They have the highest DWI's
Make the most noise of any vehicle
Have illegal exhaust systems and never get a citation
Are not required to wear a helmet
Are not required to wear safety clothing
Are required to wear just underwear?

Wear safety belts
Car seats for children
Air bags
Bumpers
Quiet Mufflers/Legal Exhausts

This is the code that all law enforcement must adhere to. The language is the same ambiguous language that is suspiciously on all state codes or statues.

4513.22 Mufflers.

(A) Every motor vehicle and motorcycle with an internal combustion engine shall at all times be equipped with a muffler (what type of muffler?) which is in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise, and no person shall use a muffler cutout, by-pass, or similar device upon a motor vehicle on a highway. Every motorcycle muffler shall be equipped with baffle plates.

They leave the "factory installed muffler or equivalent" out of the law!

No person shall own, operate, or have in the person’s possession any motor vehicle or motorcycle equipped with a device for producing excessive smoke or gas, or so equipped as to permit oil or any other chemical to flow into or upon the exhaust pipe or muffler of such vehicle, or equipped in any other way to produce or emit smoke or dangerous or annoying gases from any portion of such vehicle, other than the ordinary gases emitted by the exhaust of an internal combustion engine under normal operation.

(B) Whoever violates this section shall be punished as provided in section 4513.99 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 01-01-2004

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The noise would be eliminated by changing the current law to include the following:

The insertion of factory installed muffler or equivalent would solve all the enforcement problems across the board.

A) Every motor vehicle and motorcycle with an internal combustion engine shall at all times be equipped with a factory installed muffler or equivalent which is in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise, and no person shall use a muffler cutout, by-pass, or similar device upon a motor vehicle on a highway. Every motorcycle muffler shall be equipped with baffle plates.

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Ohio does have an alternative way to stop illegal exhaust systems that can only be enforced by a local police department or sheriff:

4513.221 Local regulation of passenger car and motorcycle noise.

(a) When operated at a speed of thirty-five miles per hour or less, a maximum noise limit of eighty-two decibels;

(b) When operated at a speed of more than thirty-five miles per hour, a maximum noise limit of eighty-six decibels.

(C) Maximum noise limits established pursuant to division (B) of this section shall be measured on the “A” scale of a standard sound level meter meeting the applicable requirements for a type 2 sound level meter as defined in American national standards institute standard S1.4 – 1983, or the most recent revision thereof. Measurement practices shall be in substantial conformity with standards and recommended practice established by the society of automotive engineers, including SAE standard J 986 A NOV81, SAE standard J 366 MAR85, SAE standard J 331 A, and such other standards and practices as may be approved by the federal government.

(D) No regulation enacted under division (B) of this section shall be effective until signs giving notice of the regulation are posted upon or at the entrance to the highway or part thereof affected, as may be most appropriate.

(E) A board of county commissioners of any county may regulate noise from passenger cars, motorcycles, or other devices using internal combustion engines in the unincorporated area of the county, and a board of township trustees may regulate such noise in the unincorporated area of the township, in any of the following ways:

(1) By prohibiting operating or causing to be operated any motor vehicle, agricultural tractor, motorcycle, all-purpose vehicle, or snowmobile not equipped with
a factory-installed muffler or equivalent muffler in good working order and in constant operation;

(2) By prohibiting the removing or rendering inoperative, or causing to be removed or rendered inoperative, other than for purposes of maintenance, repair, or replacement, of any muffler;

(3) By prohibiting the discharge into the open air of exhaust of any stationary or portable internal combustion engine except through a factory-installed muffler or equivalent muffler in good working order and in constant operation;

Unfortunately the Highway Patrol can only enforce 4513.22 that pertains to statewide enforcement. According to Federal Law a motorcycle, in order to legally drive on our public highways, must have an EPA certified exhaust system installed from the factory. So any motorcycle that does not have the EPA stamp on the muffler that matches the make and model of the motorcycle is considered illegal. So why are they hesitant to pull a motorcycle over with an exhaust system that is clearly illegal? Because they feel that it would be thrown out of court because the officer is not qualified to determine whether a noise is over the legal limit. The addition of the phrase "factory-installed muffler or equivalent muffler" would eliminate that situation completely.