OHTA.ca

I received a ticket today for not having a muffler on my car. The muffler was starting to fall off 2 days ago so i took it off so it wouldnt break off and damage someone else's vehicle. the same day i ordered a new muffler on ebay. and now today i got a ticket for not having a muffler. the cop said it was unsafe for other people on the road... I told the cop the story about ordering a new one and he still gave me a ticket for not having one. What are my chances of winning this if i go to court?

I am cop and I cannot see how not having a muffler is unsafe for others? For the driver due to CO possibly entering the passenger compartment.

OPS

muffler unsafe? lol

All a muffler does is reduce noise. It has zero bearing on co in the cabin either. It does nothing to filter and or reduce exhaust gas ouput. Its for sound suppression(And the laws on that are weak at best too)

whether that gets you off in court is entirely different matter ...but I felt like chiming in.

breakfast wrote:muffler unsafe? lol

All a muffler does is reduce noise. It has zero bearing on co in the cabin either. It does nothing to filter and or reduce exhaust gas ouput. Its for sound suppression(And the laws on that are weak at best too)

whether that gets you off in court is entirely different matter ...but I felt like chiming in.

The officer said it was unsafe for others driving around him. The officer is correct. It's considered unsafe for others and the driver of the vehicle. "All a muffler does is reduce noise" is exactly the point. The muffler laws are there for that very reason. It's there to reduce driver distraction to those around you and to not drown out the noise of emergency vehicles to others and yourself. In the Highway Traffic Act, it's sandwiched in between all the other distractions (eg. Equipment obstructing view, unnecessary noise, excessive horn usage, front display screens, cell phones, etc.)

In Canada, it is illegal to drive a vehicle without a muffler. As a manufacturer, you can't even sell a vehicle here unless it has one. There's special exemptions for factory turbo vehicles where the turbo can be considered a muffler (eg. Dodge Neon SRT4). It's not a traditional muffler, but by law it's been considered muffled none the less.

Muffler laws are about distractions and noise, not emissions.

Just looked up the requirements for a motor vehicle safety (HTA OREG 611) and a muffler is required (schedule 1, sec 1(10)(a).

Therfore, the charge of unsafe vehicle could apply as the vehicle cannot pass the safety requirement.

I totally agree its about noise(though whats actually unsafe is completely arbitrary)....I was responding to the first response that said it could put co into the vehicle. Which is inaccurate.

As for noise being unsafe(on passenger cars)... thats hugely debatable with a lot of variables and a vague law. Im not even going to bother.

Never mind the fact at the randomness that this specific law is enforced. Harass kids in civics, yet leave harleys(which are by far the loudest on the rd) alone.

breakfast wrote:Never mind the fact at the randomness that this specific law is enforced. Harass kids in civics, yet leave harleys(which are by far the loudest on the rd) alone.

Do Civic owners have noise by-laws specific to their vehicle, which based on the amount of cylinders, their exhaust can't go over a certain amount of decibels or face a MINIMUM $400-$25,000 fine for a first offense? Because this is already taking place against motorcycle riders in Oakville, Caledon, and in cities across the country. Burlington, Windsor, Guelph, London, and the list goes on and on are all considering passing the same law. These are specific by-laws targeting motorcycle riders only and doesn't effect anyone else on the road. Whether or not a Civic exceeds this decibel chart doesn't matter. It's a slap on the wrist and a $110 fine. So who is the one getting harassed?

Cities like Windsor have motorcycle blitzes each summer specifically targeting motorcycle noise. Based on the backlash across the country in the last couple years against motorcycle riders and their noise, I don't know how much more your statement could be further from the truth. Maybe if motorcycle riders were as common as a car with a loud exhaust and put on 20x more kilometres in a year, you'd see very little difference.