Here is Virginia, there are some new laws going into effect July 1st…

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Here is Virginia, there are some new laws going into effect July 1st…

In the past, we only had to switch lanes when we saw law enforcement or emergency vehicles on the side of the highway, but a new law expands that rule. Starting July 1, if at all possible, drivers must move over, or slow down, on the highway for any car parked on the side of the road, regardless of its markings.

I do not know how much good this will do when you consider how many Police Vehicles, Ambulances, and even Fire Engines that are hit with light flashing and sirens blaring…

No person shall operate any motor vehicle with a gross weight of 6,500 pounds or less with an exhaust system that emits noise in excess of 85 decibels. Such noise level shall be measured from a distance of at least 50 feet, unless otherwise provided by law.

If a vehicle is inspected that does not have a muffler (straight pipes are not considered a muffler), the inspector should explain to the customer that although the vehicle will pass inspection without a muffler, it is a violation of state law for the vehicle to be operated on the highway without it.

I also do not know how this will be enforced… See the next bullet…

In this “Woke” world, the laws prohibit law enforcement officers from making traffic stops for certain minor offenses.

 *** No brake lights or high-mount stoplight
 *** No taillights
 *** No light illuminating a license plate
 *** No exhaust system or an exhaust system that is excessively noisy
 *** Certain tinting films or shading materials
 *** Certain items hanging in the vehicle

It will become a Class 6 felony to purchase, sell, or offer for sale, a catalytic converter that was detached from a vehicle, unless the sale is being made by a scrap metal purchaser following all the required provisions (and there are a lot of hoops to jump through…).

I really hope this helps to make the Market will dry up… Only the most nefarious junk/metal dealers will be willing to take this on. The honest dealers will not take this on as the paperwork must be kept for two years and all types of proof are required to prove you are the rightful owner of the Cat to sell it…

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Florida just passed the pulled over vehicle law, too. We will all need to be in the center lane all the time considering how many dead vehicles are off the side of the highway.

Hmm, that 85 dB law is going to catch more than few factory exhausts as well as aftermarket.

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I see this as a reaction to officers who target people for harassment. Pulling over someone for such offenses is a common practice by bullying police.

That is not to say that pointing out that someone has his lights out or the like is a bad idea - just that if the cop is trying to bully someone, he’d better be prepared to explain why he made the stop.

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So how can it pass an inspection?!? Isn’t that the entire purpose of having an inspection in the first place? To refuse registration of non-conforming vehicles???

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I rarely hear loud cars/trucks.

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Maryland has the pull over/slow down law. I follow it if it is clear that there are people present, but I don’t pull over for an abandoned car. If it’s questionable I’ll pull over or slow down. There are a lot of people that don’t follow the rule at all. I imagine that’s how it will play out in Virginia too. This is for two lanes each direction. If it’s three lanes, I’m likely in the middle one anyway.

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The law in NJ reads as follows:
Drivers approaching stationary emergency vehicles, tow trucks, garbage trucks and other highway safety vehicles displaying red, blue and/or amber flashing lights must now move over one lane or, if not safe to move over, then slow down below the posted speed limit.

I do change lanes when it is feasible, and I slow down if it isn’t feasible to change lanes, but the percentage of drivers who seem to be unaware of this regulation is… pretty high.

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The state inspection is a safety inspection, not a compliance inspection…

19VAC30-70-670. Muffler, exhaust system, and trailer venting.
A. Flexible tubing may be used anywhere in the exhaust system.
B. Inspection of exhaust system does not concern noise level.
( and a whole lot more dealing with safety, leaks, pinched pipes, flex tubing, etc… But Noting on noise… )

For example, a car is brought in for a state inspection, the driver is listening to their music at a volume so high that the inspector heard them driving down the road and once inside, the tools are vibrating off the walls; the inspector cannot take that illegal “noise” balsting at an illegal volume into consideration during the inspection process…

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Like I wrote, " how much good this will do when you consider how many Police Vehicles, Ambulances, and even Fire Engines that are hit with light flashing and sirens blaring…"

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I would argue it may cause more accidents than it saves. Time will tell.

Most people don’t look far ahead so they slow and change lanes abruptly to comply with the law stacking up traffic behind.

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In Calif the reasoning for that sort of restriction is b/c of claims that law enforcement was using minor offenses mainly in the hopes to issue tickets for slightly-expired driver’s licenses and registrations. I got stopped for the third one, burned out license plate bulb, pulled over in a very dangerous intersection. I concur about the license plate light bulb. But brake lights out, tail lights out… those seem like valid reasons for a stop, provided on the first offense there’s no fine, just a fix-it ticket; i.e. you have to fix the problem within two weeks (say), then have the fix verified by law enforcement. Window tinting and exhaust system violations would deem a fine on first offense imo.

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Tennessee has had the pull over law for all vehicles for a couple of years now.

85dB at 50 feet, that vehicle would have to be VERY loud as the volume drops by the distance squared. The standard for measuring sound is one meter from the source.

There have always been secondary laws on the books. Those are ones that the police are not supposed to pull you over for unless you are committing a primary offense. I remember when seat belts were a secondary offense that cops would often add to a speeding ticket if they didn’t like you for some reason.

Mufflers are required because they are spark arresters as well as sound attenuators.

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These minor infractions many time yielded people that were wanted for more serious crimes. So let’s be honest about the intent of these laws, like stop and frisk, it is a reduction in the ability to take people off the street.

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And the VAST VAST majority of the time they didn’t. It’s just plain harassment.

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As we learn about entire police departments that are biased, pulling dirty tricks, who turn off their body cameras and target certain populations, to the point of murder, it is surely about time to demand some oversight and structure. When the police are acting as vigilantes, we are all in trouble.

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Maryland and I believe Indiana police can ticket you for not using a seatbelt, but it is a secondary infraction. A friend from Fort Wayne was stopped by the police. He unbuckled his seatbelt to pull out his driver’s license. The office gave him a ticket for being unbuckled despite telling him about retrieving the license. The lesson I learned is don’t unbuckle the belt until the office greets you and asks to see your documents.

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I hear loud cars /trucks, when walking or biking.
Car windows seem to be good at sound deadening.
I laugh at signs that read “Loud Pipes Save Lives.”
That might work only if I am following your motorcycle.

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I had to have the windshield replaced in my Acura. I thought it was interesting that you are supposed to use oem windshields because they have sound deadening qualities to them. Something to do with the laminations. I often gotta crack the window a little if I hear a siren in the background.

On all this other stuff, just consider your own experiences to color your views and may not be valid everywhere. I have been stopped fairly and unfairly. The only time I have to unbuckle is at the bank drive through to reach through the window, but a friend also was ticketed for sitting on the side of the road with the truck in park and the belt off. The kids that shot up the mall of America are getting no jail time but police officers are serving long sentences for trying to do their job. I know a lot of opinions are based on emotion and not raw data so ya just have to be open to the fact that ye may be wrong.

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Remember the Oklahoma City Bombing? The bomber, Timothy McVeigh, was pulled over about 80 miles north of Oklahoma City by an observant Oklahoma State Trooper who noticed a missing license plate on his yellow Mercury Marquis. McVeigh had a concealed weapon and was arrested. It was just 90 minutes after the bombing.

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