If you have been stopped and ticketed for an exhaust violation in Virginia, please post in this link. I have contacted the ACLU regarding profiling and it would be helpful to have others that can confirm that they were singled out because of their vehicle.

Thank you,
chris

 

I havent been pulled over in my EVO yet (knock on wood) but when I had my prelude I was pulled over twice and ticketed once

 

Not pulled in my evo yet either..but got a ticket in my prelude back in 02, and in my gti last year...both in Fairfax county

 

Do you want people to comment on how loud their exhaust actually is?

 

me and my boy QuickSilver_OZ have......at the same time

 

Good question, but the law is not subjective, no matter what the police feel. It cannot be louder than stock, but they have no reference materials nor decibel meters. It becomes a moot point. While I was stopped, a Mustang and a Harley drove by with aftermarket exhausts and the officer did not bat an eye, nor did he wish to make a subjective assertion that those vehicles were illegal.

 

Exactly why it's a crock. Well, anyway I was pulled over but not cited with my old Buschur setup (high flow cat + race muffler). I basically told the officer that our car club was all working on performance mods and we were all realizing that the mufflers were too loud and that we were all going to change back to stock

 

I've been ticketed once and warned a second time--with my silencer in!

sigh. i have cops tail me all the time.. it's really rather nerve-wracking. i think cops are much more leniant towards the muscle car guys... don't know why... maybe it's cuz they're not as many? too many civics from way back (haha in the 90's) with huge *** exhausts were causing too many problems and i guess it's just been ingrained in their profiling of import cars. pisses me off getting pulled by the police for being a ricer with an obnoxious car that's way too loud... i'd bet 99% of the officers pulling us don't even know what our cars are.

 

I've been pulled over for supposidly speeding and I wasn't. The officer tried to tell me that my aftermarket exhaust was illegeal but I talked my way out of it. He said, "it has to be manufacture like." And I said in what way? We had a back and forth for about two minutes and he just let me go saying, "just keep it slow but if you were pulled over by State Police they'd give you a ticket."

What a load of crap. Something needs to be done...

 

That's exactly what I am trying to do. If anyonehas friends who have been pulled over for exhaust ciolation, please have them post here. I would like to be able to point to one thread rather than have many strewn across multiple boards which may require a login to view.

Thanks, folks - keep the tales coming.

 

Christ, here we go...

Smitty, good luck with your ACLU complaints, but you and the others on here encouraging you need to understand something..

There is absolutely nothing illegal about profiling as long as it's not done on a racial basis

If cops are looking for a bank robber and see a guy with a ski mask carrying a bag with dollar symbols on it, theres nothing illegal about them checking the guy out.

or a more realistic example, if one see's a college student with what looks like mommy's car in the middle of the ghetto at midnight, its likely theyre scoring drugs. thats profiling on a non-racial basis.

So, when you have an import that sounds loud, or is blinged up in any way, with a huge tailpipe, it's likely it's an illegal exhaust. In virginia, an illegal exhaust is an exhaust that is not factory installed, or "similar" to the factory exhaust. thats why a meineke muffler is legal but a muffler delete axle-back is not. With the harley's, they're loud as hell from the factory, so theyre legal, same with some domestics. plus, with domestics it's a lot harder to tell since the tone is not so different, and the ratio of illegal ones to legal ones is not as high.

If you know your exhaust is illegal, and you drive around with it anyways, dont complain if you get a ticket. If you want to have an illegal exhaust and not get ticketed with it, go put it on a car less likely to have an aftermarket exhaust, like a volvo or a taurus.

I've been pulled over and the officer joked about my coffee can muffler... that was with the factory exhaust too...

 

Wrong. The law states:

"§ 46.2-1049. Exhaust system in good working order. No person shall drive and no owner of a motor vehicle shall permit or allow the operation of any vehicle on a highway unless it is equipped with an exhaust system of a type installed as standard factory equipment, or comparable to that designed for use on the particular vehicle as standard factory equipment, in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise. An exhaust system shall not be deemed to prevent excessive or unusual noise if it permits the escape of noise in excess of that permitted by the standard factory equipment exhaust system of private passenger motor vehicles or trucks of standard make."


The phrase "...of a type installed as standard factory equipment, or comparable to that designed for use on the particular vehicle..." makes the ENTIRE law subjective and discretionary which means that any officer can enforce it at thier leisure and as they please.


Thank you for posting your experience. I did not intend to create a debate thread.

 

Not trying to debate anything, rereading my post it sounded a touch agressive, sorry if it came off that way. I'm just trying to find your reasoning for trying to make this a big issue.

Your specific wording of the state code actually reinforced what i meant. I said similar, the wording is "of a type". same difference, and yes the law is discretionary, because if it weren't, cops would have to carry sound meters with them and have a listing of all factory exhaust decibel limits. Tons of traffic infractions are discretionary, such as reckless driving, failing to pay attention, dui if they refuse to take a breathalyzer, etc.

If your exhasut is not too loud, you could do some research and argue that the sound produced by your exhaust is within the factory sound limits. this would involve going to court, and then the spirit of tha law will come into play... is your exhaust a factory type replacement b/c the original fell off, or is it a performance exhaust meant to flow freely at the expense of noise? If you fall under the former, you'd be fine, if you're under the latter, not so much. It would depend on the judge, and here in NOVA, thats not a good gamble.

again, not trying to debate your point so much as figure out your reasoning, and telling why it might be a fruitless endeavor to make an ACLU claim. good luck either way.

 

lol my friends stepdad got pulled over in his 04' STi on the way back from HYPE-R Fest, and when the officer told him the exhaust was to big. He flipped his VA inspectors badge and the cop told him to have a nice day

 

What are Virginia cops like with out of state motorists? I will be passing through in two months. If it is as bad as everyone makes it out to be, I think I will get my stock exhaust out of storage an put it back on.