Excessive vehicle noise could earn you a ticket in Red Deer thanks to updated bylaw, new detectors

Red Deer RCMP and community peace officers are beginning to enforce an updated city bylaw tackling excessive vehicle noise with the help of new decibel readers.

The city approved a change to the Community Standards Bylaw in May, which sets excessive noise levels for vehicles at idle at 92 decibels and at speed at 96 decibels, which is about as loud as a subway train passing by.

Already, they're seeing results. Officers stationed along 30th Avenue — a busy thoroughfare in Red Deer — ticketed eight drivers for being over the decibel limit on Aug. 10 between 6 and 10 p.m. One driver was recorded emitting 117 decibels, similar to noise from a rock concert.

"It's quite loud and really unacceptable for our citizens," said Peter Puszka, municipal policing services superintendent with the City of Red Deer.

"We're trying to do something about that and make sure that people understand that we've done it through education and done it through encouragement, and now we're to the point where we're doing it through enforcement."

Puszka says that during the summer, Red Deer RCMP receives hundreds of complaints related to excessive vehicle noise.

It's something Red Deer Mayor Ken Johnston hears about often as well. Ever since he started as a city councillor in 2013, complaints about loud vehicles have steadily rolled in, he says.

"Noise from modified mufflers, modified engines, things like that were disturbing the quality of life, sleep patterns, kids trying to get to bed, shift workers, all those very, very essential quality of life markers," he said in an interview on the Calgary Eyeopener.

The new bylaw gives officers a clear indication of when noise is too loud, Puszka says, and they now have the tools to identify the culprit. The bylaw also covers both motorcycles and vehicles, which he believes is a first for Alberta.

He says the 92 and 96 decibel limits were determined by looking at medical literature on hearing damage done at certain levels and by looking at what other municipalities have done.

Decibel level readers

Before the noise meters, Red Deer officers would pull over drivers making excessive noise citing the provincial Traffic Safety Act, Puszka said.

Officers would inspect the car's muffler to determine whether it had been modified or widened. Those details would need to be presented in court if the driver pleaded not guilty to the offence.

"Now, with the use of the bylaw and the new instruments, it's very scientific," Puszka said.

The city purchased five Quest SD 200 sound detectors, also known as noise meters, at a cost of about $4,400. They work similar to a radar speed gun. Officers can snap sound readings from the side of the road. 

Trained officers can sign out the devices and take them on patrols. They're also working on proactive projects, adding three or four more officers to areas of the city where sound complaints are frequently reported.

Charging noisy drivers

Puszka says he believes data from these devices will effectively stand up in court.

Doug King, professor of justice studies at Mount Royal University, says there are two main ways a sound detector could be challenged — on whether it's working accurately and being appropriately maintained and on whether the officer used it correctly.

"For example, with a portable noise detector … are you sure you got the assessment on the vehicle that you thought was too noisy, or did you inadvertently get it on the vehicle that was passing the opposite way on the road?" he said.

All in all, any traffic enforcement needs to be administered routinely to be effective, King says.

In Calgary, the city traffic bylaw states any "vehicle in motion emitting noise measured at 96 decibels or more by a sound pressure level meter is 'objectionable noise,'" which violates the city's rules.

When asked how that bylaw is enforced, in an email, a city spokesperson said they measure noise only from "properties and festivals, etc., but not streets."

The Calgary Police Service responded with a statement, saying "traffic officers will enforce equipment issues under the Traffic Safety Act during individual interactions with drivers."

The City of Calgary discontinued use of a noise snare in 2013 after an ongoing dispute with the maker of the machine.

As for whether the changes made in Red Deer will make a difference, Johnston says he's hopeful.

"How long have we had photo radar and speeding tickets and all those things that have really not permanently led to the correction that we're looking for," he said. "But I am optimistic that it will far lower it."

Tickets for excessive noise in Red Deer are $250 for a first offence, $500 for a second and $1,000 for a third.