wilddog

Just to clarify, cops permit harley's and motorcycles in general to be loud as part of a "heard and seen" concept. If other motorists cant see you, they can hear you.

ferrari_sol

got back from the court today they let me off because there was no evidense about my muffler being improper.

drifter420

Nice... congrats... but you just wasted a good part of your day just standin and waitin there in court.. but the end results is worth it

gixxer_boy

thats not the year of ur vehicle that the Sticker bro

Rixshark

This may be true...my question now is....how can one officer from one area say that the muffler is ok, and yet another officer in another area says its not....yet the HTA covers all of Ontario. Its almost like they pick and choose when to enforce different laws.

I'm not arguing or anything, I've just noticed this alot and I'm curious.

kazanak

You're right Rix, and this is where the courts come in. A JP decides which officer was correct based on the law and the evidence presented.

For the record, Quad, you don't have to take these directly to trial. File a "Notice of intention to appear", and a disclosure request for each, and then get an appointment with the prosecutor. Based on the evidence and your record, the prosecutor may be willing to make a deal, and avoid a trial.

gldwngr

Not necessarily. That muffler that's "ok" at an idle or at easy revs in the middle of the afternoon in a mall parking lot can be something completely different when you have it up at redline in first gear going down a narrow residential street at 3:00am.

Bookm

There's an old hot-rod expression, "Loud pipes Save Lives". I totally agree. Growing up in the late 70's, I can tell you almost EVERY car made pretty noticable noise (all big V8's with dual exhaust). It really helped pedestrians, cyclists, and even other motorists detect the approach of other vehicles. Personally, the sound of a coffee-can muffler doesn't really excite me, but I don't see why it's such a big deal to law enforcement.

When I was 17, I drove a '69 Ranchero, all jacked-up with mags and wide tires. I got an unnecessary noise charge which I fought in court. During the trial, the JP asked if that was my "hot-rod" in the parking lot. Yes. Guilty... no further explanation. Just a heads-up, park down the road when you go to court, LOL.

Busses, transport trucks, motorcycles, etc. make just as much "noise" as these coffee-cans. It's my opinion that kids are (and always have been) easy targets for the cops, and an unnessary noise charge is a pretty easy charge to lay, since there's no specific decibel level that can be specified. It's really just the officers opinion. And since most kids are too scared to go to court, the money rolls in (business as usual).