At first, I thought this was a joke: Filters in the wheel wells that remove brake dust and rubber using just the air blowing in the wheel wells.

But, unfortunately this is not a joke or April Fools prank. This is a real invention that the inventors are trying to get governments to mandate that they are put on all vehicles.  The company pushing this “technology” is StreetVac out of Hawaii.

The filter is designed to absorb “stuff”that is caught in the wheel well. The filter mounts behind the wheels and collects “stuff”. In 2007, StreetVac called the technology “virtual vacuuming” of the roads in a explaination of a project he funded in conjuction with the Water Resources Research Center at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. 

I will let you be the judge… StreetVac’s website

StreetVac has been lobbying Hawaii’s state government to get the Revised Statues for motor vehicles amended to to include a provision to at least get the state government to test the filters or maybe even require them for all vehicles.  Here is a sample from SB 2342 that is stalled.

A renewal registration shall not be issued to a registered owner or lessee unless every fleet vehicle owned or leased by that owner or lessee is equipped with aftermarket equipment certified under section 286‑    to directly capture and remove from the environment re-entrained particles and tire and brake wear emissions from all wheels.”

  (1)  Require each state agency to purchase, install, and maintain aftermarket equipment certified by the director of transportation to directly capture and remove from the environment re-entrained particles and tire and brake wear emissions from all wheels of state agency motor vehicles;

     (2)  Extend to twenty-four months the vehicle inspection period for vehicles that are installed with aftermarket equipment certified by the director of transportation to directly capture and remove from the environment re-entrained particles and tire and brake wear emissions;

     (3)  Require the director of transportation to certify aftermarket equipment to directly capture and remove from the environment re-entrained particles and tire and brake wear emissions; and

 (4)  Require that the registered owner or lessee of a fleet of twenty-five or more commercial motor vehicles, commercial trailers, or passenger automobiles periodically verify, as a condition of initial and renewal of registration of those vehicles, the installation and operation of aftermarket equipment that is certified by the director of transportation to directly capture and remove from the environment re-entrained particles and tire and brake wear emissions.

Yep, a state legislator tried to mandate the use of these filter. Why? because who would vote against the environment?

Here is a video of the inventors: