I can't believe how much you're bitching about it being unfair/unjust that you got pulled over and given a ticket for breaking the law. The fact that you've seen people not get a ticket for the same thing is not a reason to be pissed off. He could have written you a ticket for both but you got one ticket. It sucks to be the one to get a ticket for something, but it's far from unreasonable or unjust.

It sounds like your ticket was for the exhaust being loud. So it really has nothing to do with the air we breathe, but the noise you make. Some call it "noise pollution". It's the same concept as laws against blasting music. The HKS is loud as hell, especially with a midpipe. I had it with a catless midpipe and recently sold it to a local, so I know how loud it is.

How old are you? You aren't really coming across as a reasonable adult about this.

 

^^^

 

The job of the police is to safeguard society, not individuals. The reason tickets are issued with fines is because people as a whole only understand having money taken from them. Humiliation or finger wagging doesn't cut it.

Regarding the ticket, do you the crime and you do the time. If you are upset or disagree with the ticket then go to court and plead your case. Otherwise just accept the fact that by modifying your vehicle you take the chance of breaking the law and being nailed for it.

 

put it back to stock and fight it.

Cops just hate you for driving a nicer car than his PoS Impala or whatever.

Unless he measure your exhaust with proper equipment. the "its loud" is very subjective (opinion), you just need to proof that your exhaust is stock (picture is usually enough) and you will be fine. (not like he took a picture of your pipe)

P.S. : Even I know HKS is loud. You got the hi-power one right ?

 

1) cops in NYC may be different... most places are fairly reasonable and aren't out to get us out of spite or w/e. I've seen just as many shitty cars pulled over here as nice cars. Of course I pay more attention if it's a nicer car, but if I really think about it, I've seen a lot of POS cars pulled over as well.

2) State laws vary. It looks like the law in florida might be that a louder than stock exhaust is illegal. If that's the case, there's no fooling anyone into thinking that an RX-8 with a midpipe and HKS single exhaust is even remotely close to stock volume. You'd have to be legally deaf to not be able to tell a difference.

3) He did state somewhere that it was the HKS hi-power... so yes, it's loud as hell.

You have to know when you're going in to a court room, they've heard it all. If you try to BS your way out of it and get called out, you will not receive any pity. If the officer shows, it would be stupid to claim that he made a mistake. Chances are that he'll be believed before any random ******* who shows up to contest. They aren't stupid. They know people will lie to get their way out of tickets. That's why the best course of action is to prove that you have reverted the car back to stock and ask for reduced penalties. You might get lucky and completely get out of it.

The only reasonable way to actually contest the charge would be if you know exactly what the law says. If it there is a proper procedure to identifying an illegal exhaust and he failed to meet the required procedure, you can get out. If it's the officer's judgement call, you do not want to contest.

 

florida law states

316.272 Exhaust systems, prevention of noise.--

(1) Every motor vehicle shall at all times be equipped with an exhaust system in good working order and in constant operation, including muffler, manifold pipe, and tailpiping to prevent excessive or unusual noise. In no event shall an exhaust system allow noise at a level which exceeds a maximum decibel level to be established by regulation of the Department of Environmental Protection as provided in s. 403.061(13) in cooperation with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. No person shall use a muffler cutout, bypass or similar device upon a vehicle on a highway.

(2) The engine and power mechanism of every motor vehicle shall be so equipped and adjusted as to prevent the escape of excessive fumes or smoke.

(3) A violation of this section is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving violation as provided in chapter 318.
History.--s. 1, ch. 71-135; s. 1, ch. 72-39; s. 1, ch. 73-89; s. 27, ch. 79-65; s. 135, ch. 94-356; s. 204, ch. 99-248.

 

BTW your max DB is 95...

http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/loudness.html

so basically it cant be louder than a lawn mower in FL and thats easy for a cop to prove.

 

Sounds like we've got specifics. Even without a DB meter when you have a specific level it could easily be compared to other items.

It's a tough sell. Nothing wrong with contesting tickets as our justice system is designed for that purpose. However, it sounds like paying the exhaust ticket and moving on would be a good idea. I would be shocked if the loud exhaust carries points so if not just be happy you didn't get cited for speeding which would most certainly effect your insurance rates.

 

Specification of a sound level may mean that the noise would have had to be measured with a sound level meter. An allowable max of 95 dB is rather generous, since that's higher than allowed for heavy trucks. Florida is knowledgable about motor vehicle noise, and has set up roadside enforcement for truck noise.

If the officer has training or experience at estimating sound levels, then an actual measurement may not be necessary.

I wonder ifhe "fume and smoke" clause applies to "...making sure to let the exhaust really, really sing.... in fact I'm certain I spit a large fire ball)." It will be fun to see if a separate ticket for the fireball arrives in the mail.

Ken

 

The other thing is how being certified to do things works. Before you can use a dB meter or a speed gun you actually have to sit with an FTO in a car and guess speeds of vehicles. After you can get 5 in a row within 1mph your certified to use a radar gun. Same can go for a departments dB meter. Some make you sit and judge the sound levels of different things until you can get within a certain range before they will let you use the meter. This is supposed to keep you from writing a speeding ticket with a gun or a noise pollution ticket with a meter that is out of calibration. For all we know hes certified to use a dB meter, and for all you know his vehicle had one. They have everything now from built in license plate readers to find stolen and uninsured vehicles to laser speed detectors that work while your driving.

 

North Richland Hills, here around Dallas actually has begun to use Laser radar guns with built in video recorder. This way they can destroy the "it was the guy next to me" excuse in court.

 

Surprised? No.

It's more the annoyance of the bitching and moaning that you got picked for a non-moving violation that would just be easy to pay or fix instead of the other law you were breaking (even though you were breaking both laws). Sure, we can all get picked off for different things we did wrong at any given time since I'm sure most here don't go the speed limit but it's how we man up and stop blaming others that shows who we are.

But you know....it's the cop's fault because he gave it to you and all cops are bad.

 

^^^loved this

 

I know that text doesn't translate emotion very well and you're not getting it so I'll just tell you.... I am not bitching or upset or any of that. I am simply trying to get out of a ticket because I think I can. Not because I am pissed or I think I am being treated unfairly. Sorry if that got misconstrued. I am 26 and I am very very ADHD and I am a bit of a nihilist f*ckhead. So idk maybe that's what you're picking up on.
In all seriousness, I know what the cops are there for and I am glad we live in a country that has laws to protect the every day man. That being said, I also know that religion serves the same purpose but you won't find me in a church talking to the air either

 

Does it suck to live life as the bitter old man type? That last sentence actually made me laugh out loud. Seriously, relax and read what I'm writing. No one here is angry or pissed off but you apparently.

 

I don't think it'd be wise to fight it. If I'm not wrong, most cop cars nowadays are installed with video recorder, it'll be hard to fight, since u sped off, like what u've mentioned.

On the other hand, I've been pulled over 3 times in 2 days for not displaying the front plate in my state, while loud exhaust system doesn't seem to bother the cop much. Go figure....

(The sad case was, after the 1st time I got pulled over for the front plate, so I setup an appt to install the front plate bracket (which I've paid the part to get the receipt ahead of time), then the other two cops warned me saying, "It's good that you've planned to install the front plate, but that doesn't give you the right to drive your car on the road w/o one 'yet' " -- after which I show them the purchase receipt).

 

you have two weeks to get it done, let them keep writing the tickets, you can have them all thrown out at once anyways.