Vermont cracking down on loud bikes w new legislation

[Stig / Major Tom]

The Vermont Senate has passed Senate Bill 66, which would crack down on vehicle noise in general and motorcycle noise in particular. It would eliminate existing legislation and replace it with more restrictive laws.

(b)(1) An individual shall not operate on a highway a motor vehicle equipped with a muffler lacking interior baffle plates or other effective muffling devices, a gutted muffler, a muffler cutout, or a straight pipe exhaust.

(2) An individual shall not operate on a highway a motorcycle manufactured after December 31, 1985 that is not labeled in compliance with 40 C.F.R. § 205.158 and equipped with a muffler that meets the requirements of 40 C.F.R. § 205.169.

(a) On or before December 15, 2025, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall submit a written report to the Senate and House Committees on Transportation with a proposal for limits on motor vehicle noise and proposed procedures for the enforcement of those limits.

(b) The report shall examine laws and procedures in Maine and other New England states regarding:

(1) maximum sound levels for motor vehicles and trucks;
(2) enforcement of maximum sound levels for motor vehicles and trucks;
(3) procedures for a person to challenge a determination that the person’s vehicle was operating in excess of the applicable maximum sound level; and
(4) procedures for a citizen to report a suspected violation of the maximum sound levels for motor vehicles and trucks to law enforcement. Trying to bypass the inspection by installing a temporary "inspection pipe" - can thus reported by your fellow citizens.

And perhaps riders from other states passing thru can be ticketed.



Stig
Here in Ohio owners will diesel their large & lifted trucks right in the car window (on your sleeping kid?)
(AKA - rollin' coal)

[randyo]

I wonder why they want to look at Maine specifically

New Hampshire passed a widely accepted sound level & procedure a while ago

[Iahawk]

guess my 84 Nighthawk just made the cut to not have to comply! (still have quiet, factory mufflers on it, though) Curious if a law like this will ever actually be enforced..?

[randyo]

I think it will be selectively enforced

[Stig / Major Tom]

I think it will be selectively enforced

Supposedly there's a law against 'rolling coal' too, in Ohio.
But I've witnessed it at the traffic light in front of the jail/police-station/court-house. They know nothing will happen. Stig

[Neil955i]

Here in Ohio owners will diesel their large & lifted trucks right in the car window (on your sleeping kid?)
(AKA - rollin' coal)

For the benefit of us outside the US Stig, I take it you're referring to exhaust pipes set at a higher level which can direct the fumes straight into cars alongside?  If so, not a problem here in the UK, with very few monster truck-type conversions and none at all that I've ever seen on the public highway.

Now bike (& cars) with loud pipes, that's a whole other story.  Both mine are street legal as I see no sense in advertising my presence and attracting unwanted attention from the traffic police!

[randyo]

rolling coal, is a diesel pickup truck, tuned to belch black smoke

[mrmike]

New York just passed a similar law. Going to be a lot of unhappy Harley owners!

[Stig / Major Tom]

rolling coal, is a diesel pickup truck, tuned to belch black smoke

I was a C.O. medic in the Vietnam war - but when one of those idiots does that in front of me - I find myself wishing I had a shoulder fired missile.


Here's a couple examples of amrerika's finest :




such good neighbors....


"You nailed 'em bubba!!"...shooting beer out their noses...


Stig

[randyo]

apparently, turning up the boost on the turbo and rolling coal over Teslas has become the thing to do, videos popping up everywhere

this is NH law on motorcycle exhaust  (fwiw, my K-Pipe with Cherry Bomb is 91db @ idle)

    266:59-a Motorcycle Noise Levels. –
I. No person shall operate in this state any motorcycle which produces a sound level in excess of the following decibels, when measured in accordance with the provisions of the SAE International Recommended Practice SAE J2825, "Measurement of EXHAUST Sound Pressure Levels of Stationary On-Highway Motorcycles":
(a) For all motorcycles, 92 decibels while the engine is operating at idle speed; or
(b) For motorcycles with less than 3 or more than 4 cylinders, 96 decibels while the engine is operating at 2,000 revolutions per minute or 75 percent of maximum engine speed, whichever is less; or
(c) For 3 and 4 cylinder motorcycles, 100 decibels while the engine is operating at 5,000 revolutions per minute or 75 percent of maximum engine speed, whichever is less.
II. No person shall pass for the purposes of the inspection required by RSA 266:1 any motorcycle which produces a sound level in excess of the following decibels, when measured in accordance with the provisions of the SAE International Recommended Practice SAE J2825, "Measurement of EXHAUST Sound Pressure Levels of Stationary On-Highway Motorcycles":
(a) For all motorcycles, 92 decibels while the engine is operating at idle speed; or
(b) For motorcycles with less than 3 or more than 4 cylinders, 96 decibels while the engine is operating at 2,000 revolutions per minute or 75 percent of maximum engine speed, whichever is less; or
(c) For 3 and 4 cylinder motorcycles, 100 decibels while the engine is operating at 5,000 revolutions per minute or 75 percent of maximum engine speed, whichever is less.
III. Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a violation and shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $300.
Source. 1992, 94:1. 1993, 9:1. 2005, 266:2. 2012, 61:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2013.

[Neil955i]

Thanks for that Stig et al, so not a thing over here I'm glad to say.  That looks like a wall of carcinogens!!