What is the name of your state? Virginia. Fairfax County to be Specific.
Hello all,
I was recently pulled over by a cop that started following me out of my neighborhood and was given a ticket for "Improper Exhaust". He stated that in Virginia, anything that is louder then Stock is illegal. The specific clause he wrote me up for has questionable wording:
§ 46.2-1049. Exhaust system in good working order.
No person shall drive and no owner of a motor vehicle shall permit or allow the operation of any vehicle on a highway unless it is equipped with an exhaust system of a type installed as standard factory equipment, or comparable to that designed for use on the particular vehicle as standard factory equipment, in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise. An exhaust system shall not be deemed to prevent excessive or unusual noise if it permits the escape of noise in excess of that permitted by the standard factory equipment exhaust system of private passenger motor vehicles or trucks of standard make.
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He claimed my exhaust was "extremly loud" and mentioned that he owned the same car as me so he would know what a stock exhaust was. I'm debating on fighting the ticket or not, because my modifications are performance oriented, and not just to have a loud exhaust. It is fully emissions legal, and I have installed the same number of mufflers and resonators as stock. I wanted to make this system as quiet as possible. Now, is this worth fighting? The statement that I dont find clear is "by the standard factory equipment exhaust system of private passenger motor vehicles or trucks of standard make." Does that mean as long as an exhaust is as quiet as exhausts on other vehicles because they say "vehicles"? Or am I just nit-picking the wording and asking for trouble? For example, many vehicles have a much louder exhaust from the factory then I have now. I was thinking of buying a Db measuring device and comparing mine to other cars with stock exhausts.
The fine isn't terrible, but because I dont plan on taking off everything I have put on my car, it would be nice to fight it and win in case I get pulled over again for it in the future. He didnt measure how loud my exhaust was in DB or anything and said it didn't matter because he had the same car and knew mine was louder so it was automatically illegal. Please someone tell me this was a mis-interpretation of the law.. I find it difficult to believe that if an exhaust is even slightly louder then what the car came with, its improper. Thanks in advance and no, the car really isnt that loud. Ecspecially when I was deliberately keeping the revs down to the point that its almost silent when I saw him following me. Shifting at 2,000 rpms.
09-26-2005, 08:39 PM
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