theiceman

Saw three cars getting towed within the last week for " non compliance"

One was by Stealth OPP SUV , didnt know what was goign on until the tow truck showed up , just an SUV blocking in a BMW at Princess Auto when i went to pick something up. When i was checking out the lady told me they were towing him because of his exhaust .. i sat in my car as the tow truck showed up and when he started it to pull behind the tow truck you new why .

Second two were at a local Tim hortons, i saw a Region of Waterloo pickup truck which i thought was odd, when i got home my son called me to tell me he was in the line up for that exact Tim hortons and heard two guys talking and they were getting towed for non compliance.



One car was gone when he took the pic, they were waiting for another flatbed for the other.

Adamant1971

Yep, this is why I am putting cats back on my 87.

Zookie

yup thats why i drive a Smart Car

6IXSPD

If only they'd take car thefts half as seriously as this.

BioBanker

Non-compliance to what?

Aftermarket exhausts are not illegal.

Are they checking cars with aftermarket exhausts for cats? Sniffers or visual?

theiceman

not sure , but after market exhausts that increase noise past noise maximum specs are , also after market exhaust systems with deleted cats are..

i wasn't comfortable enough to ask specifically , but since that pickup is an inspection truck , i imagine they know what they are doing and know exactly what they are looking for.

repcapale

Ontario becoming the new California.

Except with none of the benefits.

Saul_Goodman

I wish more information was provided about these occurrences.
from the only pic looks like they are cracking down on those shi tbox modified cars driving around. Not a problem in my mind, show me some pics of them towing a 911 with aftermarket exhaust or a lambo.

I'm very curious what exactly constitutes no compliance requiring a tow in the HTA.

Saul_Goodman

What if I told you there are more then a few completly oem spec vehicles who's exhaust note is louder then ontarios dbl max.

SToronto

Ontario highway traffic act dictates that you cannot drive on a roadway with a modified exhaust. Period. So vehicles that look like they are missing components of the common exhaust system will be an issue. If your exhaust system has all the components from the outside but the inside is different, you may get by. But the volume will be cause for a stop. This is my understanding of what I read in the HTA over a year ago. I don't believe there was a specific dB limit for vehicles but worth reading it again to find out. Municipalities have by-laws that stipulate dB, Oakville has had a motorcycle limit for many years.

Many municipalities are cracking down due to the noise issues. It started in Oakville a few years ago. Follow along on twitter, I believe it's from April to October annually. Other municipalities have used it as a model in their own jurisdictions. The thinking is also that other infractions will be found, and from what I've seen on twitter, this seems to be the case.

I was stopped a few years ago, I had an Akra race slip on and link pipes on a GT3. Was stopped for plate sticker but officer commented on my loud exhaust but she didn't have a dB meter she said. However, at the time it wasn't about the dB meter as I don't believe that was a criteria for charge. The link pipes in that setup changed tone and upped the volume a fair bit.

Lack of officer knowledge on the subject seems to be an issue. Vancouver Police were stopping regular cars and asking them to get the dealer to certify it's a stock exhaust, happening with Porsches. This made the local news as people were pissed, rightfully so. VPD admitted the mistakes and said more training will be provided.

EDIT - I would agree though, would think there are better uses of resources and complainers time. I don't find it to be an issue of concern, not only saying that as a car enthusiast. There are bigger problems to deal with. Problem is it appeals to city councillors who are appealing to voters. And there are loud voices everywhere.

FURTHER EDIT - Oakville put out a resident survey sometime in the last couple years, talking about noise. Covered vehicles IIRC but seemed more focused on lawn care equipment and contractor noise. There's a strong movement in town to get rid of leaf blowers and restrict professional lawn care to certain hours of the day. Also to mandate electric lawn care equipment etc.

SToronto

I would imagine those cars had modified exhaust AND other issues making the vehicle not road worthy. Hence the tow instead of a ticket. Perhaps even issues with drivers license/insurance.

Saul_Goodman

Probably important to point out, municipalities can do whatever they want, however it doesn't supersede the HTA.​​​

HTA
75 (1) Every motor vehicle or motor assisted bicycle shall be equipped with a muffler in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise and excessive smoke, and no person shall use a muffler cut-out, straight exhaust, gutted muffler, hollywood muffler, by-pass or similar device upon a motor vehicle or motor assisted bicycle. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8,

Unnecessary noise(4) A person having the control or charge of a motor vehicle shall not sound any bell, horn or other signalling device so as to make an unreasonable noise, and a driver of any motor vehicle shall not permit any unreasonable amount of smoke to escape from the motor vehicle, nor shall the driver at any time cause the motor vehicle to make any unnecessary noise, but this subsection does not apply to a motor vehicle of a municipal fire department while proceeding to a fire or answering a fire alarm call. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 75 (4).

Emissions75.1 (1) No person shall drive or cause or permit to be driven on a highway a motor vehicle that does not comply with the regulations respecting emissions. 2019, c. 14, Sched. 16, s. 11. Tampering(2) No person shall tamper, or cause or permit a person to tamper, by, (a) removing, bypassing, defeating or rendering inoperative all or part of a motor vehicle’s emission control system; or (b) modifying a motor or motor vehicle in any way that results in increased emissions from the level to which it was originally designed or certified by the manufacturer of the motor or motor vehicle. 2019, c. 14, Sched. 16, s. 11.

Other then a fix it ticket I'm curious under what grounds do they have to excalate to a tow.

SToronto

Correct it doesn't supersede HTA. By-law is also enforced by by-law officers and will be a municipal ticket rather than a provincial offences notice.

theiceman

i would agree with this. There is no doubt the BMW had a modified exhaust, I would imagine if it was legal they wouldn't have towed him away. The other two i wasn't there , i just drove by and my son just heard the guys talking as he was in the drive through line up.

As i have seen it a few times already, next time i will go over and ask and get more details.

I wonder if the guy in the truck was there because he would have all the proper training and equipment to advise the attending officer.

i actually was at an accident scene once where the WRP had to bring in special officers with training for drug usage to come to the scene to interview and test the driver, and they brought another office with the breathalyzer. They asked me to stay as i was the witness and he did tell me they bring specially trained officers to the scene so there are no questions in court later. He said they have very specific officer training for sobriety tests and drug use.

theiceman

Well id say i'm not the guy you need to tell