make a car's emissions up to 20 times more damaging to the environment and our health.
Frank Kelly, professor of environmental health at Kings College, London, told BBC 5 Live: "If a DPF is removed, it takes the work being done to restrict emissions back 30 years.
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"A car with a DPF removed has a particulate count 20 times higher than one with it.
"The particles lead to numerous health problems such as lung cancer, heart attacks, strokes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's - and can also affect an unborn child in the womb."
The DVSA claim they plan on introducing new regulations to improve testing of diesel particulate filters and close the MOT loophole by next year.
A spokesman said: "DVSA is making further changes to the MOT manual and to the diesel emissions limits for modern vehicles, in May 2018.
"These will make the test more robust and better able to detect where emissions control equipment has been tampered with."
