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'It’s an issue': Saskatoon resident applauds plan to rein in loud vehicles

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SASKATOON -

Michelle Banman says loud vehicles have been an issue in Saskatoon for years, but recently they have been getting louder.

“The loud cars have been an issue here for as long as I can remember, but the past couple of years it seems it has gotten worse,” Banman told CTV News.

She is happy to hear of the new notice program from SGI and Saskatoon police. The notices will require drivers to contact SGI and attend a vehicle noise testing clinic. Safety officers will assess how loud the vehicles are and will work with vehicle owners to ensure modifications are made to bring their vehicles within standards.

“It will be interesting to see the results. In terms of the data, I hope they would share some of that, whatever they could with the public, and hope it actually proves what I hope their theory is, which is that it’s an issue,” Banman said.

Banman said being in an area of the city near to where these cars frequent means she has a harder time staying asleep at night

“Owners of those vehicles need to made aware that their cars are an issue. I don’t know why some of the cars are done the way they are in terms of being set up to backfire or whatever.”

Banman said she supports the idea for the owners of these cars to find locations to drive around while keeping it safe, away from the city, such as the Saskatchewan International Raceway (SIR).

“Take your cars, go to SIR, have a blast with other people who obviously support the same stuff you do,” Banman said.

Although cars making excessive noise are not always the same as street racers, Banman said she still feels there is a certain level of risk associated with this kind of behaviour.

“The chance of hitting a pedestrian, no matter the time of day, it’s still super high. You’ve got a lot of seniors in the area, you know they might not move as quickly. It’s just scary all around and I don’t think there’s a need for it.

‘NOT THE MAJORITY OF THE CAR SCENE’

Jade Kadler, head administrator of the Saskatoon Car Meetup Facebook page, said she has heard concerns raised by those in the car community that the wrong people could end up paying the price.

“Almost all of the car community is upset about this because it’s not necessarily the exhaust that’s the problem, it’s the people driving it. Any car can be loud if you have it at high enough RPMs,” Kadler told CTV News.

“There is a group of people that do have excessive exhausts but it is not the majority of the car scene.”

Kadler said there have also been concerns raised over the idea that an officer can issue a notice for what they believe to be excessive noise.

“I don’t know what they consider excessive. I know what I consider excessive, but what does the officer consider excessive,” Kadler said.

Kadler said people with “project” cars could become a target of this program, despite many of the owners driving their vehicles respectfully. She feels most of the culprits can be found after the sun goes down.

“The people who drive more excessive usually drive in the night. You don’t see project cars driving through the night. It’s just a big respect thing,” Kadler said.

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