And what I am saying is there is no frame of reference. It is up to the cops judgement to decide if he thinks your exhaust is too loud. There is also another law in VA that makes ANY aftermarket exhaust illegal....regardless of it's db.

Cops in VA pretty much have a free pass to harass folks as they wish. I know, I lived there for exactly one year....and have 3 tickets to show for it.

SC~

 

Not only is it a subjective crappy law, but up until recently it's enforcement has been so obscure that the cops using it to harass folks don't even know the letter of the law. I had one FFX county cop pull me over because, "you were really cookin' back there." He hadn't paced me and he didn't have me on radar. All he saw was a zippy car with a polished muffler. He politely told me the exhaust was illegal and that "all aftermarket exhausts are illegal". Then he proceeded to write me up for for "unapproved equipment" which in Virginia deals with accessory lighting.

It sounds to me that in this area the cops have been instructed to crack down on "punk kids" in sport compacts. Also I think the law may be used to profile for immigrants in the area since they tend to "rice out" their Honda Accords pretty badly with wings and fart cans. If you read the Fairfax County police blotter there are many, many hispanics ticketed for all sorts of dumbass violations because they are driving around in unregistered, uninspected, illegal vehicles. I will say that the cop was a bit surprised to see me driving the car. He almost seemed amused that a 37 year old guy was driving a sporty import.

 

I have to agree with this. I have had quite a few tickets and I always thought the cop was wrong to hit on me. Here where I live the deck is stacked against you when you walk into court. It’s a city paid cop and a city paid judge. A couple of times the prosecutor (city paid) would round up all the victims and offer some kind of deal just to save time. Usually it amounted to the fine being dropped a few dollars. You could fight this, but it’s going to take time and cost money. Even if you win you still loose… Also, it’s not bothering the cop to be in court, he’s still getting paid and he’s not going to get fired or even reprimanded. It’s a slick system, normally a cop have a certain day of the week for court anyway. So he just fills up his quota for that day. As far as the cop and judge is concerned, they don’t make the laws, just enforce it. Maybe the best thing to do is write the fine off as part of the price of the exhaust and then, like someone else said, paint the shiny parts black. That’s what I’m going to do.

 

not all cops are like this... my x-gf was a cop and she and her partners were cool as hell. I even took a some them in my car (it was an STI at the time)... and we had a blast. She loved to drive my car... and she was a great driver. Anyways, these guys would never pull over someone just to hassle them, but it was a pretty rough area where they worked.. so they had better things to do... i think sometimes in very affluent areas, the cops have NOTHING to do, so they hassle people with imports.

on a side note related to cops... i am on 'friendly' terms with a local district attorney and we were out getting crazy in my car the other night on a local backroad.. and she said the funniest thing... she said jokingly.. if you get pulled over.. make sure you get a misdemeanor.. don't just get a traffic violation!!!! in other words, like try to evade him, speed up to 80mph+ or something silly... I was like... WTF?!? why? and she said, well I can't get you off a regular ticket, but if it goes to us (at the DAs office) for a misdemeanor.. then I can get you off...

how funny is that.

 

on a side note related to cops... i am on 'friendly' terms with a local district attorney and we were out getting crazy in my car the other night on a local backroad.. and she said the funniest thing... she said jokingly.. if you get pulled over.. make sure you get a misdemeanor.. don't just get a traffic violation!!!! in other words, like try to evade him, speed up to 80mph+ or something silly... I was like... WTF?!? why? and she said, well I can't get you off a regular ticket, but if it goes to us (at the DAs office) for a misdemeanor.. then I can get you off...

how funny is that.[/QUOTE] I hope you are not really serious about this because that is some of the worst advise I have EVER heard. In NY this is how it works.
1. If you try to evade the police you will just get multiple tickets. For example: improper lane change, fail to stop or yield at traffic sign or yield sign, failed to keep right..etc.you will also get a higher speed on your traffic ticket, which means more points on your license, plus all the other moving violations that you racked up trying to evade the "popo". Its not worth losing your driving license over. And all those moving violations are just that..violations and not misdemeanors. To get a misdemeanor ticket in NY you would have to do something really serious like leaving the scene of a personal injurie accident.
Sorry for the long rant, but I would rather get one silly fix-it ticket than lose my license and not be able to drive my evo around.

 

Cockgobblers...I'm so glad I moved to Florida...

 

If I were to put my stock exhaust back on what would I do if the officer says this was not the case, that I had a different exhaust at time of ticket?

I don't want to make this situation worse than it already is. I will fight this, but I don't think I will swap the exhaust out, since it is already extremely quite.

 

petersa9, you have a couple of options here: #1: you could put your stock exhaust back on and have the tickect dismissed because its a fix-it ticket and you dont pay anything, and swap back the aftermarket one. option #2: leave the after market exhaust on and plea not guilty and fight the ticket in court...and lose, because 90% of the time you will. option #3: leave the after market exhaust on and just pay the fine. I know none of the options are great, but if you dont want to pay a dime but dont mind wasting some time you could go with option #1

 

Evo8.5,

EvoEnthusiast didn't post that as advice.

He was relating a story about a DA that specifically told HIM that.

 

Didnt the term POPO originate cause the Pomona Police were really tough on street racing back in the day? Maybe this is just an urban legend.

I hate the rediculously illogical laws and those who support it and want to see those who enforce it dead (not by my hands)

 

Alot of "Law Enforcement" personnel on the highways simply function as revenue generators.

In a nutshell, we pay their salaries to have them steal from us.

 

Did you know that in some rural towns, traffic tickets generate something like 80% of the town's income? No wonder they enforce them like hell.

Kinda makes you wonder... why are freeway speed limits so damn low still? I think those limits were imposed back during the oil shortage.. they believed going slower would save gas or something. Who actually drives 55 or slower on an interstate freeway? The speed limit is there simply to generate revenue....

 

zstryder, i'm an engineer too, and you know that while scientists such as physicists have huge debates over things to the 11th decimal place, engineers recognize practical solutions, real-world implications, significant digits, and "good-enough for government work" designs. I do sound level measurements (dBA and sones) from time to time, and I understand the related math and rburris28's point, but I agree with your assessment of the small difference that is actually heard between two sounds that are 1 dB or even 3 dB apart.
I think the ticket for the exhaust sound is ridiculous. Ask the officer in court to prove his ear is a calibrated sound-level meter.

 

That's stupid. How do they expect to fix a normally functioning, driver-activated rear foglamp?

 

I do not recommend anyone do as I say.. in fact, I would NOT have broken more laws as she suggested (although she is DAMN cute so it is tempting), but I thought it was funny having a DA tell me to make sure I get a misdemeanor (not just a moving violation), so as she can get me off... funny story... please take it as such.

As 'implied', unless you have a cute DA, who 'volunteers' to get you off... I would NOT recommend going for the misdemeanor... (I can't believe I need to clarify this).

quote: To get a misdemeanor ticket in NY you would have to do something really serious like leaving the scene of a personal injurie accident.


^ I am in Sactown baby... not New York. Go Raiders.