The government should crack down on vehicles that have been modified to make their exhaust systems louder than factory settings, the Legislative Yuan’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Bureau said.
Citing media reports, the bureau said in a July 20 report that multiple complaints had been made about alleged drag races in Kaohsiung’s Hamasen (哈瑪星) and Shaochuantou (哨船頭) neighborhoods, which involved vehicles with aftermarket exhausts intended to make them louder.
Vehicles with such modifications are a public nuisance, and exhaust kits are becoming less expensive and more widely available in auto shops, the report said.
“Young drivers are modifying their vehicles, while dangerous driving takes over the roads, disrupting social order and tranquility,” it said.
Under the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例), people who make vehicle modifications that compromise its safe operation can be fined NT$900 to NT$1,800, while those who remove a vehicle’s muffler or make excessive noise by other means face fines of NT$6,000 to NT$24,000. Vehicles that exceed noise control standards could be fined NT$1,800 to NT$3,600 under the Noise Control Act (噪音管制法).
Law enforcement, road management and environmental protection officials should monitor roads for vehicles modified with loud exhausts as a deterrent, the report said.
Emission regulations in the EU and Japan apply to original equipment manufacturers, aftermarket suppliers and drivers, it said, adding that similar measures should be adopted in Taiwan to halt the sale of aftermarket exhaust kits designed to produce excessive noise.
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