The New Westminster Police Department gets an earful about loud vehicle noise about 12 to 15 times a year.
At its Oct. 19 meeting, the New Westminster police board received a report from Insp. Trevor Dudar about the issue of loud vehicle noise. The report was in response to complaints about loud vehicle noise, particularly noise that’s generated by modified or unmaintained exhaust systems or engines.
“It is typically a seasonal issue that is experienced by New West and many jurisdictions throughout the entire province, probably the country, with the nice weather and particular vehicles,” he told the board. “The vehicles come out, and people have their windows open and we typically receive some concerns and complaints about it in the summertime, and then it typically goes away. It’s nothing that is new to us, and it is not unique to us.”
The New Westminster Police Department’s three-member traffic unit deals with a gamut of issues related to traffic, including aggressive driving, districted driving, impaired driving, enforcement around playgrounds and intersection violations.
Dudar said the traffic unit is aware of the concerns about vehicle noise and dedicates resources and time to the issue when available.
“This would certainly fall within one of the categories of their duties,” he said. “They on occasion do attempt some enforcement of it, typically through some small projects.”
Mayor Jonathan Cote, chair of the police board, agreed that noise issues come up when the weather starts getting better in our community. He said any work that can be done to reduce noise pollution has a positive impact on residents’ livability.
“From my perspective, in terms of the complaints I get, they are actually usually in a few very specific places, I have noticed,” he said. “I don’t know if the police have noticed similar patterns or areas where these Issues tend to crop up.”
Cote questioned if there’s an ability for the police department to work with the city’s bylaw department on the issue next summer, or provide a bit of public awareness that may help improve the situation.
“We can all kind of identify with irritating noises, and some of them are just urban city noises … but if there is an ability to mitigate in the community, we should be looking at trying to do that,” he said.
Chief Const. Dave Jansen said the NWPD will work with the city’s bylaws and communications departments to see if some they can work together on some kind of targeted enforcement or education program in 2022.
Jansen noted an organizational review is underway about the New Westminster Police Department, and he’s very interested in seeing what the consultant has to say about the organization’s various departments, including traffic.
“As you all know, traffic is, maybe not right this very second the number 1 thing that comes across my desk, but it’s certainly up there,” he told the board. “I am interested to see what the consultants will think about our traffic section.”
Enforcement options
Dudar said the Motor Vehicle Act regulations include standards about the level of acceptable amount of noise that vehicles are allowed to emit.
“That is measured through decibels, which is a certain level of sound,” he said.
A report to the police board noted the city’s noise bylaw also states that no person shall operate a motor vehicle in a way that creates a nuisance by noise or sound emanating from the motor vehicle.
Enforcement options available to members of the New Westminster Police Department include issuing violation tickets under the Motor Vehicle Act (which includes a fine of $109) or a bylaw offence notice (which carries a $200 fine).
If police believe a vehicle may be unsafe, they can issue a notice and order under the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations.
“We have the authority under the Motor Vehicle Act, if a vehicle appears to be unfit mechanically, we can order an inspection, and that inspection would then be completed by a designated inspection facility,” Dudar said. “That would be like a mechanic shop that’s provincially approved to perform work on vehicles and correct it, if required, at the expense of the owner. The inspections are not done by ourselves.”
Dudar’s report to the police board also noted that officers have been informed of recent case law concerning vehicle noise. In 2009, a Vancouver police officer stopped a driver of a Harley Davidson motorcycle due to excessive exhaust noise and issued a violation ticket under the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations; the Supreme Court of B.C. later upheld the decision that the member was able to use a “subjective opinion” to determine that the vehicle was excessively loud.
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