Tackling boy racer noise

By Graham Skellern
Boy racers, who wake up residents in the dead of night, are driving modified cars that are at least 15 per cent above the established noise limit.
Tauranga MP Bob Clarkson this week hauled out the $12,000 noise monitor used at his Baypark speedway to test the sound of four different vehicles, including two of the boy racers.
Alongside him was Nicky Wagner, a National list MP from Christchurch, who has prepared a private member's bill to restrict the level of additional noise caused by changing the exhaust systems of motor vehicles and motorcycles.
A Falcon GTP (Mr Clarkson's own car) hit 80 decibels on the accepted drive-by test travelling at 60kmh - one decibel below the New Zealand standard of 81.
A Holden Monaro, with a big bore exhaust and muffler, reached 93 decibels, a moderately modified Subaru saloon tested at 92.6 and a modified Nissan Impresso hit 93.3.
Under the stationary tail pipe test in which the cars were revved up to 4000 rpm, the Falcon was measured at 89 decibels, Holden 101.5 , Subaru 97.5 and Nissan a loud 109.4.
Mr Clarkson said if the boy racers simply drove down the road the sound of their cars would be tolerable. "But it's the revving and speeding up and down between the humps and lights where the noise gets excessively high - that's what causes the problems."
Ms Wagner will be taking the results from the noise tests to Parliament to back up her argument when the Control of Noisy Exhausts bill is drawn out of the ballot.
She said the 1976 legislation controlling the level of vehicle noise was effective at the time, but it had not been updated to cope with new technology and the boy racer phenomenon. Ms Wagner said Christchurch had the same "noisy car" problem as Mount Maunganui.
"People are just walking out of their hotel rooms - we get a lot of complaints from visitors staying in the (Cathedral) Square. They go home and tell others not to stay there because it's too noisy, and this is affecting our clean, green image."
The 1976 legislation required vehicles to be fitted with an effective exhaust system and muffler to keep the noise level down. Manufacturers of all cars imported in to the country have to ensure they meet the New Zealand drive-by test standard of 81 decibels.
In her bill, Ms Wagner is proposing that the "maximum noise output" be reduced to the European Union standard of 74 decibels. Australia is changing the noise level from 76 to 74 decibels.
She said the police can stop vehicles for excessive noise but they could only apply a subjective (hearing) test and often they did not have the confidence to apprehend the driver or impound the car. Warrant of fitness inspectors also had to do a subjective test.
Mr Clarkson felt the stationary tail pipe test was more realistic and a limit of 90 decibels could be introduced.
Each Warrant of Fitness station could have a noise monitor, and if a car exceeded 90 decibels when it was revved to 4000 rpm then it would not get a warrant.
The police could carry them too, he said.