Exhaust decibel test

sackofturf said:
Well lads.

So I have a local garda here in Galway after me for my exhaust.
I was stopped in January for it being too loud ( some of ye might remember it in Donegal trip it was ridiculously loud 🤣). I agreed with him there that it was too loud. I was asked to fix it and present it at a Oranmore Garda station here. So I did that, oranmore Garda said it was fine. Passed NCT 2 weeks later with same exhaust. All good, been driving ever since gone through countless checkpoints even had Garda complementing the car on multiple occasions.

But last Sunday night, I was stopped again by the same Garda that stopped my in January. Same story, no happy with my exhaust. I explained he already stopped me asked me to fix it and present it, and that I did all that but he wasn't happy with the noise and disagreed with the Garda who approved it 😴

Long story short, I tried to explain to him about 99db limit etc etc but he wants it as quiet as normal road traffic.

I went into oranmore station today explaining what's going on. They told me that Garda no longer test exhaust noise so it's up to Garda discretionary, which explains why he's asking me to make it as quiet as normal traffic.

The Garda in Oranmore were very helpful to me with explaining things.

So to fight my case with this particular Garda, I need proof of decibel level so that he has no leg to stand on anymore and I can be on my way.

Would any of ye know of anywhere that would test the car noise level and give me a written print out of that level? preferably somewhere with a certification so it'll stand in court if that's where he wants to go, which more than likely he will go to court if I disagree with him again.

I'm meeting him again on Sunday to present the car to him personally with a db killer in the exhaust, but I know it's not over 99db with the db killer out, so the car is legal.

Long read I know, any help appreciated!
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The NCT disc in this case would be the ''certificate'' you need to say it is below or at the legal DB limit, i would think, if this Garda has an issue with it he'd want to take it up with the NCT center that did the testing

Could be wrong but thaas how i see it..
 
legacy03 said:
The NCT disc in this case would be the ''certificate'' you need to say it is below or at the legal DB limit, i would think, if this Garda has an issue with it he'd want to take it up with the NCT center that did the testing

Could be wrong but thaas how i see it..
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I would tend to agree there tbh
 
I daily drive it 🤣 have been living in Galway city for the last 2 years, working in oranmore. And I'm from Connemara so I would have been around Galway in it since 2020 when I bought it
 
Just my 2 cents worth here ..... if the exhaust passes the NCT test for being under 99db it's road legal and therefore it's up to the guard to prove it's not! It's not good enough if he thinks it's too loud in his opinion as he would need proof, especially if its heading down the road of court. Leave the exhaust on it and drive away ;):)
 
well there's 2 laws, one regarding the 99db, emissions etc and the other is about silencers. He is trying to get me on a defective silencer which I understand because the car is not quiet. But I have 2 silencers that I would have to prove work, which I will if it's asked of me.

But yeah getting my own stuff right and once that's done, taking the silencer insert out and then see what he says next time I run into him.
 
Jeasus to be fair like, I've heard trucks passing that are louder than my car. I'd say now he has a pole up his arse and is just being a dick cause he can. fu*k it. Do as above, ask for his superior and leave it be done then. You've passed the decibel test with NCT, it's compliant with emissions, he's just acting the maggot now.
I've had guards asking me to rev the car before. They're not all the same. Just that guy, as an individual, is a knobend
 
he is doing his job, but a bit too aggressively. The way he talks to me is like I have done something terribly wrong, without proving I have done anything wrong at all, like he actively trying to provoke you to get annoyed or something.

I have dealt with a lot of guards in Galway from going through checkpoints etc, I've had 4 guards at the window at one stage talking about cars, saying the car is class etc.

I know I will get stopped a 3rd time by him eventually be it in this car or the wrx when I have it finished, and I will take it further then if I have to.
 
Story, near me a retire schoolteacher was having two halfs of guinness in the evening guard waiting for him most days bagging him passing all the time soom nights waiting for hours for breathalyser to be brought from cop shop he went to his super that was the end of it.
 
Met him this evening. I met him with the silencer bung in, but I said I disagreed that it was illegal without it.

Kept threatening court on me, but I tried to ask what was wrong etc, but felt like he kept disregarding what I said and just wanted the car as quiet as standard traffic.

Eventually after a few court threats, he said I would be getting a court summons and drove off.
 
Il only repeat it once more bud cus I'm screaming at phone in frustration and you seem like a genuine fella. Stop making this hard for yourself. He's abusing his power's in a big way. He cannot threaten court he has to go through a process. Do yourself a favour and tomorrow go to your local or nearest garda station and just ask to speak to somebody in charge in relation to some difficulty you are having in dealings with local guard. Word it exactly like that,doesn't need to be aggressive or threatening from you. When you do get talking to somebody in charge,calmly and nice outline the situation,explain you have done all that has been asked of you,show your proof of sane and say that you just want an end to the matter as your starting to find it distressing. Simple. It will be done with and I guarantee you he will never stop you again. And go enjoy your road legal car in comfort.
 
I agree, get it sorted man. It's not worth the effort on his behalf to chase a man with a summons over an exhaust. Just go to his superior as said above
Looking forward to the update 😀
 
Just from my own experience. Was driving home from Rally Ireland in 2007 late at night and was stopped in Crusheen Co. Clare by a guard. It was my car a Toyota Corolla but my buddy was driving as I was sound asleep in the passenger seat. The guard was trying to say we where speeding through the village. He had no speed gun so he had no proof. Also the person driving would not speed as he be the type of person that would do 96 in a 100 zone. The guard did a good walk around the car and asked for a copy of the insurance cert which was in the glovebox. Eventually after not able to find any faults he said we can move on. I did have the exhaust modified, a straight pipe from the cat to the back box and it was load. As we started to take off the guard shoot to stop and said that the exhaust was illegal and that there was no silencer. Tried to plead our case. He said in the end go away and get it changed and we headed home. A few weeks later the buddy that was driving got a summons in the post to attend court in Ennis. I contacted a solicitor to see what can be done. The solicitor got the court appearance pushed out and advised to get the exhaust changed. Got it changed back to a standard exhaust, took photos and a copy of the receipt. The solicitor made contact with the garda to show the proof and see if he can withdraw the summons. It was a no from the guard so ended up going to court. The solicitor did a bit of research on the guard and found out that he had a big dislike for boyracers and done up cars. In court the judge concluded that he was happy that the exhaust was changed back but I still had to make a small payment to the court poor box.

Reading the comments above I think if we had approach the guards superior that maybe a court visit could have been avoided and a lot of hassle. Also wondering if its the same person as it seems to be in the same region.
 
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