Calgary launches the "Noise Snare"...

side note . On my drag car I have a full eggshaust that bolts on with just 2 bolts each side and hangs from a simple hook hanger at the back . The pipes are about 2.25 inxhes an extend about 6 inches past the rear bumper . The mufflers are unknown white box replacement ones , I,d say about 18 - 20 inches long . They were cheap .
The car is quiet I would say an I made the system so I can move the car around with out being open hedders .
My neighbour complains about how loud it is ???? Its quieter then theyre diesel ford idling ?????
BUT they say nothing about the 2 semi bikers that live right across the street from us , 2 houses to the left , they have some muscle cars , and one of thier bud,s always lays a 10 = 20 ft mark when he leaves . 3 houses to the right is a older forb muscle car and its louder then the harleys . Neighbours say nothing and have actually been standing on my lane way complaining about my car , and have to stop for a second or repeat themselves cause one of the others have ripped past our houses . ha ha .
Most people have blinders on , an can only see their street , and thats what they complain about .
But yes really , there are some guys that just have way to loud exhausts ..77.
 
i agree some arsholes can be too loud.
weather it be a bike(I have a noisy Harley), hotrod(I have a noisy 69 firebird), diesel truck or fart pipe car, there is a time and place to ride/drive your vehicles.
i don't ride/drive my bike/car downtown anyways as theres too many idiots on the road.
if I'm coming home late at night i try to keep it quiet as respect for my fellow neighbors.
Most don't care and i hope they catch those idiots.
Its almost like the .05 alcohol thing.
Its not the people who have a few beers with a meal that are the problem, its the drivers that are plastered and go drive.
just let me know where the sound cameras are and I'll avoid the area.
 
Recent developments

From the recent newspapers reports, seems to be more than one Noise Snare that has been either bought, leased or rented.

Instead of being traffic light pole mounted, now manned photo-radar type vans will be deployed.

Well, operational cost just went up substantially as these vans are manned by peace officers.

The new Alberta Minister of Transport, who use to be a Calgary alderman nicknamed "Dr. No" as he was always fighting his peer group in spending money foolishly, thinks its a "crock" too.

After two days of public testing, these snares were to be operational starting June 1st but guess what, they were not even certified so they must be sent off to Halifax for calibration. Another two week or so delay.

At the public testing on the first day saw more than half of the 213 vehicles over the limit, on the second day of testing, 47% of the 469 vehicles failed.

And these snares weren't even calibrated yet. What a waste.

Apparently, the device takes a 10 second video of the vehicle approaching, then a 10 second video of it exiting where the van is; the video will start recording once it registers a violation over the threshold limit.

Questions have arisen when two vehicles enter the beam at the same time, the snare can not differentiate which vehicle is making the noise.

Some of the Letters to the Editors have suggested the city should test their garbage trucks first.
 
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Noise Snares

As much as I can appreciate why people don't like "loud exhaust systems", there are a number of things the inventor and the police haven't or decided not to take into consideration.

From my limited knowledge of acoustics here is my "take."

How far away is the "pick-up?"
(the part that "hears" the sound and as I understand, is a microphone)

Sound (decibels) is an inverse function of level and distance.
(the further away a given sound level is, the lower the decibel reading)

Or put another way, a vehicle with open pipes will read higher (at the microphone) three feet away, than at fifty feet away.

Then add the problem 1Bad56 brings up,

"Questions have arisen when two vehicles enter the beam at the same time, the snare can not differentiate which vehicle is making the noise."

Two vehicles passing at the same time that are not quite over the limit, might even be "read" as being over the limit.

In my opinion this device is a total waste of money and man power ...
AND I'm paying for them in local taxes!
 
On TV the other day they admitted they hadn't had a single vehicle break the 96Db even when as the reporter said 'an extremely loud chopper bike drove right past' so I think again it will be filed with the airport tunnel and peace bridge as a complete waste of time,money and effort.
 
Digger_Dave said:
As much as I can appreciate why people don't like "loud exhaust systems", there are a number of things the inventor and the police haven't or decided not to take into consideration.

From my limited knowledge of acoustics here is my "take."

How far away is the "pick-up?"
(the part that "hears" the sound and as I understand, is a microphone)

Sound (decibels) is an inverse function of level and distance.
(the further away a given sound level is, the lower the decibel reading)

Or put another way, a vehicle with open pipes will read higher (at the microphone) three feet away, than at fifty feet away.

Then add the problem 1Bad56 brings up,

"Questions have arisen when two vehicles enter the beam at the same time, the snare can not differentiate which vehicle is making the noise."

Two vehicles passing at the same time that are not quite over the limit, might even be "read" as being over the limit.

In my opinion this device is a total waste of money and man power ...
AND I'm paying for them in local taxes!
Click to expand...

The other added dimension to this is the reverberation/acoustic bounce back when the snare is used in a high density building area such as 17 Ave SW.
It may amplify the sound.

The microphone sits on the top of the front or rear tire, records a sound and if over, the manned part of it then presses the button for the camera and recording unit. So, they use a by-law vehicle in the parking lane, a vehicle in the adjacent lane will record a higher dB than a vehicle in the far lane as it will be almost right next to the microphone.


I used the Australian and New Zealand Noise law standards to measure the HRT.
Both governments set the microphone at no lower than 8 inches off the ground and 20 inches behind and at a 45 degree position to the exhaust flow and if a V8, rev'd to 3000/3300 RPM. The sound meter recorded a 98 dB.
Then I used the US standards of 20 to 25 feet behind the exhaust flow at a 20 degree angle to it, sound measured 89 dB at the same RPM's.

There is one other test used in the US for motorcycles and its a driven test with the sound meter back 40 ft.
 
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rustbucket said:
On TV the other day they admitted they hadn't had a single vehicle break the 96Db even when as the reporter said 'an extremely loud chopper bike drove right past' so I think again it will be filed with the airport tunnel and peace bridge as a complete waste of time,money and effort.
Click to expand...

You're right Bob.

I asked my alderman some "tough" questions they have yet to answer:

What is the size of the prize at the end of the rainbow? What are the revue projections for this expensive noise meter?
At $250,000 per unit, then add in the administration costs such as a van, personnel to man the van, film, film processing and it keeps going on.
So what are the true costs per unit? Did the City rent, lease or buy outright?


I think they are finding out that this was a waste of time and money, except for the one alderman whose ward accounts for 98% of the noise complaints.
He can say he did something about it even though nothing has been done.
 
Digger Dave, you pegged one of the key issues - positioning of the mike. It can have a great effect on the readings. If anyone wants to read a good analysis, Beyond.ca did a pretty thorough one when the City did some trial tests - the guy's factory stock Mercedes was over the noise limit because the testers put the mike too close to the vehicles going past.

http://www.beyond.ca/calgarys-excessive-vehicle-noise-bylaw-and-its-flawed-creation/15447.html

I think the whole point of Calgary being interested in this (boondoggle) was to cut the noise in key areas like 17Ave SW. Nice thought but poor execution.
 
Sure could have used a noise camera of sorts outside the school last night during Prom Night, the worst offenders were the so called grown up parents lighting their tires up.
 
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There is another variable that has to be considered, ambient noise. Any noise snare will trip every vehicle if it is positioned near the airport under a flight path. :rolleyes:

Russ
 
bullet said:
Sure could have used a noise camera of sorts outside the school last night during Prom Night, the worst offenders were the so called grown up parents, lighting their tires up.
Click to expand...

If you got caught out here doing a burn out it is instant impound of your car for 2 weeks and if you get caught again 6 weeks and then after that the car gets crushed Bullet, it comes under the Hooning Law (Stunting I think you guys call it)
 
The Snare is dead, the Snare is dead...

Great news.

After a year of testing, the City of Calgary issued only one ticket to a motorcycle.

Calgary implemented a "hard limit" of 96 decibels which the inventor didn't like. He said his Noise Snare was designed to measure both the blast of the sound and the distance to the source.

So after one ticket and lots of frustration in dealing with the City, he took his marbles and went home back in July.

The inventor of the once touted Noise Snare device has silenced the program for good. He is no longer working with any municipality.

In fact he told his wife:
"if I ever come up with another idea for law enforcement, just go ahead and kick me in the balls".


The City though, in its great wisdom, is still searching for a replacement for the Noise Snare.
 
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