Might want to look at this.
Noise Law FAQ, or Fact Versus Fiction
Updated on December 25th, 2011
The people promoting the "EPA label match-up program", state or local EPA label laws and other noise related laws, ordinances and rules eagerly speak of many things as if they were facts. Many of these "facts" are hyperbole, misinformation, scientifically improbable, utterly impossible, unsubstantiated, and in many cases simply made up. This document attempts to distinguish between anti-noise activists' flights of fancy, and reality. We do not believe in fighting propaganda with propaganda. Here we answer allegations with well researched facts. Think of this page as the Snopes.com of motorcyclists' rights arguments. Relevant sources and resources are listed at the bottom of this document.
This page is an ongoing work. Come back periodically to check for updates. Look carefully - the updates are often inserted near other relevant items rather than at the beginning or end of the page. If you have corrections to existing topics or further information to add to existing topics, or if you have additional topics and answers that you believe would be useful, please email them to noise@bytebrothers.net and mention this Noise Law FAQ page. You may also use that email address to supply other information that you think may help this web site's overall goals as an information clearinghouse on noise issues and on the people whose battles against noise have made them enemies of motorcycling and motorcyclists' civil rights as a result. If you wish to help keep this page going, you are encouraged to contribute any amount you're comfortable with via PayPal, thanks!
Summary of Fictions
The EPA label match-up program
EPA labels on motorcycles and their exhaust systems are intended to be used as a tool for local law enforcement
EPA label laws would be fair and easy to enforce
All motorcycles manufactured since 1982 with legal, federally compliant exhaust systems must bear EPA labels
Australia requires EPA labels on motorcycles
It would be easy to match frame labels to exhaust labels
It is illegal to operate a motorcycle on the USA's highways without an EPA label
It is illegal to install an exhaust system that is not certified by the EPA
DOT labeling on helmets is meant to be enforced in similar fashion to EPA labeling on motorcycle mufflers
The EPA labels on motorcycle exhausts have no legal similarity mattress tags
Motorcycles with aftermarket exhaust systems exhibit increased air pollution output
The EPA noise label is also a pollution emissions certification
EPA label laws are the only viable way to deal with the problem of excessive motorcycle noise
SPL meters are prohibitively expensive and police departments cannot afford them
Sound measurements in the field won't be enforceable
Police won't all be carrying SPL meters
EPA label laws would be effective for all Harley-Davidson motorcycles because their mufflers are in plain view
Federal laws governing motorcycle exhaust labeling are designed to be adopted by states and local governments
States and municipalities have the right to enforce the Federal EPA stamp requirement as law
J2825 is a plot by the AMA and/or the MIC to divert energy away from promoting EPA label laws
EPA label laws are a simple, fair and equitable way to address excessive motorcycle noise
Many cities have have passed motorcycle noise laws based on the EPA labels
EPA label laws have been effective in Denver, etc
Non-compliant OEM exhaust equipment is subject to recall
A motorcycle with a modified exhaust produces more pollutants than an automobile with a modified exhaust
Motorcycles produce more pollutants than automobiles
Local EPA label laws have survived constitutional challenges
The Noise Control Act allows citizens to file civil suits against violators, up to $10,000
106dB, or 100dB, or 96dB, etc. is louder than 80dB
80dB is too loud
The World Health Organization recommends a 50dB limit to outside noise
Asia and Europe have stricter regulations for motor vehicle noise
The standard for motorcycle noise is not based on standards that protect health and well being
Relying on the SAE and MIC for a motorcycle noise measurement standard is a conflict of interest
The only noise coming from a properly muffled motorcycle is through the exhaust
Exhaust noise is only projected backward from the motorcycle
Only Harley Davidson motorcycles are loud
Only motorcycles are loud, or all motorcycles are loud, or there is no such thing as a quiet motorcycle
SAE J2825 is a noise standard, or law, or regulation
SAE J2825 allows more noise
SAE J2825 does not accurately measure motorcycle noise
SAE J2825 only allows 92 dB or 96 dB
The J2825 procedure is suitable for inspection stations but not necessarily field enforcement
The J2825 procedure requires at least three officers to administer safely
Police hesitate to chase noise offenders for safety reasons, i.e. laws aimed at parked motorcycles are safer
The Acoustical Assurance Period
Loud Pipes DON'T Save Lives
Loud pipes actually cause accidents due to "startle effect"
Motorcyclists use ear plugs to protect themselves from their own loud pipes
Loud pipes reduce safety by preventing motorcyclists from hearing emergency vehicles
Motorcyclists concerned with safety should have air bags, full-face helmets, high-viz vests, flags, etc.
High-visibility clothing is a better approach to rider safety than loud pipes
The AMA's noise mitigation efforts are ineffective and insincere
An exhaust system installed without the correct label violates 49 CFR 205 and 4909a(2) of the NCA
The NCA gives municipalities authority to restrict operation of motorcycles within neighborhoods
The NCA allows citizens suits against motorcyclists, manufacturers, dealers and aftermarket suppliers
Bikers use charity rides to make up for their abuse of noise laws, bad behavior, etc.
Most owners of street motorcycles install illegal exhaust systems
Links and references
Fighting EPA label summonses
FICTION: The EPA label match-up program.
FACT: There is no match-up program.
The match-up concept may be found in the legislative intent (see indents below) behind Subchapter G of CFR Title 40, which took its current form in 1976 as a result of the Noise Control Act of 1972. The intent of Title 40 Part 205 was to eventually require muffler labeling on automobiles and trucks as well as motorcycles, and to eventually update Title 40 (which is a regulation governing manufacturing only) to make it suitable for adoption into local law. The Office of Noise Abatement and Control (ONAC) was dismantled in 1981, long before those intentions could be carried out, along with many others, leaving Title 40 only partially implemented and effectively abandoned.
"EPA's approach in developing tools which States and localities can adopt has three phases.
The first phase, which is currently in operation, is the development and publication of model legislation for vehicle operation controls (street pass-by-limits) and visual inspection of exhaust systems. This is being carried out in a Joint project with the National Association of Noise Control Officers (NANCO). As indicated earlier, a number of cities have already adopted these types of control. Assistance to communities and States in drafting this type of legislation and in carrying out enforcement is also provided through the ECHO program, Regional Technical Centers and the EPA Regional Offices.
In the second phase, which will precede the effective date of the national emission regulation, the EPA will develop model legislation to Implement the "label match-up" scheme and anti-tampering controls against new (regulated) vehicles. "
Notice the wording. It never happened.
"In the development of all model legislation (and particularly the label "match-up" and anti-tampering provisions) the EPA will seek extensive review by State and local noise central personnel, police and legal officials and the industry. If there are difficult points, it may be necessary to field test some of the model laws prior to publication for voluntary adoption by interested States and cities."
None of this ever happened.
Since Congress never repealed the Noise Control Act, the EPA continues to have a statutory responsibility to implement it. Three decades following the loss of ONAC, the EPA has done nothing with Part 205.
FICTION: EPA labels on motorcycles and their exhaust systems are intended to be used as a tool for local law enforcement.
FACT: The labels were intended to be used as controls against tampering. The EPA failed to follow through on model legislation and review by state and local authorities, which were also key parts of the legislative intent. The Federal regulations as they exist now are an incomplete work, abandoned by the EPA.
