KEY POINTS:
Boy racers will have to turn down the volume on their noisy car exhaust systems next year.
The Government is dropping the decibel limit for all new cars and light trucks from 95 to 90 decibels from June.
Vehicles which fail a subjective test will be required to
undergo an objective noise test, which uses scientific procedures to measure noise levels, as part of the warrant and certificate of fitness tests.
Transport and Safety Minister, Harry Duynhoven, welcomed the change, which is expected to affect only a fraction of the estimated five million cars on New Zealand's roads.
"There are too many excessively noisy motor vehicles on New Zealand roads which annoy and distress the public and can cause detrimental economic and health effects, particularly associated with sleep deprivation and stress," he said.
The law targets the "gross emitters", or vehicles fitted with modified exhausts that emit noise well above the legal decibel limits.
Mr Duynhoven said WOF and Certificate of Fitness testers would subjectively screen out vehicles that are not modified, or are below the decibel limit.
If a vehicle fails this test, the owner will either have to repair the vehicle or pass the objective noise test to comply.
The new law has upset at least one boy racer, who felt car enthusiasts like himself were getting a rough ride.
Ziahad Mohammed, who works for an engineering consulting firm in Manukau, said there were "far noisier things" on the road than his 2001 Mitsubishi Evo 7, which he has spent $15,000 "hotting up" over the past couple of years.
"There are trucks and motorbikes like Harley Davidsons which are a lot louder than my car," he said.
The 23-year-old said it would probably cost him about $300 to fit a new exhaust system to his car.
National MP Nicky Wagner was also critical of the new law which she said was giving boy racers licence to make more noise and was not in line with noise standards overseas.
She said the law gave boy racers time to ramp up their noise levels to the current limit of 95 decibels.
EAR BUSTERS
How your car compares to other loud noises:
100 decibels
A rock concert or loud nightclub
95 decibels
Hammering nails into wood (the current acceptable noise limit for car exhausts)
90 decibels
Thunder or a loud lawnmower (the new noise level for car exhausts from next June)
85 decibels
Prolonged exposure at this level can incur hearing loss
Source: Acoustix Hearing