1,000 Baht fine for my bike being too loud

[arkain99]

Hi forum,

I sometimes like to drive my CBR 150 from Ratchaburi where I live down to Hua Hin on weekends. I have a work permit and a license. On my last trip with my girlfriend (we were both wearing helmets) we were pulled over.

I was told the fine would be 200 baht because my tags have expired...and they had by 2 months, oops. No problem. When they took me to the police station (they pulled me over near the station actually) the fine became 1,000 baht because they said my muffler was too loud. I have a ProMuffler brand muffler on my bike, not the stock CBR 150 muffler. It's not obnoxiouly but I was a bit shocked it was so expensive.

Does anyone know the actual law? Is there a decibel limit? Should I have just argued with them to lower the fine? What would you have done in my situation? I just paid the fine and left.

sidenote: never had this problem in Ratchaburi.

[Gérard]

A friend of mine was fined 1000 bahts 2 years ago in Pattaya, where they have become strict about that, especially with farangs...
He went to the police station to pay the fine and got a receipt.
At the time, I checked if that was legal, and yes it is. your can look at number 7 on the following list :

http://www.highwaypolice.org/knowledges ... -08-10.pdf

There is a decibel limit, but I don't remember it.

[jimmy40]

I have been fined 2 times for this, Have a aftermarket on the pcx.
It is not loud by any means. As kids scream past on there shit boxes with no muffler at all

[buksida]

Yes, it is the law technically, I think the limit is 95 decibels but not one cop has any method of measuring this. I also got pulled in Hua Hin but managed to talk my way out of it.

It will only happen in tourist towns where the police look for easy ways to supplement their income from foreigners, the official fine is way less than a thousand baht also.

[Homer]

Whenever this subject comes up among non-motorcycles in the US, usually because someone passed by at the top of their rev range, there was one comment all could agree on - the only reason for aftermarket exhausts is to annoy people while making up for the rider's equipment shortcomings.

[buksida]

Non-bikers will always find something to moan about.

The two real main advantages to aftermarket pipes are:

1) Horsepower gain as the engine can 'breathe' easier - most stock pipes are restricted.
2) Loud pipes save lives - oblivious car drivers that prefer looking at their cell phones than their mirrors can hear you coming on the highway.

And for those that want a third - the ability to annoy all those miserable old gits in their family saloons ...

[REEM]

There is little that is more annoying than the loud motorbike, they are the equivalent of the 1990 Toyota Corolla with spotty teenage driver, blacked out windows and a huge drainpipe exhaust.

The silly excuses given by riders for their annoying window rattling pipes are symptomatic of the mindset of all showoff road users, i.e., immaturity, an unfulfilled desire despite advancing age to still "be the rebel" and annoy, and the mistaken belief that women are attracted to silly extroverts.

[Ginjaninja]

There is little that is more annoying than the loud motorbike, they are the equivalent of the 1990 Toyota Corolla with spotty teenage driver, blacked out windows and a huge drainpipe exhaust.

The silly excuses given by riders for their annoying window rattling pipes are symptomatic of the mindset of all showoff road users, i.e., immaturity, an unfulfilled desire despite advancing age to still "be the rebel" and annoy, and the mistaken belief that women are attracted to silly extroverts.

So do you approve or not?

[buksida]

My my, there are some miserable beige nissan drivers here today, now where did I put that air horn!

Sent from my GT-I9152 using Tapatalk

[GLCQuantum]

There is little that is more annoying than the loud motorbike, they are the equivalent of the 1990 Toyota Corolla with spotty teenage driver, blacked out windows and a huge drainpipe exhaust.

The silly excuses given by riders for their annoying window rattling pipes are symptomatic of the mindset of all showoff road users, i.e., immaturity, an unfulfilled desire despite advancing age to still "be the rebel" and annoy, and the mistaken belief that women are attracted to silly extroverts.

Welcome to the forum REEM (hadn't welcomed you yet _ ). Always nice to have a bit of decently written spice on the forum. While I take no sides on the matter, as I don't ride motorbikes often or get annoyed by their sound...I do hate seeing the likes of the below turning up to have a beer on a fairly sizable bike without the proper attire (forgetting the bottle of Leo for the moment ).



From posts read, I'm fairly sure the 'bikers' on this forum are NOT those kind of people...

[REEM]

As a four wheel man in Thailand I have come to detest anything on two wheels.

Thais on two wheels are a danger to themselves and anyone else on the roads, most westerners on scooters and mopeds are equally irresponsible.

"Serious" bikers on larger machines tend to act in a more responsible manner, but one has to question the sanity of anyone who takes to the roads here on two wheels.

And as for those who delight in making a noise, I can only ask "Why?", isnt Thailand noisy enough for you.

[STEVE G]

I'm not bothered by loud motorbikes on main highways but I must admit that it is pretty annoying when you go to some out of the way spot for a bit of peaceful relaxation and all some people can think to do is destroy the tranquility by roaring around on loud motorbikes.

[Vital Spark]

Anything over 250cc is music to my ears, however loud it is.

VS

[Grunter]

We'll fairly hard to keep my Harley's & Buell at low noise. They are the way they are & I like the sound personally

[Gérard]

Yes, it is the law technically, I think the limit is 95 decibels but not one cop has any method of measuring this. I also got pulled in Hua Hin but managed to talk my way out of it.

It will only happen in tourist towns where the police look for easy ways to supplement their income from foreigners, the official fine is way less than a thousand baht also.

I think you are right for the limit = 95 decibels.
In my country (France), they have measuring gear, but the cop's ear is accepted and every muffler must have the homologation stamp on it.

For the official fine, see :

http://www.highwaypolice.org/knowledges ... -08-10.pdf

>>>>number 7