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With a few tweaks, the cooking oil people buy at the supermarket or restaurants throw away, can fuel a vehicle. However, there's a question most people often ask: is running a car on vegetable oil illegal?
While biodiesel is a fuel alternative to "fossil" or traditional diesel produced from vegetable and animal sources, using it is entirely legal because it is refined to meet industry standards.
However, running a car on vegetable oil is quite a different matter. Using supermarket oil or a restaurant's waste cooking oil as fuel can break some regulations and environmental laws.
Biodiesel vs. Vegetable Oil: Legal Aspects
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s fuel considerations, crude vegetable oil or recycled waste fats are not biodiesel if they have not been properly processed into esters. Therefore, these plant-based fuel sources are not registered by the agency for legal use in motor vehicles.
A person who modifies their car to use vegetable or other types of cooking oil can find themselves in legal trouble for illegal tampering unless they have EPA certification. However, the agency has not certified any such tampered car so far.
Can Cars Using Vegetable Oil Break Environmental Regulations?
Converting cars originally designed to run on diesel fuel to use with cooking oil can create more emissions and impact the environment. Therefore, fueling a vehicle with vegetable oil without EPA certification is illegal and harmful to others.
Additionally, all vehicles must be modified in order to run on vegetable oil. However, such modifications are not legal unless the car has gone through a certification procedure to ensure it meets emission and safety standards.
Risks Associated with Running a Car on Vegetable Oil
Although biodiesel and cooking oil are made from vegetable sources or animal fats, their chemical formulas and structures are different.
Biodiesel is processed so that its fat molecules become FAME molecules that a diesel engine can burn to make a car run. However, putting the raw material directly into the engines does not have the same effect.
Spark ignition can hardly burn vegetable oil. Also, motor vehicle fuel lines and pumps are not designed to handle thicker, more viscous vegetable oils.
Besides that, there are other risks associated with using cooking oils to fuel vehicles, including:
Fuel injectors spraying thick, viscous spray into the combustion chamber
More unburned or partially burned fuel
Less mileage
Deposit buildup in all the engine's areas associated with combustion
Overwork to pump and spray fuel
Clogged fuel filters
Substantial engine damage
Consequently, fueling cars with vegetable oil could bring bad news everywhere and pose risks to vehicle owners, the environment, and others.
A Person Can Be Injured by a Car Running on Vegetable Oil?
Unfortunately, yes. Anyone can be injured by a defective or malfunctioning car that has been modified to use vegetable oil as fuel.
As mentioned, such modifications can alter many of the car's functions and cause the engine or fuel system components to fail.
Therefore, diesel cars that are tampered to use cooking oil as fuel may pose a greater risk than those that have not been modified.
How Can Personal Injury Attorneys Handle These Cases?
Cars illegally modified to use vegetable oil as fuel pose a risk to everyone. If the engines fail as a result of the conversion, drivers can get stuck in the middle of the road or even lose control of their vehicle, causing accidents.
In other cases, vehicles stop working as they should, leaving people stranded in dangerous locations or in inclement weather, increasing the risk of incidents that can cause personal injury and put their lives at risk.
Therefore, passengers who are unaware of the vehicle's conditions or other cars' drivers can seek help from an experienced personal injury lawyer and take legal action against the modified vehicle's owner.
Powell Law Firm's legal team understands that converting a diesel motor vehicle into a car fueled by vegetable oil is illegal and negligent. Therefore, our vehicle accident lawyers in St Louis MO are prepared to help victims fight for their legal rights, build a solid case, and seek compensation if they have been affected by other people's wrongdoing.
Those who need help, such as those with questions like if it is illegal to drive someone else's car or if it is illegal to abandon a car can call us at (314) 470-1374 to get a free consultation today!
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