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Loud Pipes
For many years politicians have stated that motorcycle noise is the subject that they receive the most letters about. Unfortunately, this leads to a continuing push for even lower noise limits, although not necessarily lower noise levels.
This has been highlighted recently by the earl Peel asking questions in the House of Lords on inappropriate or excessive speeding, use of illegal number plates, the fitting of illegal noisy exhaust systems by motorcyclists. Concentrating on the exhaust systems the questions and answers are as follows.
Q. What guidance they have issued to each police force in England and Wales regarding the enforcement of existing laws to tackle the fitting of illegal noisy exhaust systems by motorcyclists.
A. This is an operational matter for individual chief officers of police.
Q. What discussions they (Government) have had with the Association of Chief Police Officers or the Chief Superintendents Association of England and Wales regarding the problem of the fitting of illegal noisy exhaust systems by motorcyclists; and what plans they have for further discussions.
A. ACPO were represented on the Advisory Group on Motorcycling where illegal noisy exhausts have been discussed.
Q. Whether they (Government) have a strategy to tackle the problem of the fitting of illegal noisy exhaust systems; and, if not, what plans they have to develop one.
A. Powers are available to tackle the problem of illegal noisy exhaust systems. Under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, Regulation 54 requires that "every exhaust system and silencer must be maintained in good and efficient working order and shall not after the date of manufacture or be altered so as to increase the noise made
by the escape of exhaust gases".
Under Regulation 97 it is also an offence "to use a vehicle in such a manner as to cause any excessive noise which could have been avoided by the exercise of reasonable care by the driver".
Enforcement of these requirements is by the police and in the case of maintenance, at MOT.
For motorcycles; it is an additional requirement that aftermarket/ replacement silencers must not be sold or fitted unless they bear an appropriate approval mark that differentiates between acceptable and noisy silencers. Silencers marked "not for road use", or similar, are illegal if used on public roads.
Due to safety considerations and the practicalities of enforcement at the roadside, such markings are not required in the case of other vehicles.
Powers are available to local authorities to prevent or abate noise nuisance from any vehicle in the street.
These powers are generally applied to stationary vehicles.
This pretty much covers the government position. Illegal noisy exhaust systems are, simply illegal and there is sufficient legislation to cover the problem.
Motor Cycle News (MCN) in their 27th July 2005 issue carried the banner on the front page “The End For Loud Cans” which misses the point, loud cans are illegal.
Riders are fully aware of this and as in the article also aware that police forces have the power to enforce the law on loud pipes.
What was mentioned which is of concern is the claim that “High - level talks have taken place to cut the maximum noise of bikes from the current level of 80 decibels down to 74 decibels”.
Is this fact or fiction. Well one fact in the article is right that the Department for Transport (DfT) told MCN the change could happen if new European laws force the Governments hand.
My thanks for the following overview on the present situation adapted from information supplied by Bob Tomlins at FEMA.
On one hand while the DfT or the UK Government to be more precise would have to follow European legislation they cannot unilaterally reduce the permitted noise levels as they are established though EU Directives. A new model of motorcycle has to satisfy the regulations to obtain type approval and then to be marketed on the road.
It is possible that the UK Government could introduce national legislation which would require a roadside control to be based on a 74 decibels but they would have to prove that the method of roadside measurement, e.g.: throttle setting and distance of measuring equipment from the bike meant that 74 decibels was the same as 80 decibels under the type approval test procedure. This could be very unlikely as if a different roadside control figure is used it is usually higher than the type approval figure.
The motorcycle industry has been working on a new noise measurement test procedure through the ISO (International Standards Organisation). The new procedure, which took one WOT (Wide Open Throttle) reading and then calculated from that a second partial open throttle reading, as opposed to the current two WOT readings, would give a lower reading and allow a further reduction in the permitted decibels without having to really make the bikes quieter.
However when this came to be incorporated in the new ISO procedure into UN-ECE Regulation 41 (which is the regulation on which EU legislation is based), the Government representatives realised that this provided a loop hole and demanded that it be tightened up in a number of ways, such as a including the noise generated in a non-urban (rural) environment and in a roadside control procedure.
Interestingly WP.29 (United Nations working party on Global Harmonisation of Motorcycle Technical Regulations) has effectively agreed that Regulation 41 will become a global regulation rather than a European one, as it currently is. This could mean that the European Union would not seek to reduce motorcycle noise limits until they are established globally.
There again if that would be a long time off they would probably go ahead with a European reduction in advance of any global moves.
So there you have the facts, a change in the test procedure is on the cards which could see a reduction to 74 decibels but in real world terms it is where and how this measurement is taken.
But this one aspect of what riders’ rights is all about, keeping an eye on European legislation through the Federation European Motorcyclists Associations (FEMA) and its 22 national riders’ organisations, from the tip of Norway to bottom of Greece and right to the highest level of technical representation on a global scale.
A useful document from FEMA, Motorcycle Noise – The Sound Of Our Demise?” can be downloaded at
www.fema.ridersrights.org/docs/NoiseEn.pdf
There are other aspects of noise from vehicles, leaving aside loud stereos from the likes of “hot hatches” and that is road noise generated by vehicle tires.
Initial thoughts would be that a motorcycle would be quieter having only two wheels, though not including Trikes and side car combinations but generally all have less wheels and a smaller contact patch with the road surface. This varies on the type of road surface with “quiet” road surface material available to road authorities.
Stand at the side of a busy road where traffic is travelling 50 mph or more and you will hear the road noise generated by vehicle tires from the quietest of vehicles, bearing in the inherent exposed engines of “naked” motorcycles which taken into account when testing for type approval.
Even from 500 metres, for example sitting in your back garden the noise or sound of tire contact on the road surface permeates to the delicate and not so delicate ear but then this is then compounded by riders who have fitted illegal exhausts.
Local Environmental Quality Minister, Ben Bradshaw has confirmed that new research has been commissioned by Defra to map out noise levels along major roads and over major towns, cities and regions across England. London already been mapped.
The findings from the mapping project will then be evaluated against economic, social and environmental factors before agreeing the necessary action required and final strategy. Cities and towns to be noise mapped include:
Bristol, Bournemouth, Brighton, Reading, Portsmouth, Southampton, Southend, Leicester, Nottingham, Coventry, Stoke on Trent, Hull, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Birkenhead, Blackpool, Preston, Tyneside and Teeside, with the West Midlands and West Yorkshire.
See www.noisemapping.org/default.asp for details.
So noise is really all around us, government departments looking at reductions in overall noise and politicians such Lord Peel are given the easy ammunition of loud exhausts target motorcyclists.
The DfT in the governments National Motorcycle Strategy sets out a way to address the issue of loud and legal exhausts:
“We welcome the Advisory Group on Motorcycling (AGM) recommendation for a campaign to 'win the hearts and minds' of riders to keep their machines to road legal specification.
However, to be most effective, we believe that this campaign should be led by the motorcycle industry, retailers and rider user groups, rather than by Government. A campaign is more likely to receive a positive response if riders see it as an issue for those who build and sell motorbikes, and those who represent the users. We would of course support and endorse such a campaign.
The action is to press for and give support to a campaign, led by the motorcycle industry, retailers and rider user groups, to encourage riders to keep their motorbikes road legal for
noise.”
During the 80s and 90s MAG campaigned vigourously against unrealistic noise limits. We argued however that there was no need to lower limits below 82db as to do so would encourage the aftermarket providers to produce truly outrageous silencers that met no limit.
The politicians continued to lower limits and have thus partly created the problem that Earl Peel is all steamed up about.
MAG also advised the politicians to use enforcement of existing limits rather than reducing those limits as a means of resolving the problem. We suggested to them that if they kept lowering limits then people would buy illegal pipes that met no limits.
They went lower and are reaping the consequences of doing so.
Decibel Reductions
1970. 86 decibel noise limit introduced for motorcycles larger than 125cc (not implemented until 1982)
1980. 77 decibel limit on Mopeds first used after 1/10/80.
1982. EEC 86 decibel noise limit implemented.
1987. EC 87/56 stage one (82 decibel) noise limit becomes Euro law. Stage 2 (80 decibels) planned for 1993.
1993. EU proposes 'Multi Directive'. Contains 80 decibel upper noise limit, anti tampering and emission limits.
1995. UK implements stage one of EU directive 87/56 and reduces maximum noise limit to 82 decibels
1997. EU Multi Directive becomes European law. Maximum noise limit set at 80 decibels. Europe wide implementation July 1999.
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