Ottawa Valley OPP ready to crack down on loud vehicles through Operation Decibel

The COVID-19 pandemic gets blamed for a lot of things, and the Ontario Provincial Police says you can add loud vehicle complaints to that list.

The Upper Ottawa Valley (UOV) Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) will be launching Operation Decibel for the second year in a row on August 16, 2021, to try and curb the flood of complaints in regards to loud, illegally modified vehicles in the detachment's area. 

The campaign will run until August 22.

“Normally a lot of our residents are away at work, but COVID changed all that and with so many people home, and many of them are already anxious due to the financial and psychological impact of COVID, and many of them are dealing with a range of mental health issues,” said Commander Inspector Stefan Neufeld. “The range of things that annoyed them, such as sudden loud noises, may not have affected them at all on a regular day. The world has changed and not just our little corner of the world and our calls for service went up for various issues such as noise complaints.”

The issue has risen to the level where the noise is having a negative impact on residents' quality of life, says the inspector.

Neufeld has helped institute Operation Decibel in the last four detachments he has either commanded or been part of the senior management team at.

“Operation Decibel dates back to the early 2000s when its purpose was to target renegade motorcycle gangs like the Outlaw Biker Gang, so we had a reason to pull them over and that often led to other factors surrounding the gang,” he said. “Today, it has morphed into targeting civilian vehicles with modified mufflers or loud motorcycles and it does have a direct and impactful result, especially when they are receiving a hefty fine.”

The issuing of fines during the operation is at the discretion of the officers.

“I will never interfere with my officers when they make judgment calls whether or not to issue a fine whether it be for noise or speeding or any other infraction under the Highway Traffic Act,” said Neufeld.

He said under Section 75 (1) of the Highway Traffic Act (HTA) that every motor vehicle or motor assisted bicycle shall be equipped with a muffler in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise and excessive smoke, and no person shall use a muffler cut-out, straight exhaust, gutted muffler, Hollywood muffler, by-pass or similar device upon a motor vehicle or assisted bicycle.

Neufeld went on to say it is an offence for a driver, at any time, to cause the motor vehicle to make any unnecessary noise.

“A violation will hit them where it hurts, and that is their wallet. The fine for unnecessary noise and improper muffler violations is $110 each. No decibel reading is required for court or a conviction as officers can determine if the noise is loud enough to issue a ticket.”

Neufeld's advice for residents in the detachment's area is simple.

“If you own a car with an after-factory modified muffler, or your motorcycle is extremely loud, my advice is to either park your vehicle next week or be prepared to be pulled over by one of our officers. That traffic stop for noise may see your bank account go down, and something all of us share is we really are not happy paying a fine.”