Enforcement challenges and technical fixes dominate testimony on vehicle-noise bill S.66

The Senate Transportation Committee heard detailed testimony on S.66, a proposal to address loud and modified vehicle exhaust systems. A State Police officer and an industry representative told the committee that enforcement will be difficult without clear testing protocols, equipment and regulatory detail.

A State Police officer testified that troopers lack decibel meters and that roadside decibel readings are unreliable because of ambient noise and passing traffic. "We don't have the means for any decibel meters at all. So there's no way to gauge the decibel that an exhaust system would put out," he said, adding that accurate roadside readings can be skewed by surrounding traffic and would extend stops. He estimated decibel meters for enforcement would cost in the roughly $75–$150 range and warned that testing at a motor-vehicle stop could take tens of minutes if officers had to relocate a stop to obtain a reliable…