Well, I had my day in court this morning. I lost.
I have a Carbon-Ti catback and was issued a citation referencing statute 316.610. This statute is for "unsafe or improper" equipment. There is one little clause that states "any vehicle which is equipped in any manner in violation of this chapter..." This clause allowed the officer, with help from his buddies, to refer to another statute that is within the same chapter. 316.293 5.a states:
5) NOISE ABATEMENT EQUIPMENT MODIFICATIONS.--
(a) No person shall modify the exhaust system of a motor vehicle or any other noise-abatement device of a motor vehicle operated or to be operated upon the highways of this state in such a manner that the noise emitted by the motor vehicle is above that emitted by the vehicle as originally manufactured. (b) No person shall operate a motor vehicle upon the highways of the state with an exhaust system or noise-abatement device so modified.
This is the most damning statute as far as exhaust tickets go. I forgot to argue my only defense (a weak defense) against this statute which is that I have not "modified" my exhaust. It is operating exactly as HKS intended it to. I have done nothing to alter or modify the exhaust.....I have replaced it, which is not illegal. There is a seperate statue for replacement exhaust and I'll get into that in a minute. Back to 316.293 ,I believe that this statue is directed towards cars with muffler bypasses or those who weld on "whistler-tips." Again, this is the weakest point and the one that judge ultimately based his decision on. I wish I had remembered my defense to this statute, it all happened so fast.
The statute that I feel is most applicable and should have been used, and the one that I pointed out to the judge is 316.272. Here it is:
316.272 Exhaust systems, prevention of noise.--
(1) Every motor vehicle shall at all times be equipped with an exhaust system in good working order and in constant operation, including muffler, manifold pipe, and tailpiping to prevent excessive or unusual noise. In no event shall an exhaust system allow noise at a level which exceeds a maximum decibel level to be established by regulation of the Department of Environmental Protection as provided in s.
403.061(13) in cooperation with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. No person shall use a muffler cutout, bypass or similar device upon a vehicle on a highway. (2) The engine and power mechanism of every motor vehicle shall be so equipped and adjusted as to prevent the escape of excessive fumes or smoke.
Now, you will notice that this statute specifically adresses exhaust "noise" (I prefer to think of Suby exhausts as "music") which is the reason for the ticket. You will also notice that this statue refers to a "maximum dB level to be established by regulation of the DEP." It took me a while to find the DEP regulations, but when I finally found it, I discovered that FL has a dB limit of 95dB.
The next step was to contact HKS and obtain some documentation that verifies that their exausts are designed to meet the 95dB limit as establised in CA. FL has the same dB limit as CA and uses the same SAE test procedure. Therefor, my exhaust is legal.
The judge withheld adjudication (there are no points on a non-moving violation anyways) and reduced my fine by a whopping $10. I now have to pay $67.50 or something like that.
It was actually kind of fun. I think that I managed to entertain all of the people awaiting their turn and recieved many "good job"'s and "you did your best"'s on the way out. The judge was impressed with the amount of homework I had done too. He didn't have to look up any statutes, as I already had them printed out and highlighted for him.
I waited for the officer outside and shook his hand and spoke with him for a good 15 minutes. I didn't want to leave on bad terms after our "battle" in the court room. Afterall, my exhaust is still on the car and I didn't want him to give me another ticket next time he saw me. He also said that they were on a "exhaust and bass" detial that night and that they were out to write tickets. Kind of sucks, but you've got to realize that it is coming from higher up. Not all cops are dicks, they just have a job to do and sometimes people like me with "extremely loud" exhausts get the shit end of the stick.
So watch out. They will be doing more "exhaust and bass" patrols.
My hopes are that this info will be of use to some of you guys. I have talked to some of you about exhaust tickets already, use this info. I've already done all the research and I truly believe that my exhaust is not illegal; I think I could get off if there ever is a next time. The judge didn't seem too sure of his decision and for a while I had the trial going in my favor. I think that the judge was pressed for time in order to handle all the cases and just sided with the officer in order to move on.
Anyhow, that's what happened. Take it for what its worth.