Nicky Wagner National Party MP

17 January 2006

Toothless noise law not being policed

The National Party MP spearheading a Private Member's Bill to toughen up on noisy exhausts and crackdown on boy racers says the figures prove Labour's tough-talk on noisy exhausts is nothing more than toothless rhetoric.

"More than 1,000 noisy vehicle offence notices were issued in 2003. That dropped to 758 in 2004, and for last year only 753 notices had been issued up to November," says National's Nicky Wagner.

"Given that this is a problem which everyone agrees has been on the rise, it is certainly surprising that the number of infringement notices being handed out has actually been decreasing.

"These numbers make a mockery of Labour's move this week to increase the fine for having a vehicle with a noisy exhaust.

"If people aren't getting caught, an increased fine will make virtually no difference," says Mrs Wagner.

"Police and warrant testers find it impossible to monitor this form of noise pollution without an objective test. It is high time we had some sensible legislation that works."

Mrs Wagner is promoting a Private Member's Bill that would pave the way for approved inspectors to pass or fail a noisy exhaust at warrant time and would equip police with proper, standardised instruments to measure noise levels.

ENDS

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