Sounds like it shouldn’t be considered legal for onroad use there. :/
Ah yes, my car is stock so I should be able to disturb the whole neighbourhood with my car.
I get it, sports cars are fun to drive, but they very much don’t need to be this loud.
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.
Supercars should be on racetracks, where they were designed for, instead of public roads. And Aquilino definitely should not be driving them on public roads.
It’s pretty stupid that the law went after modifications, instead of just saying noise above x decibels is the issue.
Actually, the law does just say “above 85db” is not allowed. Doesn’t matter if the car is stock or not.
Can you source this? I tried looking it up, and I found this
https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCadmin/0-0-0-209188
and
https://portal.311.nyc.gov/article/?kanumber=KA-01102
Which seem more concerned about how far away you can hear a vehicle from, rather than a specified decibel rating (But maybe that’s just a simpler way to measure decibel?)
Fun fact: any stock car that is this loud has something called an “exhaust valve” or a cutout. It’s an electronic device that adjusts the sound of the exhaust. Responsible super car owners only open this valve on the track, or in other appropriate places. I hope they repossess his little toy.
It is no coincidence that the valves typically open in “sport” or “race” modes and in “street” mode the valves are closed.
I don’t know if this is well known, but Lamborghini has a track record of loud exhaust, period. Regardless of valve state. Huracan Performante owners requested that Lamborghini make the next special edition a little quieter. Reason being the Performante was too loud even on race tracks. Track day drivers know there are noise limits that vary by track. You’re asked to leave immediately if you exceed the limit. You may also receive a temporary ban and/or fine.
What did Lamborghini do? Make the Huracan STO even louder across all driving modes. The company demonstrates it believes noise limits themselves are annoying. While I do like loud cars myself, sometimes a noise compliant normal or comfort mode doesn’t exist.
It shouldn’t even be legal to operate an exhaust loud enough to require hearing protection.
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.
I’m with you. But the consequence to sort out the contradiction might be also a state-wide ban if certain boundaries are exceeded.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
