Cracking down on noisy cars not the territory of Barrie by-law enforcement

No joint blitzes planned between by-law and police

Barrie police continue to receive complaints from residents asking them to find a way to muzzle noisy mufflers. For some, the roar is the sound of summer. To others, it’s an annoying racket.

During a discussion at Barrie city council general committee this month about speed limit reduction on Lakeshore Drive, attention turned to the issue of noisy mufflers.

Coun. Natalie Harris said she lived in a waterfront condo for a short period of time and finally had to move.

“I had to close my windows at night. It’s literally muffler after muffler after muffler,” she said. “It was just so bad, so unbelievably bad, to the point where I just couldn’t even enjoy my beautiful view of the lakeshore. This wasn’t just a nuisance.”

A staff report to council general committee on Monday said by-law officers would not be able to assist police with noise enforcement involving vehicles because they do not have the authority under the Highway Traffic Act to stop or pull them over.

Staff looked at the cities of Guelph and London and neither municipality conducts joint blitzes involving police and by-law for this type of offence, and complaints about noisy mufflers and vehicles are referred directly to police.

Barrie police indicated to staff that a joint enforcement blitz would not provide any value, due to the limited authority that enforcement services have under the Highway Traffic Act.

Barrie police spokesman Peter Leon credits the community for making the service aware of areas in the city where there is excessive speed happening and noise taking place.

“One of our traffic officers has created a precis that is not only used by members of our service but other police services as well, which clearly shows officers what to look for when they pull over a vehicle that is making a loud noise,” said Leon.

“What it looks like when there is not a muffler, when they’re running what is referred to as straight pipes, and bypassing all environmental control and catalytics, different things like that. It provides the charges and assists the officers in the field,” he added.

Most of the noise cases Barrie police deal with involve the removal of the muffler. It’s a $110 ticket and no points assessed because it’s not a moving violation.

“With revisions that need to be made to compensate for this, if this is what the public wants, that would require the Highway Traffic Act to be rewritten in some respects,” said Leon.

Police services across Canada model their crackdowns on noisy vehicles with the hashtag #ProjectNoisemaker, which originated in Halton Region.

Leon says their traffic enforcement unit is also dealing with collisions and speeding infractions, so officers are being pulled in different directions.

“We’re hearing and seeing some of them(noisy vehicles), but we are not able to get all of them at the present time.”

Leon says drivers who illegally modify their vehicles are doing it for one reason only.

“They want to be heard and they want to be seen.”

0 Shares
Tweet
Share
Share
Pin