BBC Panorama Highlight VW Defeat Devices cheating EU Emissions Testing

Since the Volkswagen Scandal broke at the end of September, our compensation lawyers have been working round the clock to help victims who have vehicles fitted with emissions cheating defeat devices. Our legal action is well underway – and as far as we’re aware, other firms are still just registering people’s information.

We’re not registering information. We’re aware lawyers are claiming to be acting for thousands of people yet it is believed they haven’t actually initiated any claims at all.

We on the other hand are taking cases on; and right now, we are already actually acting for thousands of clients who have instructed us to pursue their claim.

Thousands of people are a part of our growing action which is expanding by huge numbers daily, and we’re currently offering all of our clients a Genuine No Win, No Fee offer.

BBC Panorama Highlights EU Testing Cheats

Did you watch the program? If you did then we’re sure you’ll agree it was a no holds barred investigation in to the Volkswagen Scandal, where vehicles were tested under strict conditions that replicate the current EU testing regime.

Its all very specific – tests take precisely 20 minutes and 20 seconds and are conducted at set speeds over six miles with even gear changes occurring in set phases. The vehicle is effectively ‘driving’ in a straight line, and tests are conducted under cold engine conditions where room temperature is closely monitored.

And what happened when they tested an affected vehicle? It passed the test with flying colours, of course. But it wasn’t due to clean diesel technology at all…

How Volkswagen Duped the World

We were already aware how the software works but it was great to see the explanations that we give our clients televised for the whole of the UK. The software is very clever indeed – but when you realise how it works, its also a rather simple concept.

The defeat devices can detect when the vehicle is undergoing emissions testing because of how standard and predictable the testing regime is. It does this by detecting these static and set conditions that EU testing has been utilising for years. When these set conditions are in place, the computers in the cars know that testing must be occurring, and that is when the emissions controls are turned on.

And what happened when the engineers changed the variables to make the car behave like it wasn’t in testing conditions? Well, it failed the emissions testing catastrophically because the software probably turned the emissions controls off in believing that the vehicle was not under test conditions.

In a Statement from Volkswagen, they said:

The admissions in their statement are clear. One of the worlds biggest car manufactures has been caught misrepresenting their vehicles to consumers in efforts to drive up business with promises of clean diesel technology; a strategy which has made them millions.

Engineers Baffled

Engineers conducting tests admitted that the differences between the standard testing, which is covered by a rule book containing some 280 pages, and the varied test that Panorama ran were “difficult” to explain.

The EU testing limit is 180 mg/km of NOx emissions, and the standard test that was performed where the defeat device allowed emissions controls to work yielded a result of 167 mg/km – which is certainly a respectable score. Yet when the vehicle was accelerated more – therefore taking it beyond the test parameters, with the software on the onboard computer not recognising test conditions – it resulted in a staggering output of 435 mg/km.

This is a significant difference.

How the Victims Feel

We know all too well how the victims feel since we’re acting for thousands of them already. The program highlighted with interviews the thoughts of some consumers, and the statements made were similar to what our own clients are experiencing.

Our clients are angry and they want justice. Many have already seen the drop in value to their vehicles, and thousands are worried about the financial cost to them as well as the damage being done to the environment that they were not aware of.

The impact is perhaps far greater than people imagine. The amount of toxins polluting mainly inner city areas can have real lifelong affects on people living there. In the program, heart rate monitors showed differences in areas with higher pollution, and a young girl with cystic fibrosis was a key part of the report in to how the quality of our air has an affect on more vulnerable people.

This is not just a quick buck that the car making giant almost got away with – this is environmental negligence. The Volkswagen Group must answer for their actions, and we continue to fight for the rights of victims making compensation claims as victims of the scandal.

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