California passed Assembly Bill (AB) 1824 at the start of last month changing the punishment for car exhaust noise – it concerns me and should also concern you, regardless of whether you are a car enthusiast or not.
The previous version of the law allowed police officers to issue a “fix-it ticket,” a ticket that could be easily resolved by the offender fixing the issue and then returning to an exhaust testing station by a certain date proving their correction. After that, the offender was off the hook in terms of their ticket and any charges that may have been included on it. However, this is no longer the case.
Back in June of 2018, then-Governor Jerry Brown signed in an amended version of AB 1824 that changed the way that officers would handle these situations. Instead of having the chance to fix their potentially overly loud exhausts, officers can now simply issue a fine on the spot if they deem your exhaust to be too loud.
This immediate fine also is just adding insult to injury because these fines can easily total up to over $1000 based upon the current California traffic infraction fixed penalty schedule. According to the California Highway Patrol Bulletin NO.98-100, “enforcement personnel are to exercise sound professional judgment in making a determination of violation.”
This is where I have a problem with the whole situation – this sudden grant of individual power. I don’t think it is fair for this much power to be given to officers anywhere, whether it’s in California or here in Wyoming. Each officer might have a different opinion on each car, so there’s a chance you may or may not get a fine depending on the officer regardless of whether your car is too loud or not.
That same bulletin also states that “Excessive Noise is primarily a nuisance issue rather than a safety concern, and determination of excessive noise is subjective.” The key word in that bulletin is “subjective.” It proves my point that these situations could be handled very differently as they are, as stated, influenced by personal feelings and opinions.
Overall, I find this kind of power is too much for a single or couple officers who are simply using their own judgement with no technical test to back up their claims.
Can you imagine what it would be like if a bill like the AB 1824 were passed here in Wyoming? There could quite possibly be riots over such a lopsided division of power. It simply wouldn’t stand in our state.
So, my question is why should that be allowed elsewhere? Here in Wyoming, we certainly wouldn’t allow that sort of power to fly around, so why can it fly in other places? In my eyes, it is totally unfair and should be repealed as soon as possible.
To be clear, I am not trying to say that enforcing excessive noise laws is a bad thing, but not allowing someone the chance to fix something that is considered a “nuisance issue rather than a safety concern” is outright overkill, not to mention that the bill in the first place isn’t overly clear about what modified, excessively loud exhaust or muffler system is anyways.
If you agree or have concerns about this issue in regards to its effects in California or what that sort of situation would look like here in Wyoming, feel free to comment on the story on our website at UWBrandingIron.com or check out this petition to end the new fines at Change.org/p/nullify-fines-for-loud-mufflers-ab-1824-section-4-in-california.
