Council wants clearer laws to stop noisy vehicles

Edmonton city council has directed city staff to find ways to change provincial and municipal legislation to make it easier to crack down on excessively loud cars, trucks and motorcycles. 

The motion, passed by councillors on Wednesday, also directs Mayor Stephen Mandel to write a letter to the province asking them to change its legislation.

Current laws are difficult to enforce as they don't define how loud is too loud, leaving it to the discretion of a police officer. 

"Some [motorcyclists] argue that it's because they need to be heard as well as seen, and some argue that it's for much greater safety, but those who live in the neighbourhoods are complaining that it's neither, that you have to be a careful driver like everybody else does," Mandel said.

"So it's an issue of how do we find a balance between making sure motorcycles are in line with what our bylaws are."

But an Edmonton motorcycle retailer says it would still be hard for officers to measure the noise, even with legislated decibel limits.

"Obviously the number is going to vary," said Bobby Kent from Harley Davidson of Edmonton. "Whether they are testing it at six inches from the exhaust system, driving by on the street or three feet from the exhaust system standing by the side of the road.

In an informal test conducted with a decibel reader at the Harley Davidson dealership, CBC found modified exhaust pipes can make a difference in a vehicle's noise level. An idling, unmodified motorcycle registered a level of 109 decibels.

An idling bike with modified pipes registered 116 decibels while idling and 120 decibels when the engine was revved.

While Kent says regulated limits won't necessarily make it easier for officers, he still wants the province to set a limit, so everyone knows what the rules are.

"I do know that if I sell somebody some pipes [and] they come back in with a ticket, they aren't going to be mad at the police officers. They're going to be mad at us," he said.

The province's transportation minster, Luke Ouellette, said no one has yet asked him to address the issue but said he was wary of "over-regulating people".

"Excessive noise to you and excessive noise to me could be two different things. Nobody has come to me and said you have to address this at this point," he said. "I'm not so sure I should be out looking for reasons to try to control things in the province."

Mandel plans to bring up the issue in an upcoming meeting with Ouellette.  If the province doesn't step in, Edmonton may still try and set limits within its own bylaws.