A driver from Staten Island is suing New York City after his vehicle was fined by an automated enforcement camera for being too loud. The vehicle was a Lamborghini Huracan Performante and his excuse is that his automobile technically did not violate the law because it was never modified to be louder. But the city doesn’t seem to care and may even have created some conflicting rules on the matter as part of an initiative to proliferate traffic enforcement cameras.
Based on a report from the New York Post, insurance broker Anthony Aquilino believes that the city is in the wrong because his car is unmodified. The outlet stated that NYC law only allows tickets to be issued to vehicles intentionally modified to make more noise, so Aquilino has opted to file a lawsuit with the Manhattan Supreme Court.
Keep that bit about modified vehicles in mind because it’s about to become extremely important later in the article.
The fine is $800 for a first offender. But it rises rather quickly for those caught again.
“The fine amount is $800 for the first offense. The second offense is $1,700 [and] the third offense is $2,700,” Aquilino told NYPost. “How can anybody afford that? Especially if the city wants to move these cameras all across the five boroughs.”
From the New York Post:
The only way for him to avoid the fines in the future, his suit states, would be to stop driving the two-seater supercar, “which is undoubtedly unreasonable,” his suit reads.
“The only remedy would be to sell the vehicle,” Aquilino said. “How else do you fight the fine?”
Since he didn’t intentionally modify his car to produce more noise, he can’t legally be held accountable for any noise, he contends — and the car is otherwise legal to drive on city streets and passes inspection every year.
“I feel that if the residents are upset by noise and the city wants to crack down on noise — I don’t disagree with it,” Aquilino said. “I disagree with if a car is unmodified and you want to fine them.
“I got the fine when I was slowing down and going up 41st Street,” Aquilino added. “So speed isn’t a factor in this.”
About six weeks after his ticket, Aquilino even took his prized ride to the Lamborghini dealership in Manhattan to get it diagnosed as having no aftermarket installations or modifications installed, he said.
“Aquilino did not ‘cause or permit’ the total sound from the Vehicle to exceed the sound level restrictions,” the suit reads, “as he did not modify the Vehicle in any way and operated the Vehicle in an ordinary and reasonable manner.”
You may recall a series of articles we published in 2022 regarding New York and California leveraging noise-detection cameras as a way to catch those in violation of local ordinances. Urban areas had already been introducing stricter penalties and new rules for vehicles, with the coup de grâce being automated enforcement technology designed to maximize revenue. Those cameras (and others) are now up and running, with the end result being predictable.
With the NYPD being notoriously lax in regard to moving violations, opportunities to profit from on-site tickets were minimal. The city already has fines for excessive honking and I can tell you first hand that it hasn’t done much. However, the very first batch of noise cameras allegedly garnered 500 “excessive noise events” per month — with the majority taking 7 p.m. and 3 a.m.
Critics stipulated that this was evidence that they weren’t working properly, stating that it was likely impossible to single out drivers when traffic was dense. The assumption was that the cameras were only able to single out vehicles for ticketing when there wasn’t an abundance of traffic producing excessive noise and likewise making it hard for the cameras to get a clean shot of the offending car.
Many of the vehicles caught on camera were also semi-trailer trucks and sporting motorcycles, which wouldn’t necessarily need to have their exhausts modified to exceed the noise limits established by the city. However, those thresholds are sort of arbitrary in themselves.
According to New York City's Noise Code, the sound is too loud if any noise can be heard 150 feet (or more) from a vehicle weighing less than 10,000 pounds. Vehicles weighing over 10,000 pounds get a little more leeway, with the limit being 200 feet. Motorcycles also get 200 feet.
But the resulting distance hinges heavily on how much background noise already exists. While most vehicles will probably never surpass the limit in midday traffic, something equipped with even a tastefully done aftermarket exhaust would likely fail in an otherwise silent environment. Performance cars, motorcycles, and large trucks are also going to have a rough go whenever things quiet down for the day.
Here is where things start to get REALLY confusing, however. When NYC launched the pilot program for the noise cameras, the local government seems to have added decibel limits and other restrictions without notifying anyone — something that has caught out other drivers making their way through Manhattan.
“The NYC Noise Code has a strict standard of 76 dB(A). DEP enforces if the vehicle creates noise of more than 85 dB(A) at 50 feet,” a spokesperson for the Department of Environmental Protection explained to Road & Track last year. “Stock vehicles that emit excessive levels of noise result from actions taken by the driver. That is why the standard of law is no person shall cause or permit the exceedance [sic] of the decibel standard.”
However, none of the above is clearly outlined in the very website used to provide New York City residents with information, allow them register complaints against their neighbors, or access non-emergency services provided by the city. The website only mentions the noise/distance rules, making it seem like the decibel limits were added later as part of the camera initiative.
Council Member Keith Powers, one of several individuals who advocated for the citywide expansion of noise cameras as part of the “Stop Spreading the Noise Act,” had previously stated that the system was designed to target illegally modified vehicles in 2023.
But he’s since changed his tune, telling the NYPost that the cameras will result in fines for all operators, regardless of whether the decibels are due to any modifications or specific actions taken.
“The noise camera program was instituted to address any vehicle that is disrupting the local community by violating city and state laws related to noise,” Powers stated. “New Yorkers have a right to a peaceful night of sleep, and that’s what our program aims to achieve.”
Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson Edward Timbers claimed the same, stating that the New York City Noise Code “applies to all motor vehicles, whether they are modified, or not.”
At a minimum the rules seem rather confusing and perhaps even arbitrary, changing to the whims of whoever happens to be running the show that week. This also doesn’t bode well for Mr. Aquilino and his Lamborghini, nor any other driver hoping to see consistent enforcement within the city limits.
[Images: Lamborghini; NYC.gov]
