Bill Text: NJ S2877 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits modification of mufflers and exhaust systems to produce audible sounds; increases penalties for violations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-06-20 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Transportation Committee [S2877 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-S2877-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator SAMUEL D. THOMPSON
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits modification of mufflers and exhaust systems to produce audible sounds; increases penalties for violations.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning motor vehicle muffler and exhaust systems and amending R.S.39:3-69 and R.S.39:3-70.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.39:3-69 is amended to read as follows:
39:3-69. a. Every motor vehicle except a motor-drawn vehicle when operated upon a highway shall be equipped with a horn in good working order and capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than 200 feet, but no horn or other warning device shall emit an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or a whistle. The driver of a motor vehicle shall, when reasonably necessary to insure safe operation, give audible warning with his horn but shall not otherwise use such horn when upon a highway.
b. No vehicle shall be equipped with nor shall any person use upon a vehicle any siren, whistle or bell except as otherwise permitted in this section. It is permissible but not required that any vehicle be equipped with a theft alarm signal device which is so arranged that it cannot be used by the driver as an ordinary warning signal.
Any emergency vehicle authorized by the commission may be equipped with a siren, whistle, or bell capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than 500 feet and of a type approved by the commission, but such siren, whistle or bell shall not be used except when such vehicle is operated in response to an emergency call or in the immediate pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law, in which said latter events the driver of such vehicle shall sound said siren, whistle or bell when necessary to warn pedestrians and other drivers of the approach thereof.
c. No person shall install or [use on] modify the exhaust system of any motor vehicle [any device which emits an] in a manner which amplifies or increases the audible sound [unless authorized to do so by the commission] emitted by the motor or exhaust system of such vehicle above that emitted by the motor or exhaust system originally installed on the vehicle.
The penalty for the violation of this subsection shall be consistent with the penalty for violating the provisions of subsection b. of R.S.39:3-70.
d. No bicycle shall be equipped with nor shall any person use upon a bicycle any siren or whistle.
e. The commission is hereby authorized in its discretion to promulgate standards concerning the audibility of audible warning devices.
f. Except as provided for in subsection c. of this section, the penalty for violating the provisions of this section shall be consistent with the penalty for violating the provisions of this article, as provided for in R.S.39:3-79.
(cf: P.L.2003, c.13, s.45)
2. R.S.39:3-70 is amended to read as follows:
39:3-70. a. Every motor vehicle having a combustion motor shall at all times be equipped with a muffler in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise and no person shall use a muffler cut-out, bypass, or similar device upon a motor vehicle on a highway.
The penalty for the violation of this subsection shall be consistent with the penalty for violating the provisions of R.S.39:3-70.
b. No person shall install or modify the muffler of a motor vehicle in a manner which amplifies or increases the noise emitted by the motor or exhaust system of such vehicle above that emitted by the muffler originally installed on the vehicle.
The penalty for violating the provisions of this subsection shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $500, or by imprisonment not exceeding thirty days, or both.
(cf:P.L.2009, c.331, s.1)
3. This act shall take effect on the 90th day following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits the installation or modification of the muffler or exhaust system of a motor vehicle in a manner which amplifies or increases the noise emitted by the muffler or exhaust system of the motor vehicle above that emitted by the muffler or exhaust system originally installed on the vehicle.
Under current law, the penalty for the unauthorized installation of a device that causes the exhaust system to emit an audible sound and the failure to have muffler good working to prevent excessive or usual sound is $25.
The penalty for violating the provisions of the bill is a fine not exceeding $500, or imprisonment not exceeding 30 days, or both.
