Yet another reason we don't want Glamis to ever be made into a state park...

New California OHV Noise Regulations To be Strictly Enforced

June 12 - The California Department of Parks and Recreation announced
that effective July 15, 2003, new noise regulations will be strictly
enforced for all off-highway motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles
that are operated at all State Vehicular Recreation Areas.

The new regulations bring California's off-road noise emissions
levels down from one of the worst in the nation to one of the best,
reducing the maximum decibel level standard from 101 decibels to 96
decibels.

"The importance of this can't be underscored enough. Noise is the
most threatening aspect to California's Off-Highway Vehicle program,"
said Tony Perez, Chief of California State Parks' Off-Highway Motor
Vehicle Recreation Division. "That is why the Division intends to be
very aggressive in dealing with this issue."

"We've already started testing and the results so far have been very
positive. After 10 months of testing 3,190 off-highway vehicles at
the Hollister Hills State Vehicular Recreation Area, the Division
found that 84 percent of the vehicles tested passed," Perez added.

The following noise requirements will be strictly enforced:

If your OHV was manufactured before January 1, 1986, the noise limit
is 101 decibels.
If your OHV was manufactured after January 1, 1986, the noise limit
is 96 decibels.
If your "competition" OHV was manufactured before January 1, 1998,
the noise limit is 101 decibels.
If your "competition" OHV was manufactured after January 1, 1998, the
noise limit is 96 decibels. According to the standards, "competition"
off-highway vehicles are those that are not manufactured to comply
with EPA noise or California emission standards. For information on
the designation of your OHV, refer to your owner's manual or contact
your local dealership.

The new noise law is a key element of AB 2274, signed into law by
Governor Gray Davis in September 2002 and which went into effect
January 1, 2003. AB 2274 represents the most sweeping reform of
California's off-highway vehicle program in its 30-year history. It
drew bipartisan support in the Legislature, and won the support of
both environmental organizations and off-road recreation groups.

this is why we need to recall gray davis!!! >:< >:<

What "off-road recreation groups" would have gone along with this!? Must be all those cheesey 4X4 quad groups that go putting along mountain trails. >:<

[quote]What "off-road recreation groups" would have gone along with this!? [/quote]

That's EXACTLY the question I asked and the answer wasn't pretty. Actually, a LOT of off-road groups went along with this. For the most part, many dirt track riders and desert racers see this as a good thing... it's supposed to be a middle ground between the no-you-can't-have-a-track-here and the I-have-no-place-to-play crowd.

The thing is, it doesn't look to me like there were any off-road organizations that only play in wide-open spaces involved or they would have negotiated areas of exception.

Vicki

I just spent a few days at a state OHV park (Hungry Valley) with a lot of noisy 2 and 4 strokes and the Rangers never did a thing about volumn, even when they came into our camp. Selective enforcement, maybe?

QUOTE

What \"off-road recreation groups\" would have gone along with this!?  Must be all those cheesey 4X4 quad groups that go putting along mountain trails.   >:<

From what I have been seeing the list is probably shorter if you look at who opposed it.

And what opposition was there was weak.