So...last night, a little after midnight I'm on Rt 9 West on my way back to Worcester from Boston. It was foggy and the roads were wet and slippery so I was actually driving below the speed limit taking my time. Cruise on by a cop and he pulls me over...for an "excessiely loud exhaust"(mazdaspeed).
Now, I would understand if I was flooring it or driving hard. But I was in 5th gear at ~3k rpms going 48-50 mph in a 55 zone. He only gave me a citation/fine but still. How can I appeal this? If I'm ever pulled over again I don't want another officer seeing that offence and then going on to check my exhaust and claim its too loud once again or anything else on my car that I might mod (legally or illegally) later on. There's no way Mazda's own Mazdaspeed exhaust is over the legal limit of exhaust noise(84db in MA right?).

 

Dude that cop had nothing better to do with his time. Hell while he was there I would have revved it REAL good and really made some noise just to make the ticket worth while!

 

Don't quote me on this but I do believe that unless they tested how loud you car is you might be able to beat it. Worst case find someone with a db meter and have them test it to see if you are over or not.

 

if there is a legal limit of the exhaust noise and you want to fight the ticket - go buy a cheap decimeter (or whatever its called to measure the sound - have a friend rev your car to 4000 ish RPMs' and see how loud it gets, if its under the legal limit - take it to the court and call BS on the cop.

If i recall correctly from bill Nye the science guy 75dBm is about the same as a gas powered weedeater on full throttle... 84dbm would be just stupid loud.

Agree - that cop is a dick and just looking to make money off BS tickets.

 

Yea, I was thinking about doing that. Luckily I happen to already have a cheap decimeter from radioshack. Another note, he also asked me how old I was and what time it was. To see if he could give me another fine for driving on the road past midnight and being under 18, luckily I am 19. He then walked off mumbling to write the citation for nearly 20 minutes.

 

+1 on that man. There are cops out here who do that too though. Its always the ones who STRIVE to be a dick in life that do dumb stuff like that

 

Something I picked up

"If you're going to fight it, look up the law, find out what it is that the people have to prove you did to get a conviction and ask yourself if the cop did what he was supposed to. For instance, in most places a cop cannot just say your car is too loud. He has to quantify it with a decibel meter."

Oh btw 84db is technically at or below the noise level from heavy traffic.

 

Also call Mazdaspeed and ask if they have a certificate with the decible rating. TRD used to do this and saved alot of my former fellow Celica owners a lot of $ from cops doing the same thing.

I could be very wrong, but I thought they had to pull you over for something like speeding before they could give you a ticket for loud exhaust. They can't just pull you over for loud exhaust, it's a secondary offence or something? Maybe this was just from where I used to live....

 

Hey I found the regulations for boston. Maybe this will help some but I am not familiar with MA. Maybe this is the same across the state but either way it may be able to help you...

http://www.nonoise.org/lawlib/cities/boston.htm

I would post the whole thing in her ebut its rather long.

 

KrysyGT, thanks for the advice I'll do that. I have no idea if the exhaust noise is a secondary offence I'll look deeper into that.

Also Landon, those are for Boston and state nothing about an exhaust so idk. But the citation does say the law chapter/section. Chapter 90, Section 16.
Which is here: http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/90-16.htm
After reading that I'm not sure...it just says anything louder than stock is a fine of $50 (which I got)

 

Yeah I see what you mean but since they did not specify a limit in Db, I would fight it. They left it wide open to interpretation. That’s like getting a speeding ticket then asking the officer what the limit really is and the officer replying… “Well I dunno”.

Corvette and Mustang exhausts are noticeably louder than ours, so does that mean they get ticked all the time? What made yours so special? I think this goes back to what I was saying before… the officer was just a dick. Go and fight it… If there is no specified noise limit, then they can’t ticket you. Not to mention I doubt the cop used a Db meter. If he says he did… as for the dash cam video from that night and see what he says.

 

now this is kinda funny. i know vash personally and he was on his way home from my apartment in boston when he got this citation. now i have a WRX, catless, and it is loud is hell. now ive never been pulled out for a loud exhaust, ever. i really dont even think the mazda speed is loud especially at 3k. now maybe at 9 or when it POPs then yeah. but seriously, im sorry pal. good luck in court.

 

I very valid argument can be made:
1. You are using an exhaust manufactured by the vehicle manufacturer designed explicitly for that vehicle.
2. You vehicle has a muffler with intact baffles/screens/etc.
3. You do not have any exhaust cutouts.

The only thing left to quanity is if the muffler employed meets "such minimum standards for construction and performance as the registrar may prescribe."

Edit: http://www.epa.gov/region1/topics/ai...ma/MA_4_00.pdf
Page 9 - excessive noise is listed as greater than original manufacturer's equipment. You are using original manufacturer (Mazda) equipment, merely an upgraded version of it. Any modification to your exhaust was designed and tested by Mazda.

Good luck with that.

 

Definatly fight it. I think Krysy is right its supposed to be a secondary offence akin to a citation for not wearing your seatbelts. They can't just pull you over for not wearing it (yet anyways but i always do so ). The cop was being a dick 'cause he can't afford our car or his exgf is dating a guy driving our car hehe. Either way he's a certifiable ***.

Take a digital camera and maybe a video camera and record your exhaust reving with the decible reader by the exhaust. Also DONT give them any ammo either. Dont state its a MazdaSpeed Exhaust, as far as they know its stock and most likely will claim you deleted your CAT. If you have a friend with a lift put your car up and take pictures to. Pretty much just cover all your bases and think like a ******* on how you'd screw someone over like he is with you. If the judge ask's if your exhaust is Aftermarket say no. 'cause technicaly MazdaSpeed is part of Mazda henceforth in my eyes not considered aftermarket (since some dealers offer the parts when buying the car hehe).

Keep us updated though be nice to possibly get this exhaust and one day get a similar ticket and state "This case has no grounds, People V Vash137 ruled in favor of Vash137 who owned the very same exhaust as I!"

 

ok i can imagine what the cops will do with my car....im gonna be up in that hood on sunday and ms is virtually silent compared to my car

 

Be warned that the ticket still may stand up in court because at the time the officer felt it was over the limit. The officer has the discretion on how loud it is, and we do not have to test it. The test will prove that your exhaust is above or below the limit, but if you tell the cop that on a traffic stop he will probably write you any way. I guess that is us just being dicks. Just like everyone we pull over is the politest person in the world.

Just another note: many municipalities have stricter laws than the state so the DB level may be set to a lower standard, may be good to find out before fighting.

Chris you car is so modifed they probably wont care. Ive let cars like yours go just because there basically "show cars".

 

alucard when are you ever coming out to hang?

 

Chris you gonna be at freehold on the 22nd. I'll definatley be there.

 

you know it!.....

 

I'm not a lawyer, but I'm in the noise consulting business. Personally, I would never testify that something is too loud without some kind of objective measurement. I don't see how ignorance entitles a cop to do something a professional wouldn't. If he visually inspected your exhaust and saw illegal equipment or defects, that would be one thing. But just his opinion that it's loud isn't right.

When you get to court, and the cop says your exhaust was loud, ask how loud he measured it to be. That should be an opportunity to say "Uhh..." which is always a bad answer. If he actually measured it, you're probably done for, but go ahead and ask what sound level he measured, what instrument he used, calibration records on it, etc.

If he did not measure it, ask what training he had to legally judge sound levels. Ask if his hearing is normal, and if he says yes ask when his hearing was last tested and ask for his most recent audiogram.

He may have been trained, have excellent hearing, and show up with his audiogram. In that case you're out your $50. But the burden is on him to prove the offense, and noise (like speed) is something that can be quantified.

As others have said, you should gather manufacturer's info on your exhaust in case the judge starts asking about what kind of exaust you had on the car. If there are regular inspections where you live, bringing a copy of your latest "passed" results wouldn't hurt. But you really should start out by making the cop prove his contention about your exhaust being too loud.

Ken

 

Alucard, no offense but my uncle is a cop too. But not a road patrolling one. I know you guys have a job to do and everyone hates you for it etc...

But for me to get a fine for something as silly as this is just ridiculous. Its not illegal. I'm not going to pay for something because an officer was in a bad mood when I went past him. I was quite polite and said thank you a multitude of times when he just gave me the fine and said your all set. Even if I was thinking the complete opposite

Oh, and btw. I did tell him it was under the legal limit, my exact words were "I bought this exhaust knowing it was well under the legal limit"

 

The officer's opinion is all it takes? No need to have supporting evidence?

Definitely all it takes to issue a citation. Then it's up to the court to decide if there really was an offense.

Ken

 

Its not an opinion, its fact.

I have the same exhaust on my car, I have version 2. No "I" dont believe my exhaust is too loud but other members in my department do. I have stopped cars for loud exhaust and written them for much louder.

If the officer belived it to be too loud he has probable cause to stop the vehicle. If he felt the need to write that violation it was entirely on him to write that citation with out testing it. No MA may be different, but your statue did not say that it needed to be field tested.

Vash I ment no insult to you, its just that other people feel that all cops are dicks just because they write tickets to them. Yeah some are........ But there are alot of a-holes out there two that threat us like crap as soon as you walk up to a car.
for the ticket I do suggest you fight it, it is from the manufacturer and it is not to loud. You may win and you may not, it depends on the prosecutor. Good Luck though its a hard ticket to fight.

 

.. im only 19.. i got a ticket for my exhaust on my integra last week.. i got the greddy evo2 cat back..and i wasnt even revvin high.. maybe at like 3k rpms i was at drivin wen he pulled me over for it.. cops have nothin better to do with themsevles.. do urself a favor.. just go 2 court.. most likely..they'll drop the ticket because its a BS summons.. if anything.. itll cost u like. 50 bucks..no biggie

 

I don't have aftermarket pipes on my 8, but have had some pretty loud ones on previous cars. Is the Mazdaspeed exhaust that loud? I agree with most here that he was probably board and wanted to get a better look at you and in your car...used the exhaust as "probable cause" to pull you over and give you a 1-2-3. How much is the ticket there?