a) Racing a motor vehicle outside of a regulated racing event;

b) Squealing tires;

c) Operating a motor vehicle without an effective exhaust, intake-muffling device or other sound attenuation;

d) Banging, clanking, squealing or other sounds due to an improperly secured load, or

e) Using a horn or other warning device except where required or authorized by law.

The noise by-law also prohibited vehicle repairs as to time and place.

The amendments changed the noise restrictions pertaining to motor vehicles to the following:

A. No person shall emit or cause or permit the emission of sound resulting from unnecessary motor vehicle noise, such as the sounding of a horn, revving of an engine, squealing of tires, banging, clanking or any like sound that is clearly audible at a point of reception.

B. No person shall emit or cause or permit the emission of sound resulting from the repairing, rebuilding, modifying or testing of a vehicle if the sound is clearly audible at a point of reception from 9 p.m. until 7 a.m. the next day, except until 9 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and statutory holidays.

C. No person shall emit or cause or permit the emission of sound from a motorcycle, if the motorcycle emits any sound exceeding 92 dB(A) from the exhaust outlet as measured at 50 cm, while the motorcycle engine is at idle.

Regarding the amendments to the motor vehicle aspects of the Toronto noise by-law, in its Council report recommending the amendments, Toronto’s City administration explained that its purpose was to remove ambiguous language while improving clarity. An example of achieving this goal is the removal of the activity of racing of a motor vehicle from the list of prohibited activities. Toronto’s administration called the prohibition “difficult to enforce”, which was a reference to the ambiguous nature of the provision. Toronto replaced that prohibition with a more general prohibition against noise created by motor vehicles captured in “A” above.

An examination of the Administrative Report that went to Toronto’s City Council shows that the by-law was amended after a comprehensive review which included the convening of a Noise Working Group with stakeholders from resident associations, business improvement areas, the music and entertainment industry, the construction and building industry as well as other unidentified City divisions and agencies. The licensing department was also instructed by Council to include third-party public opinion research, technical reviews by acoustical engineering firms and to engage a third-party facilitation firm to conduct additional public consultations.

It is also apparent from the report that effective enforcement of the noise by-law as it pertained to motor vehicles could only be done in co-ordination with the police service. Provincial Offences Officers do not have authority under the Highway Traffic Act to pull over a vehicle. The Highway Traffic Act grants police officers the specific authority to