He’s not exactly wrong. On the face of it, it is a legal contradiction.
NY says the car is legal to drive anywhere within the state.
Then a local government sets a noise ordnance, making the car essentially illegal to drive in that part of the state.
The conflicting laws need to get sorted out. No different than states not being able to make laws that go against federal law.
If they take the same stance as State vs Federal, then the local ordnance being more restrictive than the states would supersede the state law. At the same time it could become unreasonable for individuals to research all the local ordinances they may encounter in a 20 mile trip.
So yah. It’s easy to say “Asshole drives an expensive loud car and complains about the fine.”
But there is more nuance and complications here that could go well beyond cars.
There is no contradiction. Just because the vehicle is licensed for street use doesn’t give the owner permission to operate it in ways that violates the law.
Or at all? Because he wasn’t doing anything unusual. He wasn’t racing, or speeding even. Just driving normally.
Nothing unusual? On the same day he got the noise ticket, he received tickets for running a red light and speeding in a school zone.
You sure about that?
According to city violation data aggregated by the popular website How’s My Driving NY, Aquilino did receive two tickets on that same day in the West Village for blowing through a red light and speeding in a school zone.
He says he was just driving normally but I get the feeling he may be at the very least stretching the truth.
You could argue the same about emission zones which are common across Europe (mainly in inner cities). Just because your vehicle is allowed on the road, it doesn’t you can drive it anywhere.
At the same time it could become unreasonable for individuals to research all the local ordinances they may encounter in a 20 mile trip.
It is extremely reasonable. Drivers are always responsible to learn the laws of places they drive. Are you only required to follow the law of your plate’s state/province? Is turning right on red in NYC okay if you are plated outside the city?
NY requires each intersections that aren’t Right on Red to be posted at the light. So you know on a turn by turn basis if you’re allowed or not. A noise ordinance isn’t.
In larger areas sure. Knowing those things is reasonable. But if you’re crossing 15 different little municipalities is it reasonable to expect people to look up all the local laws for each of them?
Aren’t there noise ordinances in every city? Do you look up the specific decibel levels for every city you drive through?
Not all. And not just cities. But small towns, villages, even HOAs. You’d have to check them all.
I’m with you. But the consequence to sort out the contradiction might be also a state-wide ban if certain boundaries are exceeded.
