Edmonton dropping fight over noise ticket

By
CMG Staff
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Loud pipes will cost you $110 in Windsor.
City officials may not be pursuing Young's case any further, but they haven't given up their fight against loud pipes.

Could a recent decision by the Edmonton civic officials mean the city’s motorcyclists can breathe easier?

Last winter, we told you about Stuart Young, a university student who went to court over the ticket he was handed for a supposedly too-noisy Yamaha motorcycle. The traffic commissioner hearing his case agreed with Young that the police used a faulty testing procedure, and dismissed his ticket.

The talk at the time was that the city was planning to lawyer up and fight the decision – motorcyclists won 14 of the 24 noise bylaw cases that went to court, which certainly wasn’t the result that council had in mind when they enacted the law. But CBC now reports they aren’t going to contest the ruling.

Naturally, this catches motorcyclists’ attention. Does this mean the noise bylaw is meaningless, and unenforceable? Young seems to think so – he says any motorcyclist can use his defence (claim that the test was administered improperly) and have their ticket thrown out in court. If you like loud pipes, that sounds good right? Well, don’t get too excited. CBC says city lawyer Scott McAnsh doesn’t think this ruling will affect future decisions. McAnsh acknowledges they’re dropping their appeal because the Young case was thrown out due to improper evidence, but he says next time the Edmonton police take a noise ticket to court, they’ll be prepared.

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1 COMMENT

  2. I agree loud bikes are a nuisance, But so is the police helicopter flying over my house at all hours of the night or the dog barking down the street, or the kids screaming in the park, or the garbage truck sucking garbage out of cannisters late at night on whyte ave, the list goes on, some things are worth spending my tax paying dollar on. But having police setup noise traps on the ave targeted at motorcycles, or the police deliberately pulling over bikes and wasting time testing for loudness??? seriously I want my taxpaying dollars spent intelligently, I dont see this as an intelligent decision. last I heard we are the murder capital of Canada, I think the police should be looking at much more menacing issues…..

  3. I don’t think it’s a question of the city making money.
    The issue is that tax payers are fed up with loud bikes, and now our tax dollars are being spent trying to do something about it.
    This whole “cops vs bikers” crap is a bunch of nonsense.
    They are public servants doing a job we’ve assigned to them.
    Too bad we didn’t give them the training necessary to do their job more effectively.

  4. We have had more than 14 cases thrown out.  We are well over 20 at this point…or at least the ones I have had a hand in preparing with various defendants.  
    The defense presented in all cases has been the exact same.  So for Scott McAnsh to advise that Stuart’s case is a singular event, is wrong.  The procedures have not changed.  People have been issued tickets this year already and judging by the accounts of how the tickets were issued, they are still being done incorrectly.  There are major flaws and the City wishes to continue to waste tax dollars on improper testing and time in court.  

    The City is definitely far in the red on this venture and should know when to bow out before it gets even more out of hand.

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