27 replies to this topic

[retroracer1275]

hi, yesterday at 7.53pm i was pulled over by a patrol car

and was asked about licence and insurance etc etc blah blah blah

well, i was pulled due to the noise of my exhaust... so a £30 fine, which i know isn't big money but im just curious as to the legal limit?

im running a 3" play mini back box straight through..

i put a db meter at 1m away from the exhaust on the same angle etc etc

88dba @ 1000rpm

97dba @3000rpm

i know its loud but when i got pulled i wasnt even on the throttle! :S

oh well, any help would be great

cheers

[ANON]

it's a vague area, something on the lines of replacement exhaust noise level has to be 'similar' to standard one?

prepare for all the muppets to turn up now slagging the police off

[retroracer1275]

probs be easyer to pay up! its £30 at the end of the day

[Yoda]

why not fit a centre box to your system to save this hassle in the future, might be the cheaper option in the long run, it will still sound sweet, just not as loud, so less likely to get a tug.

[drewsargent1980]

Like a previous reply said, i got pulled many years ago, when i had my citroen Saxo was driving home from work and got pulled by a policeman, he said that my exhaust was illegal due to the fact it was louder than the standard system that it had replaced, i actually argued the fact and said that it wasn't louder than the redundant old system and also reduced my emissions, but he had none of it and issued me with a £30 fine, i refused to pay it and a couple of months later went to court, had 4 indvigual different reports complied by 4 different garages stating the fact is was quieter than the redundant old system and decreased my emissions, the judge said this was one of the most ridiculous wastes of time she had seen for ages and dismissed the case, The policeman that pulled me didnt even turn up and the legal representative that had to put forward his arguement was in his mid twenties and had a a nova GTE parked in the carpark with a cherry bomb rear silencer on it, absolutly crazy. Never been pulled since , in my 30's now guess it was just beacuse i was young lol.

Wouldn't class myself as a muppet the police do a great and very difficult job, i have two friends that are in the police force, but you always hear stories that occasionly make you think blimey what a waste of time and money.

Edited by drewsargent1980, 02 April 2011 - 06:24 AM.

[smudger068]

Like a previous reply said, i got pulled many years ago, when i had my citroen Saxo was driving home from work and got pulled by a policeman, he said that my exhaust was illegal due to the fact it was louder than the standard system that it had replaced, i actually argued the fact and said that it wasn't louder than the redundant old system and also reduced my emissions, but he had none of it and issued me with a £30 fine, i refused to pay it and a couple of months later went to court, had 4 indvigual different reports complied by 4 different garages stating the fact is was quieter than the redundant old system and decreased my emissions, the judge said this was one of the most ridiculous wastes of time she had seen for ages and dismissed the case, The policeman that pulled me didnt even turn up and the legal representative that had to put forward his arguement was in his mid twenties and had a a nova GTE parked in the carpark with a cherry bomb rear silencer on it, absolutly crazy. Never been pulled since , in my 30's now guess it was just beacuse i was young lol.

Wouldn't class myself as a muppet the police do a great and very difficult job, i have two friends that are in the police force, but you always hear stories that occasionly make you think blimey what a waste of time and money.

Had the same thing in my focus, he was trying to tell me that it had a stamp on it saying ' not for road use' and i stood my ground and said no it was fitted by kwik fit and luckly i had the reciept and blabbed the rest got off it

[mini_legend]

Don't pay. In the nicest possible way, you'd be a mug if you pay! Think of the ferraris, lambos, porshces etc that are a hell of a lot louder than a mini with a 3 inch exhaust! There is no grounds to pull you for that, especially if you have an MOT!!!!

Don't pay

[Dan]

Sorry but that's nonsense, the law is that a car may not produce significantly more noise than it did when it was built. How much noise another type of car produces is completely irrelevant. I do agree that it's ridiculous to get pulled for it in most of our cars, it's quite absurd really, but it's still the law.

I haven't heard your car, can't say if it's irritatingly loud or not but as we all know there are cars out there in the world that cause great distress to many because of the noise they produce and how they are used and this is the law that tries to control them. The law has to apply to everyone and it's up to the courts to decide how it should be applied. What type of penalty have you been given? Do you get the chance to fight this if you want to? Do you know the maximum penalty if you fight and loose? I'd not be happy to pay a fine that genuinely wasn't deserved but I think I'd also have the humility to accept it if I thought there genuinely was a case.

[Burnard]

Didnt we decide in another topic that the authorities would have one hell of a job proving that a mini with an after market exhaust was louder than one with a standard one due to the fact that no one ever published a figure, and there are no/ very few mini's around with the original, perfect condition system still fitted.


The legislation isnt a bad idea, but damn hard to enforce, especially with classic cars.


I personally would be challenging the police to prove my car is louder than another standard mini designer, if they could find one.


Isn't it up to the police to prove your guilty, not you to prove your innocent?

[ANON]

Don't pay. In the nicest possible way, you'd be a mug if you pay! Think of the ferraris, lambos, porshces etc that are a hell of a lot louder than a mini with a 3 inch exhaust! There is no grounds to pull you for that, especially if you have an MOT!!!!

Don't pay

have you ever considered going into the legal profession? i hope not as that's pretty awful advice

[Ethel]

I'd say he has a vocation for politics

It is very bad law, but you should look closely at what the actual offence is before deciding to fight it.

Regulation 97 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 provides that no vehicle shall be used on a road in such a manner as to cause any excessive noise which could have been avoided by the exercise of reasonable care by the driver. If the copper thought you were making too much noise then you were, if the magistrates choose to believe him - they usually do.

[retroracer1275]

didnt help that i was going up hill.. but i dont rev above 3k around town/housing

really dont know what i should do, theres mixed opinions on this so honestly cant decide?

pay up.... or fight to keep my £30... :S

cheers

[mike.]

I'd pay it. A 3" play mini exhaust must be pretty dam loud, they're pretty much straight through aswell.

[ANON]

1. ignore the bad advice. pay the fine and stick a middle box on.
2. pay the fine, leave the exhaust as it is and hope the same copper doesn't stop you and fine you again.
3. go to court, contest it and risk an even bigger fine.

[retroracer1275]

the police have stages round here.. this month its exhausts, last month it was stereos, and next month it'll be number plates..

but ive found a centre box which is pretty much brand new at a local scrapy, for £20

so might aswell buy it eh?

cheers for your help people