$542 EPA Fine ouch....

[GTS215i]

Just wanted to see if anyone else has been given a fine from the EPA for having a loud exhaust?. When i was picked up last week the officer stated that i would probably only have to present the car for a another test and that a fine would be very unlikely. Normally i've heard its either an On the Spot fine or a generall letter in the mail to have it tested and approved. I thought $542 was a bit steep especially when i wasn't given an on the spot fine there and then.
So would i be rite in thinking the EPA makes the decision and not the police officer who pulled me up? And futher more does the EPA now check your previous record to see if you have had a loud exhaust and if so has no tolerance?

[Gareth@Willall]

Just wanted to see if anyone else has been given a fine from the EPA for having a loud exhaust?. When i was picked up last week the officer stated that i would probably only have to present the car for a another test and that a fine would be very unlikely. Normally i've heard its either an On the Spot fine or a generall letter in the mail to have it tested and approved. I thought $542 was a bit steep especially when i wasn't given an on the spot fine there and then.
So would i be rite in thinking the EPA makes the decision and not the police officer who pulled me up? And futher more does the EPA now check your previous record to see if you have had a loud exhaust and if so has no tolerance?

Thats going a bit over the top dont you think :vpo:

Lucky mine is quiet :1peek:

[JT]

Man that sucks big time,never heard of a fine that big for loud exhaust before

[Haroc]

sheet me, The cops pulled me over on Sunday and I had to follow them to a carpark where he proceeded to do a test on my exhaust noise using there portable testing thingomojig, was interesting to watch and then I failed anyway.... 97db with an allowed 90db I have a month to fix it get it tested and send off the info.. along with paying a $75 fine and loosing a point... nothing to do with EPA which looking at your case is good!
$542 is a damn steep fine for a loud exhaust.

[GTS215i]

Man that sucks big time,never heard of a fine that big for loud exhaust before
Your not wrong Joe, i did't mind getting pulled up as it was technically over, but $542 :shock:

Im going to check though as the 1st page states that if i fail to have the car tested and approved by a certain date i will incur a fine of $542 but the last page of the document has a infringement notice of $542 which is signed.. so now im al ittle confused the more i read it whether or not thats just there incase i fail to clear the car but i dare say its a fine.

[doogal]

Haroc i was in EXACTLY the same situation as you last september cept i got 98db:nyuk: i got the paperwork done to say i had it fixed and then swapped to the turbo and its alot quetier now:)
$542 is just ridiculous:eek:

[ReMiX]

Thank god I live in WA..

I hope they dont start picking up interstate cars .. cuz i do enjoy going back and seeing friends and family .. and the quick trip across the nullabor .. But if theres a risk of BS like the above happening, A hire car might just be safer!

[Speedy Gonzales]

$542 WTF!!!!

Painful.

[bpm]

ah, the epa. get ready for a story. mate of mine got a letter in the mail from the epa stating that his exhaust was too loud, dunno if he was dobbed in by a neighbour or an epa officer heard his car on the road. letter said he had to get the car repaired and the letter signed by a licensed mechanic within 14 days or his rego would be cancelled. so i fitted a rear muffler at my shop, signed his letter and faxed it off to the epa with a copy of his invoice or fitting the muffler.
get a call from the epa the next day. young girl on the phone tells me i am not authorised to sign his letter, and he has to go to an exhaust shop to get the decibels tested. nowhere on the origonal letter did it say this. his car is still at my workshop so i run it upto the local exhaust shop, pay 35 bucks, get the little printout (89db) and an invoice and fax it of to the epa.
2 days later, my mate gets a call from the epa, saying the db meter used did not comply with their standards and he would have to go else where to get the certificate of compliance. he asks where can he could go to get their certificate. they tell him to go to an exhaust shop in penrith. he goes there, pays 80 buks and faxes the certificate and invoice to them.
a week later he gets another letter in the mail this time from the rta teling him his rego has been cancelled. rings the epa, no one there has any idea why, he asks young girl what the hell he can do to make them happy. she tells him that the penriths exhaust shops meter hasnt been recently calibrated and 2 weeks has passed, so his rego is gone.
so he comes back down to my shop, i give him a blue slip and he heads off to the rta to re rego his car. problem solved.

[StevieD]

That's just f'd

[Ryzz]

Thats not the stock exhaust is it Ben, its a cat back right?

[GTS215i]

Thats not the stock exhaust is it Ben, its a cat back right?

Nope, i had a twin 2 1/2" from the headers all the way through running into 2 hotdogs at the rear. Now i have the originally hsv exhaust matched up to the headers. Im actually enjoying the quietness of the stock system atm, but not the $542.

[Ryzz]

Nope, i had a twin 2 1/2" from the headers all the way through running into 2 hotdogs at the rear. Now i have the originally hsv exhaust matched up to the headers. Im actually enjoying the quietness of the stock system atm, but not the $542.
Ahh so you finally fitted the headers, didnt realise.

[chillicatqld]

Nope, i had a twin 2 1/2" from the headers all the way through running into 2 hotdogs at the rear. Now i have the originally hsv exhaust matched up to the headers. Im actually enjoying the quietness of the stock system atm, but not the $542.


No wonder - that would have been as loud as all hell! :1peek:

[GTS215i]

No wonder - that would have been as loud as all hell! :1peek:

Official reading on my epa notice was 95db so not too bad, it was when it went over the non test rpm range that it hit 102db i think, but that had no bearing on the ressult.

[chillicatqld]

Oh well - that gives me some relief that mine would be legal I would say if you only had two hotdogs. I got two mufflers and a resinator at rear.

[blk]

what is the actual test range rpm?

[lease1]

ah, the epa. get ready for a story. mate of mine got a letter in the mail from the epa stating that his exhaust was too loud, dunno if he was dobbed in by a neighbour or an epa officer heard his car on the road. letter said he had to get the car repaired and the letter signed by a licensed mechanic within 14 days or his rego would be cancelled. so i fitted a rear muffler at my shop, signed his letter and faxed it off to the epa with a copy of his invoice or fitting the muffler.
get a call from the epa the next day. young girl on the phone tells me i am not authorised to sign his letter, and he has to go to an exhaust shop to get the decibels tested. nowhere on the origonal letter did it say this. his car is still at my workshop so i run it upto the local exhaust shop, pay 35 bucks, get the little printout (89db) and an invoice and fax it of to the epa.
2 days later, my mate gets a call from the epa, saying the db meter used did not comply with their standards and he would have to go else where to get the certificate of compliance. he asks where can he could go to get their certificate. they tell him to go to an exhaust shop in penrith. he goes there, pays 80 buks and faxes the certificate and invoice to them.
a week later he gets another letter in the mail this time from the rta teling him his rego has been cancelled. rings the epa, no one there has any idea why, he asks young girl what the hell he can do to make them happy. she tells him that the penriths exhaust shops meter hasnt been recently calibrated and 2 weeks has passed, so his rego is gone.
so he comes back down to my shop, i give him a blue slip and he heads off to the rta to re rego his car. problem solved.

I don't think it is as simple as getting a blue slip and re registering his car. It's just like when your rego or licence is cancelled/suspended for non payment of fines. You can't just go down to the RTA and renew it until the fines have been paid. More than likely your mate will rock up to the RTA with the blueslip and they will tell him to go away and have his exhaust fixed!!!!

[bpm]

I don't think it is as simple as getting a blue slip and re registering his car. It's just like when your rego or licence is cancelled/suspended for non payment of fines. You can't just go down to the RTA and renew it until the fines have been paid. More than likely your mate will rock up to the RTA with the blueslip and they will tell him to go away and have his exhaust fixed!!!!
well he actually did re rego his car, without any problems. there was no fine on the original paperwork, only stated that he had to have the car repaired. no one at the epa had any idea what was going on or what had to be done, they are useless.

[Haroc]

what is the actual test range rpm?

They test it at 75% of 'Engine Speed at Maximum Power' ie, 75% of your peak torque reading so for mine it was 75% on 3600rpm whatever that equates to, every car will have a different rpm

[Ryzz]

They test it at 75% of 'Engine Speed at Maximum Power' ie, 75% of your peak torque reading so for mine it was 75% on 3600rpm whatever that equates to, every car will have a different rpm
Damn, you should only have had to rev it to 2500RPM then mate!!!

[MICK_EZEKIEL]

If you read on the Victorian EPA site... it doesnt say anything about being fined by the EPA... It just says that the public will report it the to Police and the TMU will test the car... if it is too loud then it will be sent to the EPA to test and you fix it.....

http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/Noise/motor_noise.asp

There is also an example of a fine being issed on http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/news/articles/print-friendly/e11a8.asp

He was fined under the Enviroment Protection Act 1970... the act can be found at http://www.dms.dpc.vic.gov.au/Domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/PubLawToday.nsf/2184e627479f8392ca256da50082bf3e/1289504FD20A7756CA2570CF0022F47C/$FILE/70-8056a150.pdf did a quick search and couldn't find much... there is some stuff on page 299 that might be relevent to if and how they fine you.... or http://www.dms.dpc.vic.gov.au/Domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/PubStatbook.nsf/95daf3d8286def33ca256da4001bc4e8/F025C0AAE7358A38CA256E5B0021A6D5/$FILE/99-054sr.pdf page 81

[Haroc]

Damn, you should only have had to rev it to 2500RPM then mate!!!
if you picked it up it was a small typo... 75% OF 3600rpm

[Ryzz]

if you picked it up it was a small typo... 75% OF 3600rpm
I was refering to the flat torque band of the Stroker, hence the 2500RPM, peak torque is 2800 or 3100 rpm from memory anyway.

[Thunder]

It is actually 75% of Redline. So if the redline is 6000rpm they test it all the way up to 4500rpm and on backoff.

The NSW fine is $75 for a Police Defect. The EPA is $250.
If the exhaust is over 105db, the EPA can hit you with a double fine of $500 for being in excess of 15db over the limit. I have only seen this once.

The NSW EPA changed their forms (probably because of an Ethnic problem) so that the meter has to be calibrated each 12 months. A copy of the calibration certificate with the serial number of the machine, etc has to be sent with the clearance form. This stops 20 shops sharing one meter and if they decide to check the accuracy of the machine, if the results vary, there
may be a fine imposed (ie bodgy test results on noisy cars).

$542 seems a bit steep. What was the wording on the fine? Exceeds noise limit by ...

Cheers
Greg

[Thunder]

I had a visit by an EPA Nazi over a year ago now.

He pointed out that you can fight a Police fine in Court and if you lose you only get fined.

If you fight the EPA in Court and lose, it is a Criminal Conviction so you will get a Police Record from it. :flipoff:

[hogs]

Evening,

I know that this Q has been discussed b4 but there cannot be a Harley out there that would pass such a test!

Why is the playing field so uneven?
I sit at the lights often and have some decent, ie non rebel gang member sitting beside you on an immaculate Harley, and you cannot even hear the Gen 111.

What gives?

Cheers,

Hogs.

[Glenn@Autowerks]

Bit off topic but EPA related...

My mate just received a $1000 fine for throwing a ciggy butt out the window. He was never pulled over but just received the fine in the mail. Yes he is a smoker, but who knows when you will get a fine :rolleyes:

Did he or didn't he ? I dont endorse things being thrown out of windows but to just get a fine of that value in the mail seems wrong.

He ripped it up anyway...time will tell what will happen :errr:

[heavychevy]

Evening,

I know that this Q has been discussed b4 but there cannot be a Harley out there that would pass such a test!

Why is the playing field so uneven?
I sit at the lights often and have some decent, ie non rebel gang member sitting beside you on an immaculate Harley, and you cannot even hear the Gen 111.

What gives?

Cheers,

Hogs.

Yep, it does make you wonder.

As far as the fag out the window.. just checked the VIC EPA site

Offence On the spot In court
Placing advertising material on vehicles $210 $1048
Having an unsecured load $210 $1048
Depositing burning litter $210 $4192
Depositing household or business rubbish in a litter bin $210 $4192
General littering on or into land or water $210 $4192
Depositing a small item of litter $105 $4192
Throwing litter from vehicles $210 $4192

[Tron2004]

Yep, it does make you wonder.

As far as the fag out the window.. just checked the VIC EPA site

Offence On the spot In court
Placing advertising material on vehicles $210 $1048
Having an unsecured load $210 $1048
Depositing burning litter $210 $4192
Depositing household or business rubbish in a litter bin $210 $4192
General littering on or into land or water $210 $4192
Depositing a small item of litter $105 $4192
Throwing litter from vehicles $210 $4192
Gee... amazing they haven't got a fine for farting??? :moon:

[Wonky]

Gee... amazing they haven't got a fine for farting??? :moon:
If there are lumps you get done for littering! :D

[VooDoo]

Gee... amazing they haven't got a fine for farting??? :moon:


Thats under depositing a burning load :stick:

[SS_Fury]

we have fines here for the ciggy butt throwing in WA too - part of the Keep OZ beautiful council. you can request to be one of those 'dobbers' by filling in some forms. The fine they send out is $70. 1k is very steep.
I have never known the authorities to guage exhaust loudness over here though. I work for a related govvy dept, and the EPA have dispanded and amalgamated with the Dept. Of Environment - soon to become dept. of Environment and conservation. And they have bigger fish to fry than exhaust decibles. So i hazard a guess that its the cops that get you for things like that over our way. Would be interested to know if anyone has the 411 on WA law with this.

[Haroc]

It is actually 75% of Redline. So if the redline is 6000rpm they test it all the way up to 4500rpm and on backoff.


Must be different here then, because I have the reading material that came with the Defect notice... that and the book he used to get all the figures from which quoted mine as being tested at 75% of 3600rpm which equates to 'factory' peak torque.

All in all its a load of crap 90% of the fines they give out.

[MICK_EZEKIEL]

Bit off topic but EPA related...

My mate just received a $1000 fine for throwing a ciggy butt out the window. He was never pulled over but just received the fine in the mail. Yes he is a smoker, but who knows when you will get a fine :rolleyes:

Thing is you read the FAQ on the EPA site in Victoria and it states that they cant take action on any complaints from a car with interstate plates...

Time to get those Tasmanian plates on the car and you can throw whatever you like out the window :)


Can I report vehicles registered interstate?

As EPA only has access to details of Victorian registered vehicles through VicRoads, we cannot act on reports of vehicles that are registered in another state.

[heavychevy]

Gee... amazing they haven't got a fine for farting??? :moon:

or .... "Has caused or is likely to cause pollution (including unreasonable noise)"

[Holdendriver]

Gee... amazing they haven't got a fine for farting??? :moon:

Hey c'mon mate, This is a public forum!!!!
What if one of them EPA wankers reads this?
They will have it legislated as an offence and I for one will go broke!!!!

[Waughy]

Damn, glad I'm too poor to mod my car, haha. So what does the EPA do with thier revenue?

[Tron2004]

Hey c'mon mate, This is a public forum!!!!
What if one of them EPA wankers reads this?
They will have it legislated as an offence and I for one will go broke!!!!
Errrh.... you're not producing methane powered ve-hicles are ya?? :booty:

[GTS215i]

Just spoke to the EPA to clarrify the $542 fine :mad: and because i was tested by an EPA officer and i've had one previous test last year they decided i was absuing the system (load of crap) and had to set an example. The epa women siad that if i had only been sent the typical letter of asking the car to be tested by an epa licence tester then i wouldnt of been fined but being caught by an actuall epa officer and having the an on the spot test then there is no leniency. So im off to the piggy bank today to deposit the $542, i wish i could pay in 1c coins.

[Bandito]

i wish i could pay in 1c coins.


You can if you had them, they are still leagal tender...


:burnout:

[Thunder]

5c pieces are easier to find and there would be a lot of them.

I wouldn't want to stand in the queue waiting for them to count them though.

[Holdendriver]

5c pieces are easier to find and there would be a lot of them.

I wouldn't want to stand in the queue waiting for them to count them though.

Govt dept matey, no-one there would have the intellect to calculate such a complicated mathematical problem..:lol: :lol: :lol:

[heavychevy]

You can if you had them, they are still leagal tender...


:burnout:


low denomination coins in significant quantities apparently are not considered legal tender. law was passed in the 70's i believe.