316.272 Exhaust systems, prevention of noise
 

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.

(3) A violation of this section is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving violation as provided in chapter 318.
History.--s. 1, ch. 71-135; s. 1, ch. 72-39; s. 1, ch. 73-89; s. 27, ch. 79-65; s. 135, ch. 94-356; s. 204, ch. 99-248.

There's a new revision to this one that specifies something to the effect of "louder than factory". I'll look it up and post it here.

How would they determine such a thing in practice? Is the burden of proof on law enforcement to do the measurements?

Along with those videos I took of the before and after exhaust systems on my Z, the program I used to clip out those sections shows a visual of the audio track frequency wave as well. If I think of it later on tonight, I'll post it for a comparison. From what I can recall there wasn't that much difference that I could see.

I think it's meant for the obnoxious exhaust, ie: ricers with the fart can mufflers or the Harley's that can be heard a mile away when their getting on it. Those make it difficult to talk to someone when their driving next to you, and can even hurt your ears when your taking off from a red light next to them with your windows down.

I'm also looking for the statute to pass it on. I keep finding the same one you already quoted, but it's in the 2005 logs that I'm seeing it. I'll get back to ya.

Actually I think the boom box cars are a whole lot more abusive to my ears then any exhaust will ever be. I've had my vehicle literally shaking because of some idiot next to me with the subwoofers cranked into overdrive. I can't imagine what it would be like to actually be IN that car. They had to have blood coming out of their ears and other orifices! :eek:

(yeah, I definitely need to load more smilies in this site.....)

Oh yea,,, that's a big problem here too. There is a new law that says the stereo cannot be plainly heard from 25 ft or more from the vehicle, (used to be 100 ft). That's a non-moving cite worth about $78.00 that some of the police around here like to write. I HATE to hear it inside my home where I have a reasonable expectation of peace and quiet.:mad:

Heck, I NEVER turn on the radio in my vette. I don't care for the noise. Not that I am anti-music, as I have a kick-ass home theatre system. Six main speakers based on the Heil Air Motion Transformer, and four (4) subwoofers. I could bring the walls down in the house if I wanted to. Fortunately the nearest neighbors are through the woods quite a ways.

But in the car, no, I would rather drive without the noise to disturb me. So no, I really don't appreciate some clown next to me rattling my teeth with the tunes HE likes to listen to, and thinks the whole world must feel the same way.

Matter of fact, I have a '98 Jeep Wrangler that I bought brand new and I have only turned on the radio ONCE, right when I bought it, just to make sure it worked. :)

I listen to the sweet music of my GHL's instead of turning on the radio in the Z.:cool:

Jack

HAH! I know what you mean. No tunes at all on the radio that will sound better then my Z's engine at 2K rpm.

2K?? How about more like 5 or 6K,, grin, :D :p

I was able to get my hands on a 2006 statute book and took these pics to share with you. The statute has a new subsection that's not in the "Online Sunshine" 2005 model.

Oops,
:mad: My photo server is down for "routine maint". I'll post the pics later today.