“Acceleration Simulation Mode” or “ASM” means a type of vehicle emissions test conducted with the test vehicle on a chassis dynamometer to simulate on-road acceleration operating conditions.

“Advanced emission specialist technician” means an individual licensed by the Bureau, prior to August 1, 2012, to inspect, diagnose, adjust, repair, and certify the emissions control systems on vehicles subject to the Smog Check Program at Smog Check stations in all areas of the state.

“After repairs test” means a test performed on a vehicle after repairs have been made to that vehicle as a result of failing an inspection at a Smog Check station.

“Alternative fuel retrofit system” means an aftermarket system certified by the California Air Resources Board to be installed on a vehicle to operate on an alternate fuel, in lieu of the fuel type specified by the original vehicle manufacturer.

“ARD-exempt heavy-duty station” means a Smog Check test-and-repair station or a Smog Check test-only station that only tests and/or repairs commercial vehicles which have a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or greater.

“BAR-97 Emissions Inspection System” or “EIS” means tamper-resistant test equipment meeting the requirements of subsection (a) of section 3340.17 of the California Code of Regulations and is certified by the Bureau for use in the Smog Check Program. The EIS collects and measures emissions data, and where applicable On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) data, then transmits inspection results to the Vehicle Information Database.

“Basic area” or “basic vehicle inspection and maintenance program area” means the Smog Check Program conducted in any area of the state that is not classified as an enhanced vehicle inspection and maintenance program area.

“Basic area technician” means an individual licensed by the Bureau, prior to August 1, 2012, to inspect, diagnose, adjust, repair, and certify the emissions control systems on vehicles subject to the Smog Check Program at Smog Check stations in areas of the state designated as basic vehicle inspection and maintenance program areas.

“Bureau” or “BAR” means the Bureau of Automotive Repair.

“Chassis dynamometer” is a treadmill-like device for a vehicle that is used to simulate on-road acceleration operating conditions.

“Clean gassing” means introducing a substitute gas into the EIS, so that the EIS will measure either the substitute or a mixture of the substitute gas and exhaust emissions rather than the actual vehicle emissions, in order to cause the EIS to issue a certificate of compliance for the test vehicle.

“Clean piping” means the use of a substitute exhaust emissions sample in place of the actual test vehicle's exhaust in order to cause the EIS to issue a certificate of compliance for the test vehicle.

“Clean plugging” means using a substitute vehicle's OBD system, or another source, to generate data readings or diagnostic information in order to cause the OIS to issue a certificate of compliance for the test vehicle.

“Consumer Assistance Program” or “CAP” means a program of the Bureau of Automotive Repair that provides eligible motor vehicle owners the options of Repair Assistance and Vehicle Retirement.

“Directed vehicle” means a vehicle that is required to be inspected at a STAR-certified station because it either has an elevated likelihood of smog check failure or is selected at random, pursuant to section 44010.5 or 44014.7, respectively, of the Health and Safety Code.

“Dismantler” means an automobile dismantler, as defined in section 220 of the Vehicle Code and licensed pursuant to section 11500 of the Vehicle Code, who has contracted with the Bureau to retire vehicles from operation.

“Engine change” means the installation of an engine in a vehicle that is different from the vehicle manufacturer original configuration as certified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency or California Air Resources Board.

“Enhanced area” or “enhanced vehicle inspection and maintenance program area” means the Smog Check Program conducted in any part of an urbanized area of the state which is classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a serious, severe, or extreme nonattainment area for ozone or a moderate or serious nonattainment area for carbon monoxide with a design value greater than 12.7 ppm.

“Equipment platform” means the type of equipment, either EIS or OIS, used to perform a Smog Check inspection.

“Excessive Test Deviation Rate” occurs under any of the following circumstances in a calendar quarter:

“Follow-up Pass Rate” or “FPR” means a performance measure that evaluates whether vehicles previously certified by each station or inspector are passing, in their current cycle, at higher than expected rates. Expected rates are calculated by averaging passing rates for similar vehicles, and then adjusting the rates to account for an individual vehicle's odometer reading, the type of inspection performed in the current inspection cycle on the vehicle, the amount of time since the last certification for the vehicle, and the initial test results in the previous inspection cycle. An FPR score is assigned to both Smog Check stations and inspectors, and is based on the current inspection cycle test results of vehicles that were previously certified by stations and inspectors. An FPR score ranges from zero to one, with zero representing the lowest possible score and one representing the highest possible score. FPR data reports are updated in January and July each year. Stations and inspectors with insufficient inspection histories from which to calculate an FPR score will not receive an FPR score.

“Gaseous fuel” means fuel composed of propane, liquefied natural gas, or compressed natural gas.

“Gear Shift Incident” means an inspection where data from the VID indicates the inspector did not follow the gear selection procedure specified in the Smog Check Manual that is incorporated by reference in section 3340.45.

“Heavy-duty vehicle” means a vehicle with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of 8,501 pounds or more.

“Household” means a family of persons or any group of two or more unrelated persons that reside together and share common living expenses.

“Implementation area” means a geographical area, in which a local district has requested implementation of a biennial inspection program pursuant to section 44003 of the Health and Safety Code.

“Initial inspection” means the first Smog Check inspection of a vehicle done in official test mode or pre-test mode and performed within one hundred eighty (180) days prior to a registration renewal date or a change of ownership date for that vehicle. An initial inspection does not include inspections that are aborted before completion or inspections done in the training or manual modes of the EIS.

“Inspector” or “Smog Check inspector” means an individual licensed by the Bureau to inspect and certify the emissions control systems on vehicles subject to the Smog Check Program in all areas of the state.

“Inspector Information Table” means the Bureau's electronic list of licensed inspectors authorized to perform official Smog Check inspections at a specific station.

“Non-directed vehicle” means a vehicle that is not required to be inspected at a STAR-certified station because it either does not have an elevated likelihood of smog check failure or is not selected at random pursuant to sections 44010.5 or 44014.7, respectively, of the Health and Safety Code.

“OBD Inspection System” or “OIS” consists of an OBD Data Acquisition Device (DAD) working in conjunction with commercial off-the-shelf computer, bar code scanner, data entry device, and printer. The DAD is the inspection equipment that meets the requirements of subsection (b) of section 3340.17 of the California Code of Regulations and is certified by the bureau for use in the Smog Check Program. The DAD facilitates OBD data transfer between the inspected vehicle and the OIS computer. The OIS computer relays inspection information to and from the DAD to the Vehicle Information Database (VID).

“On-Board Diagnostics” or “OBD” means the automotive electronic system that uses onboard computer(s) to monitor emission systems in-use, detects malfunctions of the monitored emission systems, illuminates a malfunction indicator light (MIL) to notify the vehicle operator of detected malfunctions, and stores fault codes identifying the detected malfunctions.

“On-Board Diagnostics II” or “OBD II” means the second generation of On-Board Diagnostics consisting of standardized monitors, vehicle connectors, and data found in most light-duty vehicles sold in California beginning with the 1996 model year.

“Program” or “Smog Check Program” means the motor vehicle inspection program conducted pursuant to section 44005 of the Health and Safety Code, and as described in this article.

“Referee” or “Smog Check Referee” means a facility under contract with the Bureau to provide independent evaluations of vehicles and services for vehicles with unusual inspection circumstances or as required by the Bureau.

“Repair Assistance” means a component of CAP that provides financial assistance for emissions-related repairs to help eligible motor vehicle owners bring their vehicles into compliance with the requirements of the Smog Check Program.

“Repair-only station” or “Smog Check repair-only station” means a station licensed by the Bureau to diagnose and repair vehicles in the Smog Check Program.

“Repair technician” or “Smog Check repair technician” means an individual licensed by the Bureau to diagnose, adjust, and repair the emissions control systems on vehicles subject to the Smog Check Program at Smog Check stations in all areas of the state.

“Revivable Junk Receipt” means a receipt showing proof that the vehicle is recorded and titled as “junked” by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

“Similar Vehicle Failure Rate” or “SVFR” means a calendar quarter comparison of the initial test failure rate of vehicles at an individual station to the initial test failure rate for similar vehicles inspected statewide, taking into account the vehicle odometer reading, the time since passing the last inspection, and the initial test results in the previous cycle. Vehicles for which data is not available to adequately establish an initial test failure rate will not be used in the SVFR calculation.

“Similar vehicles” means vehicles with the same Vehicle Lookup Table Row ID, or at a minimum, vehicles with the same model-year, make, and engine displacement.

“STAR” means a voluntary certification program that applies to an automotive repair dealer that is also licensed as either a Smog Check test-and-repair station or a Smog Check test-only station that meets all requirements specified in this article.

“Station” or “Smog Check station” means a Smog Check test-only station, a Smog Check test-and-repair station, or a Smog Check repair-only station licensed by the Bureau in the Smog Check Program.

“Test-and-repair station” or “Smog Check test-and-repair station” means a Smog Check station licensed by the Bureau to test, inspect, diagnose, and repair vehicles in the Smog Check Program.

“Test Deviation” occurs under any of the following conditions:

“Test-only station” or “Smog Check test-only station” means a Smog Check station licensed by the Bureau to test and inspect vehicles in the Smog Check Program.

“Two-Speed Idle” or “TSI” means a type of vehicle emissions test conducted with the vehicle transmission in neutral or park while the engine is run at two different engine speeds.

“Vehicle Information Database” or “VID” means a centralized computer database and computer network, which is readily accessible by all Smog Check inspectors on a real-time basis.

“Vehicle Inspection Report” or “VIR” means an official Smog Check inspection report that is printed from an OIS or EIS and given to the registered vehicle owner(s) or their legal representative.

“Vehicle Lookup Table” or “VLT” means a reference table continuously maintained by BAR and available for review on request used to determine test parameters necessary to perform a BAR-97 inspection, including the type of inspection, vehicle test weight, and vehicle emission cutpoints. Vehicles in the table are identified by factors such as vehicle body type, model year, make, model, engine displacement, and fuel type.

“Vehicle Retirement” means a component of CAP that provides payments to eligible motor vehicle owners who choose to voluntarily retire their vehicles from operation rather than make emissions-related repairs to bring the vehicles into compliance with the requirements of the Smog Check Program.

“VLT Row ID” means the Vehicle Lookup Table row identification number that identifies a vehicle using information about its body type, model year, make, model, engine displacement, and transmission type.