I really can't catch a break here lately...the man has it out for me.

But anyways, this weekend on the way up to the Shenendoahs for some camping, I got pulled over by your typical bored state trooper profiling the bright green box cruising (at the speed limit) down his mountain roads. He pulled me over and gave me a ticket for "illegal exhaust" because my muffler is not "stock, or stock-like"

Then I proceeded to ask him if he works 2nd shift at the local Scion dealership because he has such a great knowledge of cars and what is stock and what isn't

I know the law and agree that aftermarket exhausts are illegal in VA and I'm not trying to argue that BUT I have a DC Sports axle-back exhaust which comes as standard equipment on the xB RS2...yes I know that it doesn't come standard on MY model but do you guys think that I have a good argument? Could I somehow get a letter from Toyota/Scion stating this information and do you think that would help me if I was to fight it? And another question, is there any way that I can fight this locally without driving 2 hours to the Augusta County courthouse?

On a side note...he didn't know what to put for "Model" on the ticket so he tried his best to draw his interpretation of the bB emblem. There's a dot and possibly an R and a weird design that looks like a U. It was a mess of a drawing and I really couldn't tell what it says.

 

Here's the VA code for exhausts.

"§ 46.2-1049. Exhaust system in good working order. No person shall drive and no owner of a motor vehicle shall permit or allow the operation of any vehicle on a highway unless it is equipped with an exhaust system of a type installed as standard factory equipment, or comparable to that designed for use on the particular vehicle as standard factory equipment, in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise. An exhaust system shall not be deemed to prevent excessive or unusual noise if it permits the escape of noise in excess of that permitted by the standard factory equipment exhaust system of private passenger motor vehicles or trucks of standard make."

 

If your box came with that exhaust from the dealer then by all means fight it Stick it to the man! :D

 

Mine didn't come with it from the dealer, but I'm using the fact that it "could have" as my argument.

 

yea if it was the dc fight it man

 

Arguing with that Trooper, prob was not the best idea. He probably heard you coming down the mountain.

I cannot get a ticket for my exhaust. I carry in my owners manual a certificate they my exhaust is 50 state legal and under 98 db.

Try and find out if there is such for your exahust, or even the RS2.0 exhaust then use that to go to court or take care of your repair order.

Moral of the story is: Don't argue with the cop till after he has handed you the ticket, that way you might get off with a warning.

 

There ya go. Fight it. Is that the code he wrote on the ticket?

 

My car could've come from the factory with a jet on the back. But it didn't. I hate to say it, but I wouldn't be surprised if you got something similar to that as a response.

I agree with you on the fact that it makes sense that you shouldn't have been ticketed for it, but unfortunately you did. If you had an RS2 and he tried to ticket you, you would be set. All you would have to do is bring in the specs sheet from Scion, or your window sticker(if you still had it). It's almost worth a shot at fighting it, but remember, you might get screwed further.

 

Embarrass the hell out of him in court. I would get a letter from Scion, or even get someone you know that works for Scion to go with you. If the stupid cop can't figure out what you are driving, then how does he know what comes stock? I would definately say that in court.

Good Luck.....you shouldn't need it though!

 

If you could get one of the parts guys from your local dealer to go, then he could give testimony on the equipment of the RS2.0 and that the exhaust that you have is exactly the same. That should take care of it for ya.

 

Had the silencer in...he didn't hear ****...he SAW a green "tuner" with shiney rims and a big shiney exhaust (which he had to look for while riding my bumper for a good 10 minutes) I didn't argue with him until after he gave me the ticket because when he came to my car all he did was ask for license and registration and didnt even tell me what he was pulling me over for...but thanks for the moral.

congrats...they don't care in VA. check the VA code that I pasted a few posts above

there's not, I've checked already

 

So far, I've written to the state police and they pointed me in the direction of writting a letter to the Augusta county court. So I'm going to try and get a letter from Scion and I'm going to write them a letter. We'll see what happens. Thanks to those of you who have provided support.

 

This has happened MANY MANY MANY times here in PR. Cops are A-Holes and half of them dont even know the law... Ive fought so many tickets and mostly all of them were erased from my record. Some "officers" here just write down any number on article of the law i "broke" and then when you go to court the article code doesn't match what he wrote and automatically the ticket goes NULL!!

Since here in PR we use almost the exact same "book of law" as you guys in the states, i say you should go fight it. Ive had my friends been pulled over in tC's and Celica's with TRD equipment, i mean how much more factory can you get then TRD!!! Everyone of my friends that has fought these kinds of tickets never end up paying for them. Another thing, usually the cop never shows up to the court meeting and if he does they rarely ever win...

FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO UPGRADE!!!!

 

go to court fight it and make sure they labeled your car as improper vehicle information too.

 

man, you made me do some thinking and check out the ticket...
I just checked out the ticket and the code that he wrote down was 46.2-1047 which prohibits gutted exhausts:

It shall be unlawful to sell or offer for sale any (i) muffler without interior baffle plates or other effective muffling device or (ii) gutted muffler, muffler cutout, or straight exhaust. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate on the highways in the Commonwealth a motor vehicle, moped, or motorized skateboard or scooter equipped with a gutted muffler, muffler cutout, or straight exhaust.

wow. he didn't say a single thing about a gutted muffler when he pulled me over.....idiot cop

 

because my muffler is not "stock, or stock-like"



You are making this too complicated.......Your set up is a muffler with a tip...which replaced a muffler with a tip...... Go to court, win your case. The system you are running is a direct replacement, right? You didn't have to fab any pipes to install it, so it is "stock like".

 

i know here in cali if the info of the vehicle is wrong on the ticket, or even your driver's license is incorrect you can fight it no problem...maybe it's the same for you.

 

§ 46.2-1049. Exhaust system in good working order. -im sure that it is...

No person shall drive and no owner of a motor vehicle shall permit or allow the operation of any vehicle on a highway unless it is equipped with an exhaust system of a type installed as standard factory equipment, or comparable to that designed for use on the particular vehicle as standard factory equipment, in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise.- i might be mistaken but i've been in traffic court a bunch of times (no tickets!! so i must know something) but im pretty sure they need to determine that its above the accepted db limit, as everyone else in this post is telling you, i think he overstepped your boundaries, im pretty sure you could argue it and win, as long as you didnt say anything along the lines of "oh yea its aftermarket" cause thats self incrimination

An exhaust system shall not be deemed to prevent excessive or unusual noise if it permits the escape of noise in excess of that permitted by the standard factory equipment exhaust system of private passenger motor vehicles or trucks of standard make

but anyways, good luck

 

yeah there's that, they are pretty much just like that here.

 

well, there you go...the make on your ticket is obviously wrong.

i don't know how you'd fight that, i've never had to...the one time i got a ticket, i went in to pay and they told me i didn't have to because my driver's license didn't match. but as far as the other stuff, i'm sure you'd have to go into court.