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- A driver of a truck was caught on camera "rolling coal" into a Texas restaurant.
- "Rolling coal" is a term used when diesel truck drivers modify the emissions controls on their vehicles to intentionally blow smoke.
- The practice is illegal in some states, although not in Texas.
A driver of a truck was caught on camera "rolling coal" into a busy Texas restaurant, a video viewed over 1 million times on Tik Tok shows.
The video showed one person holding the door of a Whataburger restaurant open while a truck blew plumes of black smoke into the building as it drove away. Afterward, patrons of the restaurant could be seen clearing the area because of the smoke. Whataburger did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The person who posted the video captioned it: "Only in Texas." They were unable to be reached for comment.
"Rolling coal" is a term coined for when drivers of diesel trucks "disable their vehicles' emissions controls" to blow smoke on others, the Houston Chronicle reported. The practice is not illegal in Texas.
"Coal rollers' frequent targets: walkers, joggers, cyclists, hybrid and Asian cars and even police officers. A popular bumper sticker reads 'Prius Repellent,'" the New York Times' climate reporter Hiroko Tabuchi wrote in 2016.
In September, a teenaged driver of a truck drew intense criticism in Waller County, Texas after he rolled coal on a group of cyclists and ended up hitting six of them, sending several to the hospital.
While altering the emission control device on a vehicle violates the Clean Air Act, some drivers have found ways to skirt the law by modifying their trucks so that they can still pass an emissions test, Newsweek reported.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, transportation air pollution - such as emissions from vehicles - can cause health impacts as well as contribute to carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions that impact climate change.
Texas drivers can report vehicles that smoke excessively to the North Central Texas Regional Smoking Vehicle Program.