By Nikita Biryukov
New Jersey lawmakers want to quiet screaming car mufflers.
In a bid to end cacophonous cars, the Senate Transportation Committee on Monday unanimously approved bipartisan legislation that would bar New Jersey motorists and auto shops from modifying mufflers to be louder or installing louder mufflers.
“First of all, I think it almost encourages crazy driving because obviously they want to hear this sound, and secondly, it’s just the definition of an annoyance,” said Sen. Patrick Diegnan (D-Middlesex), a sponsor and the committee’s chair.
Though New Jersey law requires all vehicles to have a functional muffler to prevent excess noise, existing statute only bars the use of muffler cutouts and other modifications that increase exhaust volume on highways and imposes a fine of only $25 on motorists who violate it.
Individuals or businesses that modify exhaust systems in a way that boosts volume would face up to $500 in fines and no more than 30 days’ imprisonment under the bill’s provisions. Businesses that sell amplified mufflers would face equivalent penalties.
Diegnan, who credited chief bill sponsor Sen. James Holzapfel (R-Ocean) for raising the issue, hopes steeper fines would discourage muffler modifications.
“It’s such a minor penalty that it isn’t even enforced,” he said of the existing fine. “If you talk to any municipal prosecutor, they can’t even remember when somebody was brought up on a charge.”
The legislation would further require mufflers to be examined during vehicle inspections. Private inspection facilities found to have modified exhaust systems to be louder or passed a vehicle with a modified muffler more than once within 18 months could lose their private inspection license.
Inspection facilities could also face a $500 fine for the same behavior.
