Excessively noisy vehicles could soon be “exhausted” in Saskatoon

If a new report gets city council approval, it could give Saskatoon Police more power to not only ticket drivers or owners of noisy vehicles and motorcycles, but also to order the vehicles to be sound tested.

The report will be presented this afternoon to the city’s transportation committee.

Last June, the province officially set a vehicle noise limit of 101.3 decibels. SGI also announced a standard testing procedures to measure that noise and distributed equipment across the province to do so.

According to the report, the proposed new changes to Saskatoon’s noise bylaw would allow officers to not only ticket drivers under provincial legislation, but also to order the owner to get their vehicle noise tested, at their own expense, at an SGI certified inspection station.

And it would be an offence for the driver to refuse to get that testing done.

Once the testing is completed, the owner would then have to make the necessary fixes as part of SGI’s “Unsafe Vehicle Program.” If that’s not done, SGI could then suspend or cancel the owner’s vehicle registration.

According to an email from Saskatoon Police Sgt. Jason Jacobson the proposed bylaw changes “provide(s) police officers in Saskatoon another viable option for dealing with excessive vehicle noise.”

Jacobson also wrote that the SPS traffic section didn’t “have the manpower or the time to do noise testing on vehicles.”

According to the city, right now the fine for excessive vehicle noise is $100 for a first offence if paid in 14 days, $200 for a second offence, and a third time nets a $400 fine.

If approved, new bylaws could go into effect by Jan. 1, 2024 .