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Norfolk Police and exhaust noise


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Hmm. Getting some interesting.comments from others apart from CCUK. Looking at ISO 5130 the police did not take into account any wind speed or gusts as the test cannot be conducted with wind speeds in excess of 5m/s

Also there is no means of appeal on the fixed penalty Only correspondance is through the ticket office at Norfolk constabulary. I feel a letter going into the Chief C*ntsable about this. No equipment available at MOTstations, No way of knowing what the noise limits are forvehicles. No advice on what to do, no timescale to get the problem fixed, just a case of pay up and shut up

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Hmm. Getting some interesting.comments from others apart from CCUK. Looking at ISO 5130 the police did not take into account any wind speed or gusts as the test cannot be conducted with wind speeds in excess of 5m/s

Also there is no means of appeal on the fixed penalty Only correspondance is through the ticket office at Norfolk constabulary. I feel a letter going into the Chief C*ntsable about this. No equipment available at MOTstations, No way of knowing what the noise limits are forvehicles. No advice on what to do, no timescale to get the problem fixed, just a case of pay up and shut up

sounds like a right can of worms , how can you fine someone for excessive noise if there is no equipment for them to be tested other than the police :angry: oh and no doubt if you quibble it you get hit with threat of larger fine

robbing gits

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sounds like a right can of worms , how can you fine someone for excessive noise if there is no equipment for them to be tested other than the police :angry: oh and no doubt if you quibble it you get hit with threat of larger fine

robbing gits

Yea, sort of Catch 22, as has been said on here before, "Damned if you do, Damned if you don't"

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? how do you know that the noisemeter was working correctly ,if they are going to penalise you using a industry standard piece of equipment it must be 1/ calibrated on a regular basis 2/calibration certificate available for scrutiny at the time of record (after the fact wont stand up in court ) 3/ operated in a correct manor with no close proximity to sound reflective objects ie walls other vehicles etc ,and not in any position to be influenced by outside forces ie traffic noise wind noise etc .and last but not least operated by trained personell,,write to them requesting to come and inspect the equipment used and view its calibration details on the meter ,also the calibration certificate that was current for the equipment used on your car on the day, wait for them to decline and then write back saying if they are not willing to provide documented proof and the opportunity to inspect the equipment you will take your chances in court

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I am fully aware of calibration certifiation and accreditation as that is part of my job at work. on measurement instruments and I did ask this question. All was in order (unfortunatly).

I have also checked through the ISO standard that was used and the test was carried out in accordance with it. So that is an avenue which I couldn't fault. My main critisism is that there is no checks a motorist can do to determine whether the vehicle he or she uses is compliant to a very hushed up legislation which even motor manufacturers are not fully aware of.

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They "Calibrate" the unit in front of you, so there's no argument there (I guess).

I also checked up on ISO 5130, it was carried out to the letter.

But like MonkeyBoy I can't actually find anywhere on the DVLA/VOSA website that give a set sound (Db) level

Lucky for me I was under the "Fine" level, one small way around it would be to change your Redline on the Rev counter to say 4000 Rpm so that when they test at 3/4 of Redline it would only be 3000Rpm ;) That would be a lot quieter

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This is copy and pasted from the DIRECTGOV website

Quote

Road vehicles

The noise levels for cars used on a public road is 74 decibel (dB(A)). Most vehicles produce lower levels.

Off-road vehicles and direct injection diesels are allowed to be 1 dB(A) louder. These allowances can be combined, so the limit for an off-road vehicle with a direct injection diesel engine is 76 dB(A).

It’s illegal to modify the exhaust system to make a vehicle noisier after it has been ‘type approved’ (checked it meets environmental and safety standards). The police can also take action if your vehicle's silencer doesn’t work or if you’re driving in a way that creates too much noise.

Unquote

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Another interesting note is that motor manufacturers do not test the same way as the Police do, as i have possibly mentioned before. and the regulations are for NEW cars or IVA (Individual Vehicle Approval) such as kit cars or imported cars.

This snipped comes from the AA and VOSA

New vehicles offered for sale within the UK and Europe must comply with a number of regulations. The one that covers noise emissions is R51. This requires that a passenger car must not emit noise of above 74dbA when driven past a microphone positioned 7.5 metres from the centre line of the track, using maximum acceleration in 2nd gear, from an initial speed of 50km/h.

The Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) test, which is carried out on vehicles such as kit cars, requires that the noise emitted from the exhaust, when measured at a distance of 500mm from the outlet, at an angle of 45° with the engine running at ¾ maximum power engine speed shall be no higher than 99dbA.

--------------------------------------------------

When a vehicle passes one of these approval tests (along with numerous others), it allows it to be registered. VCA do not enforce these requirements after registration. This would fall to either VOSA, local council or the police, depending on the type of vehicle and/or its location.

As yet I have had no reply back from Toyota UK on the dB readings of a Gen 6 Celica on standard exhausts

Edited by Monkey Boy 1
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So new Lamborghini and ferrari are less than 74dba 7.5m away flat out in second.... I don't think so...

I wonder if the police know how loud the standard exhaust is on an r33 gt-r? If this is really the best way they think they could be spending our tax money during massive budget cuts then I've lost all respect for them and think whoever dreampt the scheem up should be the first to lose his/her job.

What a bunch of tw@s

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As my gen7 was imported from Belgium i have an eec type approval cert somewhere which states the dba level. Must dig it out and see what it says as i am sure its less than 74dba

As to super car i would guess they have some sort of electronic bung at just the right rpm point. Also 50km in 2nd is probably quite low rpm for them?

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New vehicles offered for sale within the UK and Europe must comply with a number of regulations. The one that covers noise emissions is R51. This requires that a passenger car must not emit noise of above 74dbA when driven past a microphone positioned 7.5 metres from the centre line of the track, using maximum acceleration in 2nd gear, from an initial speed of 50km/h.

The Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) test, which is carried out on vehicles such as kit cars, requires that the noise emitted from the exhaust, when measured at a distance of 500mm from the outlet, at an angle of 45° with the engine running at ¾ maximum power engine speed shall be no higher than 99dbA.

--------------------------------------------------

So in other words you car was tested incorrectly then as your car is not a IVA (kitcar) therefore if they are classing your car as a IVA due to modifications then by that snippet it indicates your exhaust is passable as long as it is under 99dB under full load in 2nd. So I short they have tested your car as a IVA but used the 'new vehicle' dB to judge by, talk about making it up as they go along :rolleyes: I thought police were meant to know the law before in forcing it upon us

Edited by Dan23
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The Police use a different standard, ISO5130 for the test, but having read that for cover to cover late last night, I could not find the 82 dB reading they quoted on the paperwork. that ISO standard is basically the Test procedure, which they followed pretty closely. but the 82dB figure, well they get that figure from The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986

Talk about a can of worms here. No one us using the same standard and of course Mr plod use the tightest one of all to get their Beer Fund money and don't even give you a chance of appeal or even an advisory on what to do before issuing you with a fine.

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More interesting reading.

on the results at the end it was good to see a Toyota Celica on there, albeit with a 99dB reading

http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/trl-report-ppr506-proposals-for-in-service-exhaust-noise-testing/trlreportexhaustnoisetesting.pdf

and from the Direct. Gov web site

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Usingmotorwaysandroads/Reducingroadcongestionandpollution/DG_10025601

I am sooooooo confused now

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I think I have just found a flaw in the way the Police test noise, ISO5130 states that if maximum power of your vehicle is between 5000 & 7500RPM then the tests should be conducted at 3750RPM

6.4.3 Vehicle catagories M,N

- 75% of the rated engine speed, S, for vehicles with S less than or equal to 5000

-3750 for vehicles with a rated engine speed of 5000 to 7500

- 50% of the rated engine speed S for vehicles with S is equal to or greater than 7500

Terms and Definitions

Vehicle catagory M = power driven vehicles of at least 4 wheels and used for the carriage of passengers

S = Engine speed at which the engine develops its rated maximun net power as stated by the manufacturer

The Celica was checked at 3/4 (75%) revs which equated to 5250RPM which I am begining to believe was an incorrect assessment, as peak power is around 6700RPM it should have fallen into the 3750RPM test NOT the 75% test.

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