No it's the decibel level not the vehicle.
I don't believe they are, but if you talk to some of the Harley owners, they want them to be louder. It's both a status thing and rider safety so that cars with windows rolled up can hear them when they are nearby.
I can see this. More and more drivers today are so stupid and inconsiderate, blasting their stereos while their eyes are glued to their cell phones. Driving responsibly is a piddly inconvenience during such times.
Depends on your municipality.
Most muni cops I know exercise a lot of discretion when it comes to "annoyance" laws. Pretty much if someone with loud exhaust (even on a pickup) isn't being a dick, they'll let it go. Some won't even bother with Jake brakers unless it's 3AM and they ride that Jake brake all the way through town or in a residential area.
Most muni cops I know exercise a lot of discretion when it comes to "annoyance" laws. Pretty much if someone with loud exhaust (even on a pickup) isn't being a dick, they'll let it go. Some won't even bother with Jake brakers unless it's 3AM and they ride that Jake brake all the way through town or in a residential area.
For what it's worth, if a local law relies on dB levels, then they need to provide proper training for measurement and document proper calibration and maintenance procedures performed.
Dumb question, but are you saying that local cops carry a dB meter in their car?
Very few do.
Very, very few of those who actually do actually know how to use it.
What you'll usually get is a report where the officer claims that it's in his "experience" that the noise level exceeded the limit. Of course, that "experience" doesn't take into account things like the effect that physical surroundings have on apparent "loudness". If they do actually measure with an SPL meter, they usually don't know about weighting, inverse square law, calibration, transducer artifacts, etc. However, that's exactly why the fines are so low.
I ask the question because I'm tentatively planning to modify the exhaust on a Triumph Scrambler. I don't want to violate the law nor upset my neighbors.
In the absence of a dB meter the whole process becomes purely subjective.
In the absence of a dB meter the whole process becomes purely subjective.
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