Operation Pipe Down - Vic Cops Vs Noisy Cars

[FrangaR33]

i'm sure a decibel meter thingy wouldn't be cheap.

And @ Danielle, how would they know if you haven't rectified your exhaust? I doubt they have a picture of it, besides, you could always say that you have. They've got no proof that your exhaust isn't lower than 90dB, but.. is your exhaust legal?!

Decibel-O-Meter $40 at Jaycar

You'd definetly want to see how loud your exhaust is first though, otherwise you could make a right ass of yourself

[scotty014]

ive got a decibel reader but you can only use it as a rough estimate because the ones that the workshops have are calibrated and meant to be very accurate ( supposed to be accurate ). but since they are a licensed workshop there readings are accurate and they go by what there decibel readers say.

[33gtst]

i'm sure a decibel meter thingy wouldn't be cheap.

And @ Danielle, how would they know if you haven't rectified your exhaust?

[jdmhvn]

variax ftw

[33gtst]

i'm sure a decibel meter thingy wouldn't be cheap.

And @ Danielle, how would they know if you haven't rectified your exhaust?

of course I have officer..

[xALmoN]

Decibel-O-Meter $40 at Jaycar

You'd definetly want to see how loud your exhaust is first though, otherwise you could make a right ass of yourself

I should get one, just to have a rough idea of how loud my exhaust is.

[Birds]

lol the f**kers got me I was observed by police on the 16th of april to have a defective exhaust on my vehicle.

no fine, no noise test, no epa, no nothing... just a warning.

Nothing personal Danielle, but from someone who has to pay to get their car tested...f*** you

Just a warning? Why would they bother with that anyway, and how did they "observe" your car?

Its amazing isn't it, lets just do away with all quantitative and qualitative equipment, the TMU can do all measurements for you.

How dare you doubt the mighty TMU with their ability to detect beyond the threshold of the human sensory perception system! These guys can hear a Jap car from 200km away, like a shark on blood.

I put my silencer in couple days before operation began. Have not had any problems while i was driving. Mum needed my car for work which isnt very far at all. On the way home apparently she gets "stalked" by a cop. Pulls her over and asks her if the silencer has always been in. (Mum has no idea what the guy is talking about) She explains to him she has no idea and he apparently was getting all shitty and saying gonna give a notice to her which she didn't tell me what kind. But overall apparently he had a massive attitude and she explained its my car and she doesn't have any idea about cars etc and he gave her attitude for it? What the hell is that about...

On a side note, anyone just see ACA? I found it funny a bunch of guys singing, -"once a farmer had a cop...etc"

and in the back you see a skyline. Someone just got defected

Sorry brother but it sounds like you're going to receive an EPA letter in the mail. No doubt he dobbed you/mum into the EPA.

Charles89,It is claimed by some that if one is more than x amount of kays from a registered testing station one does not have to present vehicle for said testing.

And here lies a major flaw in the system...no enforcement for country vehicles...yet f*** the city folk because they are close enough to pay for a test and it won't be a hassle getting them to do it.

variax ftw

Yeah I have one of these, didn't save me, probably because the TMU didn't actually hear my exhaust. In fact, I daresay it'll need to be removed to pass EPA.

[KURAUN]

yeah will be, has to be a weld in silencer

not that can be removed or that adjusts the noise

[D-G]

I see thanks for that info guys, didn't know about the welded silencer either. Sucks

[33gtst]

Nothing personal Danielle, but from someone who has to pay to get their car tested...f*** you

Birds I've lived in melbourne too and have also paid to have a few of my previous cars tested. Its sometimes easier to not have them questionable in the first place, isnt it? f u too then.

Ill check the exact wording on the info to see what happens should I not comply with the regulations and am caught again...I dont think its a simple as walking away as you might think Birds.

[Charles89]

Birds I've lived in melbourne too and have also paid to have a few of my previous cars tested. Its sometimes easier to not have them questionable in the first place, isnt it? f u too then.

Ill check the exact wording on the info to see what happens should I not comply with the regulations and am caught again...I dont think its a simple as walking away as you might think Birds.

Maybe just a "bend over" before you walk away? lol jokes xD

[joeyjoejoejuniorshabadoo]

100% agree with the $75 being as good as a fine.

This whole thing is a scam... No more...no less...

The sad thing is that it is 100% media backed

Imagine the comotion if cops just started issuing speeding fines on mere suspiscion. ACA/TT/herald scum et all would have a field day. It would be considered unfair and I bet they'd throw around that favourite old current affairs show gem "unAustralian"

but since people who drive loud cars are the biggest criminals in Australia these days, it's all completely fair...

[Birds]

Amen Hamish^

Danielle I was only joking love...just peeved about my stuff around. If you get caught again they might make you drive to Melbourne...

[bozodos]

lol if you get done out in the country you still have to get tested, there are EPA approved testing stations both here and in Swan Hill, and back in the day you had to make the 400km round trip to Swan Hill to get tested!

[xALmoN]

Travelling 400kms? Now, who's going to pay for that spare tank of fuel?

[frozenpod]

They pulled me over because I was driving a Skyline. They went through a couple of red lights behind me, then they sat behind me. I took off sedately, they tailgated me, put on their lights and pulled me over for random inspection. I wasn't doing anything illegal, I wasn't revving my engine and my exhaust is actually rather quiet. It was because it was a Skyline, as the officer himself made note of.

The HID regulations are.... the auto leveling headlights breifly blind oncoming drivers over speed humps where without auto leveling they wouldn't do so as badly and the requirement for water sprayers are a joke.

As to being pulled over under these circumstances and the way in which the EPA was issued without hearing the exhaust and having no concept if it was legal I would take this to court. There is no reason you should have to pay $75 for this test under these circumstances.

[alr33x]

The HID regulations are.... the auto leveling headlights breifly blind oncoming drivers over speed humps where without auto leveling they wouldn't do so as badly and the requirement for water sprayers are a joke.

As to being pulled over under these circumstances and the way in which the EPA was issued without hearing the exhaust and having no concept if it was legal I would take this to court. There is no reason you should have to pay $75 for this test under these circumstances.

that makes no sense.

they are autolevelling so they dont blind people..without auto levelling they are shooting all over the place and blinding people the entire time. headlights are an ADR something a backyarder cannot get right.

same as carrying a DB meter there is guidlines on how the test must be conducted and how far away the tripod must be placed prior to conducting the test blah blah..

as for $75 birds i only paid $15-$20 from memory sounds like someone is rippin ya

[Birds]

They pulled me over during the day - he got me on HID after popping my bonnet and noticing the ballasts because he wanted to get me on something. Didn't turn them on to see how bright they might have been (it's amazing you can't use subjective measure for this yet you can for the loudness of an exhaust). Put a Beamer next to my car with HIDs and see which is more blinding!

It seems the HID regulations exist solely to serve factory equipped vehicles. I have a feeling if it wasn't for new cars being produced with them, HIDs would be illegal in Victoria altogether because they are bright lights. They also give new cars a marketable advantage, so that people can pay a car manufacturer extra for the HIDs as opposed to just buying an eBay spec kit and whacking that on illegally.

I will be having a go at this, but priority is to find out why I was reported to the EPA. Write a letter of complaint and seek extension. Then if unsuccessful, get my vehicle tested. Only after this will I consider going to court but I would be hoping to challenge the whole grounds on which these notices can be issues, not just my individual case.

[alr33x]

as mentioned on the other page birds you were reported because your car is not stock, ie after market exhaust and front mount etc so it is reasonable for the police to conclude your car may not comply with the regulations and this is grounds enough for the notice.

as for the hids they are not illegal becuase of there brightness, as far as i know i think its 4000 or 4300k are the only legal hids, but they must be factory fitted and comply with the regulations. there are no legal aftermarket kits unless you go to the effort of washers and or auto levelling but then your car still wouldnt have been ADR approved to have them which will then find you in the same boat you are now..

also having had an aftermarket hid kit fitted to my old honda euro which was the standard model so non hid from factory.. they use to blind everyone becuase the were not fitted/levelled properly and i can say it shits me when cars have them and they havent been put in properly and im gettin dazzled the whole time they are behind/coming towards me

sucks i hear ya

if ya want try tidd brothers hudson road spotswood did my exhaust test there was cheap as.. might be too far for u though

[Birds]

Yeah and that's what I'm arguing, that THAT should NOT be reasonable grounds upon which to serve a notice. Key word, as said by you, being "may" [not comply with]. Adversary system requires proof beyond reasonable doubt - innocent until proven guilty. Why shouldn't this notion be applied to a friggen car? The bottom line that no one here can argue, is if I was driving a Ford Laser with a punched out cat converter...which is much more EPA illegal than my car...I'd never have received a notice because I'd never have been pulled over and never "inspected" in the first place.

My HIDs were pointed down and hardly a hazard. Case in point, my LEGAL 100W Narva lights that I have now fitted to the car sit much higher and are actually brighter thant he HIDs - go figure. But I don't really care about the HIDs, I knew they were illegal and that was fair enough to defect me on them. Atleast they didn't cost me money to replace. What wasn't fair enough was the manner in which my car got pulled over, and my having been reported to the EPA for a hamburger with the lot test when my car wasn't even inspected properly. I think I'm pretty justified in feeling ripped off, whether police are allowed to do this or not.

And the $75 is printed on my EPA notice, I haven't got a quote on getting a test elsewhere for I thought this was a flat rate fee. Thanks for the recommendation I'll give them a try.

I realise I sound like I'm having a massive whinge here, but I've had alot of $165+ speeding fines in my driving history. Each one of them I've copped on the chin because I deserved them. This, I feel is very different.