Hypocricy Of Ontario's Policing System

Today I went to court for the first time, to fight my bogus "improper muffler" ticket. I was feeling confident because my police-officer friend told me I'd more than likely win. But, still I did not know what to expect.

And if I could offer anyone advice, that is the only thing I would confidently be able to tell them: expect the worst. The worst Justice of the Peace, the worst behaviour from the officer who charged you, and the worst outcome possible. Do this, and you will be prepared.

If you are looking for how to fight a traffic ticket, the following may or may not help you.

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When I arrived 15 minutes early, I sat outside the courtroom until the prosecutor entered. She was very friendly and I followed her inside. I sat in the second row. Sitting in the front row is not permitted.

Soon afterwards six police officers entered. They all sat in the far back corner and talked amongst themselves. Most of them looked happy and normal. Then I noticed the officer who had issued me the ticket. Officer Peng looked very grumpy and disturbed. Almost angry. Like I had ruined his day by fighting the ticket.

When my case was called I approached the defense table with all the documents I had prepared. I had with me a magazine article on the Porsche Cayman factory exhaust, an independant Harley-Davidson factory exhaust study, results from two decibel tests I conducted on a City bus exhaust, and a Yamaha YZF motorcycle exhaust. I also had with me a letter from my mechanic stating that my exhaust was a properly functioning and properly installed system. I had a copy of the Highway Traffic Act which I supposedly violated, and a list of questions for the officer.

The officer gave his testimony, and was surprisingly disrespectful. He looked behind himself for some of the time, mumbled as though he were fed up or frustrated, and spoke extremely quickly, making it difficult for everyone to hear him. The prosecutor asked him to repeat himself on at least 2 occasions. He also stated falsely that my exhaust sounded like a bee in a tin can, which couldn't be farther from the truth, as my exhaust is low, producing a deep bass tone.

When the prosecutor finished her line of questions, the very pleasant Justice of the Peace indicated I could now ask the officer questions. Unfortunately, I soon discovered that 'Yes' and 'No' questions were the only questions permitted.

It was perfectly permissible for me to ask the officer if he was hung-over that day. (I wanted to know if there was anything interfering with his hearing.) I then asked, "Are you aware that my exhaust IS a properly functioning exhaust that is properly installed by a mechanic?"

He declared that he did not know how to answer the question. I said, "I want to know if you're aware that my exhaust system functions properly."

Again, he stumbled and said he did not know how to answer the question. I said, "It's Yes or No. I just want to know... are you aware?"

It was a pretty simple question for anyone beyond primary school and finally he answered, "Well, then, no, I was not aware of that."

When I moved on to my next question, "Are you aware that my exhaust was specifically designed to meet the strict 95 decibel limit set by..." the prosecutor stepped in and stopped everything. She said this type of questioning is not permitted and the Justice of the Peace agreed, stating the officer is not expected to know the manufacturing details about my exhaust. She said I'd be able to present that in my defense, when I took the stand.

I asked one final question: "Have you ever stopped a Harley-Davidson or any other motorcycle and issued that same ticket?"

"No." was the reply, and I declared I had no more questions.

The officer stepped down and I took the stand. I swore on a Bible that I'd tell only the solemn truth, and the Justice of the Peace asked me to explain why I thought I was not guilty.

My main points to her were facts:

• My exhaust is 95 dB, verified by the manufacturer and a dB meter


• A Porsche Cayman factory exhaust is 99.2 dB


• A Harley-Davidson Softail factory exhaust is 102 dB at cruising speed


• A Yamaha YZF factory exhaust is 116 dB at idle


• A City bus exhaust is 100.2 dB travelling less than 5 km/hour

I held various magazine articles and explained where these numbers came from. Some were published articles, some were my own independent tests conducted with a decibel meter. I held up the HKS catalogue and read aloud, "HKS exhaust systems that are designated for street use retain all factory emissions equipment and complies with... a noise limit of 95 dB. This is the opposite of the officer's claim that my exhaust was designed to make excessive noise."

I quoted the Highway Traffic Act to the Justice, "'Every motor vehicle or motor assisted bicycle shall be equipeed with a muffler in good working order... to prevent excessive noise...' which means that all of these vehicles must fall under the same law that my car falls under. And all of these vehicles have much louder exhausts than my car."

Now the prosecutor had a few questions for me. She asked if I had replaced my exhaust, to which I answered yes. She asked why I had not just gone to Canadian Tire in order to purchase a quiet exhaust. I declared that I did install a quieter exhaust and explained my reason for replacing it was that my previous exhaust was far too loud. She asked if it was fair to say my exhaust was louder than some other cars on the road. I said it was fair.

Having successfully presented many facts to defend myself, I stepped down. Her Worship, the Justice of the Peace re-stated everything the officer had said, and everything I had said in my defense.

She agreed that there were other vehicles, which were louder than my car. She said she did not understand why there were laws that allowed shops to legally sell exhaust systems that violate the Highway Traffic Act. She said she did not have the ability to change that legislature.

Then came the result. She said while there are indeed other vehicles on the road producing more noise than my exhaust, for example the city bus, police officers cannot possibly stop every single one of them. She continued, stating, "unfortunately, the officer stopped you that day, therefore I find you guilty of the offense of Improper Muffler contrary to the Highway Traffic Act."

How can the legal system justify this? They can't. Feel free to make any assumptions about corruption you wish. You cannot have police officers stopping evey single bus to issue a ticket, thereby delaying the entire transit system. The city would fall apart. And imagine how silly it would be to have city employees (bus drivers) paying the city fines.

I gathered my things, angry at the hypocricy and illegal political partisanship within our city. The principles of equal treatment under the law do not exist here in Ontario.

The Justice of the Peace had agreed my car was not as loud as the Porsche. She had agreed it was not as loud as every motorcycle on the road, and most importatly she agreed in her closing statement that it was not as loud as an official city vehicle. Yet she found me guilty despite these facts, which, by example, puts all city buses in violation of the Highway Traffic Act. Yet you will never see a police officer stopping a bus.

I looked at the officer as I left the courtroom but he refused to make eye contact with me. Instead, with his head down, he turned to his right, and stared straight into the wall, like a small child who knows he just did something wrong.

Subjective Sound

So, there I was driving along and minding my own business on the last day of November when my rearview lit up like the 4th of July with a Regional Police Officer right on my tail, destroying my lifelong record of never being pulled over.

I couldn't believe it. I hadn't done anything wrong and almost started to panic, trying to think of all the paperwork I needed to show him.

Was my insurance up to date? Yes. Was my licence in my wallet? Yes. Uh-oh. Where was my ownership? My brain was working overtime trying to figure out where everything was while at the same time what this officer could possibly be stopping me for.

My window came down and I sat patiently but nervously. The officer approached my door, glanced inside to make sure I didn't have a great big pile of cocaine on my lap, and gave me the answer. In a very professional but abrupt manner he declared that he was giving me a ticket for having an illegal exhaust, then walked away.

When he returned he asked for my licence, insurance and ownership. My brain had not failed me and I provided all three to him without a problem.

I asked him what exactly made my exhaust illegal. His answer made sense, but did not apply to my exhaust. He claimed that my aftermarket muffler was designed specifically to create excessive noise. He claimed he heard me coming when I "sparked up" my exhaust.

This made me very upset. Firstly, my exhaust is quiet and it's extremely improbable that he heard it. It is more likely that he saw the highly visible polished muffler with the well-known HKS logo etched into the side and assumed I was a street-racing teenager with a bad attitude.

The reality is quite the contrary. I have full respect for the law and have often aided the police in their appeal to the public for information on aggressive drivers. I have both a cousin and a best friend who are officers in the line of duty and a female cousin who is a retired Detroit officer.

That's right. I said Detroit.

Secondly, why was he using drug terminology to describe me? What exactly is my muffler? Some kind of giant joint? I don't even know what sparking an exhaust means, and I was fairly certain that when one is driving calmly in a long line of traffic at exactly 52 kph, one's exhaust wouldn't spark.

The most important thing here is the fact that my exhaust is quiet. I showed the officer my old exhaust sitting in the back seat. I explained how I had just replaced it, specifically with a quieter one, because my old exhaust of nine (9) years was too loud even for me. Quietness was of great importance when I replaced my exhaust and this beautifully polished stainless steel HKS Hi-Power unit came with the recommendation of my mechanic.

Searching for more knowledge to help me avoid getting pulled over again I asked the officer what the decibel level had to be in order for my exhaust to be considered legal.

His answer was surprisingly illogical. Tugging his earlobe he angrily stated that he did not have have a decibel meter in his ear. He claimed that if something drew his attention, it was illegal.

That's right. By his definition of what is illegal, the paint colour of some cars could violate the law. So could a pretty girl. What an absurd thing to say. And, he had dodged answering my question.

Because of this incident, I don't feel safe anymore. If the police, who are supposed to be protecting taxpayers from the dangers of criminal behavour are now wasting everyone's money and time by pulling over those very same law-abiding citizens for preposterous reasons, then who is stopping the criminals?

The issue of volume is what's in question here and I'll admit my exhaust is louder than my hybrid. But it is far from excessive, unless the officer had a hangover. The sound is on par with a V8 Mustang, and is certainly quieter than any Ferrari, Lamborghini, Viper, truck, or city bus out there.

I am fighting the $110 ticket and, whether good or bad, will post an update with the results.

The results: Hypocricy of Ontario's Policing System

Money-Making Neighbourhood

I like gas. The kind the sun is made of. And seeing as how the weekend was bright, sunny and almost warm with the first signs of spring finally rearing their long-awaited heads, it was a perfect day to go searching for people doing illegal things.

I like when justice is served. But that's not what has been happening in my neighbourhood, and it's making me full of the angry. Although it does not affect me in any sort of direct way, I feel everyone else's pain due to my past experiences, and I wish I could use my super powers to help them in some way.

One reason that Suz and I moved was because I could not get out of my driveway in the morning due to dim-witted parents dropping off the unfortunate fruits of their loins at the school in front of my house. I can say with almost 100% certainty that every single one of these parents, whose IQs are lower than a flea with a learning disability, broke the law at least once as they dropped off their 7- and 8-year-olds.

For starters, nearly every one of them parked in a No-Stopping Zone, while the worst of them offendafied me personally - by parking directly in front of my driveway even as I sat in my car, attempting to back out into the chaos.

This behaviour was met with shaking fists and horn honking. But I didn't take it to the next level until some of them began parking their personal Dodge school buses IN my driveway, and on my front lawn.

If you're getting the impression I live in slummy hick town, you'd be wrong. Way wrong. This is white collar, Land Rover territory.

I started my barrage of phone calls to the City and the principal of the school. The school sent home numerous flyers, but the City did as much as they could to not cooperate, telling me to call the police, who in turn, laughed and told me to call the city.

Suz and I joined the school's traffic committee and attended a number of meetings over the course of a year. Gasps of disgust echoed throughout the room when I told my tale of having to deal with ignorant, self-indulgent moms who parked in my driveway.

Suggestions were made by many parents, but by-law officers informed our committee that placing orange pylons, saw-horses or any other sort of driveway blockade, including a large mob of molotov-cocktail toting extremists, were illegal.

But in the end, it was an impossible situation that nobody with any authority was willing to deal with. After 3 years, Suz and I moved.

And now I am encountering a similar problem just down the street as this class act has parked his/her Camry in a SNOW ROUTE - in the middle of winter no less.

The worst part is, this car, with no licence plates, has been parked in this NO PARKING zone all winter without receiving a single ticket. It's really too bad because with the number of tickets the city could issue in my neighbourhood alone, they could afford to hire more by-law officers and keep the scum off the streets.