Green Bay trying to pass Loud pipe ordinance.

sprayandpray · #1 06-02-2008, 09:57 AM

Nothing more then a neighbor saying you have loud pipes will net you a ticket........

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/...806020562/1978

If the roar of a passing motorcycle makes you duck and wince, relief could be on the way.

And if, on the other hand, you're a noise enthusiast who likes to turn heads with a twist of your wrist, Big Brother may soon be watching.[/align][/align]The city's Protection & Welfare Committee is at work on an ordinance that would allow police to issue loud-muffler tickets based on public complaints. The ordinance would apply to all motor vehicles, not just motorcycles.
Green Bay currently follows state statutes in which police, when they hear an overly loud muffler, can issue a citation, Capt. Bill Galvin of the police department told the committee Wednesday. It's illegal to have an altered muffler, in which baffling has been removed to make the muffler louder, he said. Police usually can tell whether baffling has been removed by listening to the muffler or by sliding a baton into the pipe, he said.
The fine is $298, and police issue a 10-day warning that requires the vehicle owner to show proof of having fixed or replaced the muffler. For a second offense, police can have the vehicle towed.
Under the new plan, police would not have to hear or examine the offending muffler. Instead, members of the public could complain, and police would mail the owner of the vehicle a ticket based on that complaint, Galvin said.
It would work similar to a state law concerning school buses, in which bus drivers can report drivers who fail to heed the stop sign and flashing lights.
The committee voted to have the City Attorney's office draw up a proposed ordinance for consideration at the next meeting in two weeks.

If the founding fathers were alive today, they would be shooting people.[/align]

Yellotang · #2 06-02-2008, 10:26 AM

Wow, there is so much wrong with that law. What stops someone from going around and saying, "that guy is too loud" with no proof. This means your guilty until proven innocent. But in this case, your guilty if your neighbor wants you to be.
[align=left] [/align]

chiabate · #3 06-02-2008, 11:17 AM

The old nightstick in the mufflers has been around longer than most of us. I'm sure there's already existing nuisance laws on the books, but legislators justify their existence by introducing new laws. Even if they're redundant. The fact that it doesn't single-out motorcycles may guarantee passage due to it's probable lack of organized opposition. Personally, ghetto-blaster boom-boom window shakers or La Cucaracha sounds at full blast are more irritating than motorcycle sound or even fartmobile jap-jets with the coffee can mufflers, but people don't just all of a sudden wake up one morning and decide they want to ban loud mufflers. Something had to prompt it.

WireDawg · #4 06-02-2008, 12:23 PM

As the local GB PINHeads have the idea now.......it is completely UN-ENFORCEABLE............can someone define the term "too loud".....the city of GB has too many bike events to screw w/ this.

But if they do........we'll gladly take our bidness else where........

gjb1952 · #5 06-02-2008, 12:31 PM

With all of the Harley riders that are state politicians in Wisconsin this is the last state that will pass anything anti biker....end of story.

chiabate · #6 06-02-2008, 02:34 PM

Since the proposal's language doesn't specifically single-out motorcycles in general or Harleys in particular, that's the danger of it slipping in under the radar. The MoCo isn't going to do anything to resist it, it's not an attack on them. ABATE of Wisconsin would have the phones in Madison ringing off the hook if it were motorcycle-specific. In fact, the northern chapters of Illinois and the eastern chapters of Iowa and Minnesota would add to the phone volume. But it's not an attack on just motorcycles. There is no political association of droopy-drawered hip-hoppers to represent the jap cars with the ridiculous spoilers and the coffee-can mufflers nor are big-block hotrodders well represented in their hobby/sport/lifestyle. The only thing to do here is make your voices heard. Laws that don't have vocal opposition get passed easily all the time.

Buddha4 · #7 06-03-2008, 05:51 PM

"Under the new plan, police would not have to hear or examine the offending muffler. Instead, members of the public could complain, and police would mail the owner of the vehicle a ticket based on that complaint, Galvin said." Would be nice to have neighbors complain on "stock" bikes and cars. then have the people go to court. Have them show that people could get this BS ticket by having a vehicle completely legal.

" The fine is $298, and police issue a 10-day warning that requires the vehicle owner to show proof of having fixed or replaced the muffler. For a second offense, police can have the vehicle towed.

Note they have 10 days prior to even be found in violation of a law= wonder how this could escalate tensions on neighbors.