Sports car enthusiasts say Vancouver police noise level test is flawed

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Sports car drivers say the Vancouver Police Department’s roadside noise level test is inaccurate and it needs to be thrown out.

Since last year, enthusiasts say Vancouver Police have targeted them for driving vehicles with excessive noise.

Kevin Yeung, a luxury car driver, told CityNews last year that the issue reached a boiling point when he was issued a noise violation ticket after he was pulled over near the Burrard Street Bridge while driving his Porsche.

“These are really good cops, these are really good people. But recognize this testing is flawed,” Yeung said. “The Skytrain is louder than my car.”

More than seven months later, the ticket is still under review.

Yeung’s unmodified Porsche 911 Targa 4S registered at 104 decibels, well above the allowable 83 decibels in B.C. But Yeung says after receiving his ticket he had his vehicle tested at a certified location and it passed.

Early last month, Yeung and other sports car owners stood by as the Dilari Group conducted it’s own noise level testing on 26 vehicles at a parking lot in Kitsilano.

The testing involved a Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement inspector.

And organizers say they used the same testing method used by Vancouver Police. A decibel reader was placed 50 centimetres from the vehicle’s exhaust.

Yeung says the results were quite staggering.

“23 failed. That represents an 88 per cent failure,” he explains to CityNews Wednesday. “Zero modifications provided to us by the dealerships — most of them are brand new or demo”

Yeung says he filed a complaint with the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner of BC.

“The OPCC is of the view there is a misapplication by the VPD’s traffic section of the authorities granted under the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations causing cost and considerable inconvenience to members of the public,” the statement reads.

“It’s also unclear what practices are being followed by other police agencies. Therefore, the OPCC has made a recommendation to the Provincial Police Services Division to review this practice.”

If the roadside noise test isn’t thrown out, Zian Alladina, the Automotive Enthusiasts Alliance founder, says the group is considering a class-action lawsuit against the VPD.

“Our goal is not to launch legal action, we are ready to do that, we do have funds raised for that. Our goal is to open a conversation VPD about the flight testing methods and about the equality across the board for all of us citizens,” Alladina says.

570 noise violation tickets were handed out to drivers in the city by the police department last year.

As of March 31st of this year, 248 tickets have been issued.

Vancouver Police have declined to comment on roadside noise level testing. The department says it will wait until the province concludes its review.