Central Coast Weighs in on new exhaust systems law

A new law regarding modified exhaust systems is aiming to cut down on street racing too.

AB 1824 started this year, stating drivers who have modified their exhaust systems to make them louder can now be fined instead of getting a fix-it ticket.

CHP says they will be looking for cars that have obviously been modified, “you can tell, quite often when a car has been modified because it’s so loud and those are the ones we are going to be focusing on,” says Officer Sam Courtney.

CHP says outside of cutting down disturbances they are hoping it helps with street racing, which has been a known problem on the Central Coast.

“We do see this in conjunction with a lot of vehicles that are being modified, modified illegally for the purpose as street racing. The sad reality is we have a lot is terrible accident related to street racing,” says Officer Courtney.

One car enthusiast KION spoke with says he thinks it will help with street racing, but is unfortunate for those just wanting to add performance to their car, “I do believe a lot of the takeover’s in street racing will be cut down, although it affects us people that are not affiliated with any of these street racing or take overs because some of us are just genuine people that want to make our dreams come true,” says Pablo M.

As for how much it will cost for people to get their modifications back to the original state, owner of Lincoln Street Radiator and Muffler, Philip Crouch, says it varies, “It’s going to depend on how extensive the original modifications were and how poorly or improperly they were done. It could be very pricey or relatively inexpensive. If the original parts were kept.”