Hazy exhaust law leaves 'mum racer' fuming

11.45am

Whangarei woman Norma Cates could be the country's first "mum racer".

The 46-year-old mother of two drives a Ford Falcon and has never had a speeding ticket in her life.

However, under the new Land Transport (Street and Illegal Drag Racing) Amendment Bill -- just over a week old -- the Whangarei housewife has been fined for driving a car with a modified exhaust which was deemed too noisy by police.

Bizarrely, what was deemed too loud by the police was found to be okay by warrant of fitness experts the next day, raising the question of "just how loud is too loud?"

Mrs Cates was driving her son's Toyota Starlet GT car when she was stopped by police on Friday night.

Mrs Cates had dropped her son and two girls at a party and was stopped about 10.30pm on her way home.

The car was "green-stickered" and a $150 fine dished out because the car's engine pumped 98.9 decibels of noise out the exhaust.

A green sticker means the car must be given a new WOF before it is allowed back on the road.

Police used a meter to measure the noise, which exceeded the recommended 85 decibels.

The next day, the Cates took the car to a Vehicle Testing New Zealand station -- and the exhaust passed the WOF test, which simply involves a VTNZ expert listening to the muffler.

Whangarei police acting Sergeant Neil Pennington said that under the new legislation police were not required to use a noise meter but had been directed that 85 decibels was the limit for car exhausts.

The legislation states that if a car's modified muffler is noticeably louder than noise that would come from the original exhaust system it should be ordered off the road.

However, Mrs Cates said the anomaly in the testing methods meant her son could be passed by VTNZ but be pulled up by police for the same offence.

Land Transport Safety Authority spokesman Andy Knackstedt said he understood that police had been directed to carry out simple tests without meters to gauge noise levels.

"They simply get in the vehicle and get it half-way to "red-line" and listen. If it is significantly and noticeably louder than it should be they can place a green sticker on it," he said.

The method allowed consistency between roadside and garage testing. In the past the police had used noise meters but conditions on the roadside could not be replicated in a vehicle testing station, he said.

Meanwhile, Mrs Cates is writing to police about the fine and will not be paying it.

"It's bizarre. Someone needs to get their act together," she said.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)