UNDER Rule 103 of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Rules 1959 (LN 170/1959), it is an offence for owners to modify the exhaust pipe and silencer to generate louder noise, which may delight the driver but would be a nuisance to others.
If caught and convicted in court, offenders can be fined up to RM2,000 and/or jailed for six months, as disclosed by Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department (JSPT) chief, Datuk Azizman Alias.
But going by the number of noisy motorcycles on the road, little action has been taken although the ruling has been in force for over six decades. As it is a seizable offence under Section 64 of the Road Transport Act 1987, the motorcycles of repeat offenders should be confiscated.
And there is no need to wait for joint operations with the Environment Department, which has traditionally been roped in to conduct tests on smoke emission.
While it is true that summonses could only be issued after obtaining smoke or noise emission
levels, any normal person could easily tell whether the exhaust
system has been modified for louder noise.
In fact, the public could be roped in to record the registration number and sound of noisy motorcycles and send the videos to a mobile phone number managed by the police. The owners can then be summoned, together with the vehicle, to report to the nearest police station with equipment to test the noise emission level.
If this method is employed, more offenders could be apprehended within six months than in all the traditional operations carried out over the past 60 years. As due warning has already been given
by the police, it is time to get cracking.
YS CHAN , Kuala Lumpur
