Improper Muffler in NE?

[LWniesz]

Looking for LEO opinion, in regards to a ticket I received Saturday night.

If anyone is local, I live in Lincoln, NE. O Street is the main road through the middle of town and is common to see plenty of nice cars out on Friday and Saturday night.
Well this last weekend, being Memorial Day brought a much larger crowd.

I was out, putting around in my Cobra for 5 mins, and I get pulled over after driving on O street for maybe 1.5 miles. No loud take offs, no ripping through gears, leaving the stop lights nice and easy and shifting well before 3k RPM.

As i am going to down the main drag, I notice someone speeding way past traffic and swing right in front of the car behind me.

Cherries come on and i am sitting in the next available parking lot.

The officer said he was writing me a ticket for Improper Muffler. He never looked underneath the car ( if he did he would see my 50 State legal Magnaflow CB) Rather than make a big fuss about it all, i was polite and did as he asked.
So the rest of this story, is that there was a huge car cruise this same weekend, plenty of burn outs, fly bys, diesel's puking black smoke, etc, etc.

And as I am getting a ticket for my improper muffler, a z06 and another cobra leave the light hard, with no infraction.

Is this ticket worth fighting? My car has passed inspection, and is really not that loud.
The ticket is only for $73, which isn't a huge deal, its more of an issue that i have driven the car numerous times through this area with no issue. But because there was a large car scene this weekend and i just happened to get the short stick.

Any LEO opinions or thoughts are welcome by anyone with experience in this matter.

Thanks

 

[LS2GTO]

50 state legal does not necessarily means it will be ok with different local and state laws. Most of those have a certain noise level restrictions and some go as far as stating that anything louder than stock is illegal. I know in MA the latter is the case, and even 100% OEM setups can get citations for noise level if they are not operating properly like someone has a hole in their muffler. I personally never had an issue with such, but I have friends with modded cars that pissed off the wrong officer and got hit with citations that they only way they could get written off is to put the OEM setup back on and have it tested.

I would check with your local laws regarding exhaust volume and see what yours is at with the current setup. If it's above the threshold then you really have no chance of winning this if you try and fight it, and then it will cost you more money than just the ticket itself.

 

[Lt. ZO6]

Magnaflow's 50-state claim if only for emissions and does not include noise level compliance.

 

[LWniesz]

Appreciate the info from both of you.
The thing that gets me is that there was no test, didnt even look under the vehicle to see if i had mufflers. Just assumed.
Is that enough to get it tossed out?
Where can I find information pertaining to what decibel level is legal.

Really discouraging to own a car that is just naturally louder than most, and not be able to drive it because of this shit.

 

[Lt. ZO6]

Appreciate the info from both of you.
The thing that gets me is that there was no test, didnt even look under the vehicle to see if i had mufflers. Just assumed.
Is that enough to get it tossed out?
Where can I find information pertaining to what decibel level is legal.

Really discouraging to own a car that is just naturally louder than most, and not be able to drive it because of this shit.

This is what I found in regards to Nebraska's muffler noise laws (check to ensure most current)

http://law.justia.com/codes/nebraska/2014/chapter-60/statute-60-6-371

No specific level is mentioned, only that the installed system cannot be louder than OEM.

 

[LWniesz]

This is what I found in regards to Nebraska's muffler noise laws (check to ensure most current)

http://law.justia.com/codes/nebraska/2014/chapter-60/statute-60-6-371

No specific level is mentioned, only that the installed system cannot be louder than OEM.

That helps, sort of. Since the law does not clearly define what is too loud, or OEM loud, how can they issue such a citation without any testing or even a visual inspection?

 

[LS2GTO]

The thing that gets me is that there was no test, didnt even look under the vehicle to see if i had mufflers. Just assumed.
Is that enough to get it tossed out?

That's not enough to get it tossed out. What they will tell you to do is take it to some sort of testing facility and have it measured. If it falls below the noise level threshold set by the county or whatever they will just throw it out since it was an error on the officer's judgement. However if it fails...well you get the idea.

how can they issue such a citation without any testing or even a visual inspection?

It's really how it is with most other tickets. All a citation is is an accusation of something that then you have to either agree with or fight to prove your innocence. It's no different than a speeding ticket where the officer clocked you using other means than a straight up laser. It's a judgement call on his part.

 

[LWniesz]

z06, take a look at this for me. http://law.justia.com/codes/nebraska/2014/chapter-60/statute-60-6-370/
It clearly defines that the subject vehicle they are after on noise issues, is vehicles over 10K lbs.

Could this help my cause any? or should I just pay the $73 and move on. I am more or less worried about the future, how many times am i going to get tickets for this. I was planning on going with a Borla system or Bassani, which would probably be even louder.

 

[Lt. ZO6]

z06, take a look at this for me. http://law.justia.com/codes/nebraska/2014/chapter-60/statute-60-6-370/
It clearly defines that the subject vehicle they are after on noise issues, is vehicles over 10K lbs.

Could this help my cause any? or should I just pay the $73 and move on. I am more or less worried about the future, how many times am i going to get tickets for this. I was planning on going with a Borla system or Bassani, which would probably be even louder.

The law you cited looks as if it regards the use of "Jake Brakes" by tractor trailers. I would believe it's an apples-to-oranges comparison.

If you truly believe your vehicle is not louder than stock, as easy, non-scientific way to determine would be to download a deciblemeter app for your phone and test the exhaust sound level. Compare this reading to the factory noise level (should be easy enough to google). If the exhaust output is => stock, then contest the citation. If it isn't, then chalk it up to a learned lesson and move on. I don't believe the citation is a point violation.

 

[LWniesz]

The law you cited looks as if it regards the use of "Jake Brakes" by tractor trailers. I would believe it's an apples-to-oranges comparison.

If you truly believe your vehicle is not louder than stock, as easy, non-scientific way to determine would be to download a deciblemeter app for your phone and test the exhaust sound level. Compare this reading to the factory noise level (should be easy enough to google). If the exhaust output is => stock, then contest the citation. If it isn't, then chalk it up to a learned lesson and move on. I don't believe the citation is a point violation.

Great advice. That was what I was thinking, is that I could test it and see the difference. Appreciate all the great info. You guys are a great asset to SVTP!

 

[ViperRed91GT]

Whatever you do, don't bring up the other cars in your argument. Nobody likes to hear that. A fisherman doesnt catch every fish when he goes out. You got caught, live with that and don't worry about anyone else.

 

[LWniesz]

Whatever you do, don't bring up the other cars in your argument. Nobody likes to hear that. A fisherman doesnt catch every fish when he goes out. You got caught, live with that and don't worry about anyone else.

I would have to agree, but if you were at the this "event" ( which i was not affiliated with, nor would i be caught dead near any of the kids that were apart of it) you would fully understand that i was not making any issue or disturbance to anyone. There was plenty of diesels rolling coal, ricers doing dangerous fly-bys, and burnouts at every stop light. I would think a just officer would go catch those endangering the public, not a respectful mid 20's guy just out for a night time cruise.

Just my luck i suppose.

 

[NEp8ntballer]

it's $73, pay it and move on. There really isn't a good option and if you contest it then chances are it will cost you even more. It's a no point violation and it probably isn't even a criminal offense.