NY Time article on rolling coal

[SteveG1988]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/05/business/energy-environment/rolling-coal-in-diesel-trucks-to-rebel-and-provoke.html?ref=business&hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1

[wphiii]

These people are subhuman. Saw one of them almost cause an accident just yesterday. I was behind two other cars on a two-lane road and one of these assholes comes in the other direction, belching out its black smoke. The way the cloud hit us, the car in front of me literally couldn't see that the car in front of him had slowed down to make a turn and both of us were barely able to brake in time.

[SP Cook]

Glad to see New Jersey has solved murder, rape, robbery, assult, kidnapping, and other serious crimes and can spend police resources on fighing this oh, so, important matter.

[wphiii]

Hmm yes why hasn't anyone thought of that!

[wphiii]

Going to write a strongly-worded letter to New Jersey insisting that they end all other crime so that all Police in the state can just become one giant Rolling Coal Task Force.

[Pete from Boston]

Glad to see New Jersey has solved murder, rape, robbery, assult, kidnapping, and other serious crimes and can spend police resources on fighing this oh, so, important matter.

Exactly.  Why would they pursue any other action when these crimes continue to occur?

[7/8]

Truck owners intent on rolling coal need only to turn to the Discovery Channel reality show "Diesel Brothers"  for guidance. The show, which has more than 2.2 million viewers an episode, follows Heavy D, Diesel Dave and a team of mechanics in Utah who "build the baddest diesel trucks ever seen on the planet."

^ Just shows how downhill the Discovery Channel has gotten (not to mention this "History" Channel)

[SteveG1988]

Glad to see New Jersey has solved murder, rape, robbery, assult, kidnapping, and other serious crimes and can spend police resources on fighing this oh, so, important matter.

Sarcasam Aside. This is something that has become a problem. Public Health Hazard in terms of blocking visability, to causing accidents, to basically farting out diesel crap onto bikers. I've been coaled on by a co-worker who was being a douchebag on his last day. It ain't pleasant.

The "Task Force" or whatever is more or less "this truck in front of us in traffic just took off, and crapped out a ton of soot, let's pull it over"

[hbelkins]

This happens in my area (coal country) occasionally, but I never understood why it's called "rolling coal" since those trucks are diesel-powered, not coal-powered. Nor can I see this as being any sign of support for our beleaguered coal mining industry.

[SteveG1988]

This happens in my area (coal country) occasionally, but I never understood why it's called "rolling coal" since those trucks are diesel-powered, not coal-powered. Nor can I see this as being any sign of support for our beleaguered coal mining industry.

Not sure if it is sarcasam or not.

Basically it is termed that way from the cloud looking like coal being rolled out of the exhaust.

[cpzilliacus]

This happens in my area (coal country) occasionally, but I never understood why it's called "rolling coal" since those trucks are diesel-powered, not coal-powered. Nor can I see this as being any sign of support for our beleaguered coal mining industry.

Agreed. 

Now it is possible to convert coal into petroleum-like product (it was pretty  common in Nazi Germany), but I am not aware of it being done on any large scale in the  United States because the processes involved are expensive in and of themselves.

Perhaps more to the point, "rolling  coal" is a wasteful practice.  All of that black particulate smoke is unburned Diesel fuel.  Not especially healthy to breathe in either.