New California car pool laws?

[Pinot.Noir]

Ok, I'm done arguing with your alternate reality world.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

In California, light vehicles (under 6000lb GVWR, non-MC) are limited to 95db, which is hearing damage levels. I know some production cars exceed 92db as sold, since Laguna Seca will kick you off the track. New homeowners who move next to a racetrack and complain are jerks.

For MCs 1985 or newer, it's 80db in California. 95db is about 2.7 times louder than 80db.

The law is 80db for all recent vehicles 10,000lb or less GVWR. It's 88db for >10,000lb.

However:
1) It's illegal to modify your exhaust to make it louder
2) _But_ it's OK as long as you have a something that was tested to be 95db or less.

That applies to car, trucks and motorcycles. The law is even-handedly stupid.

 

[GatorGuy]

Yes, your Tesla is noisier than my worst bike while cruising at 70 mph on a California concrete freeway.

Doubt it but you're welcome to post the decibels for both.

We have the heaviest cars in history today as a fleet, so tire noise is becoming a real concern in cities.

And yet cars are quieter than they've ever been. But motorcycles are just as loud if not louder.

"By some estimates, improvements in materials, construction, contours and, above all, tread patterns, have made today’s passenger cars less than 20% as noisy as those produced 30 years ago. "
Will Electric Cars Make Traffic Quieter? Yes & No. | CleanTechnica

By the way, a quiet MC is not in the performance envelope of a Camry, Sentra, Element. You'd have to compare to V8 Mustang or higher for parity, but in any case cruising on the freeway, the Camry is louder.

You're right. The Camry can corner better. Lol, definitely on any wet road.

 

[HermosaRyan]

I had a friend who got into an accident with his Model S and he needed to replace his carpool stickers. He was reissued those stickers sometime in 2017. He got them originally in 2016. Since they were reissued, can he get the new stickers post 2019? The date on his paperwork says 2017 on it (and his original paperwork was 2016).

 

[TaoJones]

I believe most 90D were sold in 2016 or 2017, how did they get it in 2018?

By waiting to file the paperwork.

 

[McRat]

Doubt it but you're welcome to post the decibels for both.



And yet cars are quieter than they've ever been. But motorcycles are just as loud if not louder.

"By some estimates, improvements in materials, construction, contours and, above all, tread patterns, have made today’s passenger cars less than 20% as noisy as those produced 30 years ago. "
Will Electric Cars Make Traffic Quieter? Yes & No. | CleanTechnica



You're right. The Camry can corner better. Lol, definitely on any wet road.

CleanTechnica's theory that ~27db exterior noise has been shaved off since cars gained both size and weight, ultra low profile tires, larger 4x4 tire options, worse more congested roads, more rain grooving, doubling the HP, even though 'quiet ride radials' already existed and were popular 30 years ago is puzzling in light of all the sound deadening required around freeways today.

Today's freeways should be right at about library sound levels. Either that or they were just south of 100db before and a generation of city dwellers are all deaf from living near freeways.

I'll take your word for it.

 

[GatorGuy]

CleanTechnica's theory that ~27db exterior noise has been shaved off since cars gained both size and weight, ultra low profile tires, larger 4x4 tire options, worse more congested roads, more rain grooving, doubling the HP, even though 'quiet ride radials' already existed and were popular 30 years ago is puzzling in light of all the sound deadening required around freeways today.

Today's freeways should be right at about library sound levels. Either that or they were just south of 100db before and a generation of city dwellers are all deaf from living near freeways.

I'll take your word for it.

Cars could be quieter but due to more cars, there could need of more sound deadening near freeways. Or people are living closer to freeways. Or people are less tolerant of the noise.

 

[Xminus6]

A good thing will be that ugly stickers on the cars are gone. However turning current HOV lanes into pay lanes will be attacked as rich folk lanes and I can understand that. I know we need money for our highways and we would have had more of it to use if they hadn't kept withdrawing monies voted on for highways and put into the General till for using however they saw fit.

When they first started doing the Express Lanes I was surprised there wasn't more of an uproar about it. Rich people get to skip traffic while everyone else toils in horrific traffic. Amazing that it actually passed in California.

 

[BigTonyTones]

When they first started doing the Express Lanes I was surprised there wasn't more of an uproar about it. Rich people get to skip traffic while everyone else toils in horrific traffic. Amazing that it actually passed in California.

Dont have any express lanes where I live but I support the idea if a 3rd party company builds and pays for an express lane.

I DONT like the idea of converting existing carpool lanes to express lanes (the idea im getting from this thread).

Not very familiar with the express lane system. Iv used it once on accident.

 

[Xminus6]

Dont have any express lanes where I live but I support the idea if a 3rd party company builds and pays for an express lane.

I DONT like the idea of converting existing carpool lanes to express lanes (the idea im getting from this thread).

Not very familiar with the express lane system. Iv used it once on accident.

Ironically, they changed the 110 HOV lane to an ExpressLane/HOV about one month after we bought a Nissan Leaf specifically to take advantage of it. I assume all of the ExpressLanes are converted HOV lanes because they certainly aren't widening the highways out where we lived or currently live in California.

 

[azred]

So I think of it this way.

People who want to retain HOV access will sell their EV and get a new one to get the new HOV sticker. These used EV will be purchased by someone who knows it can't get HOV sticker. This has the effect of increasing the used EV market.

Seems like only fools residing in CA urban areas would buy used CA-registered EVs. The smart people would cross state lines to buy used EVs never registered in CA. As an Arizonan I look forward to someday selling one of my Tesla's to a Californian for a premium price. I love the CA State Assembly.

 

[Tim-in-CA]

Looks like the current sticker program has been extended. The red stickers I received in June now are extended to 1/1/22. Previously they were set to expire 1/19

 

[Evil Twin]

I just tuned into this old thread and glanced this page over really quickly....seems that I should be angry that the state of California won't allow me to tune my Tesla exhaust...

 

[echin]

Anyone know if white stickers will be extended past January 2019? Disappointed to hear that they’re expiring!

 

[Cheburashka]

They most definitely will not be extended.

 

[cwerdna]

Anyone know if white stickers will be extended past January 2019? Disappointed to hear that they’re expiring!

Yes, if they were issued 1/1/2017 or later, you can apply for red ones. See Expiration Dates under California’s Clean Air Decals | California Air Resources Board. It's also covered at Clean Air Vehicle Decals - High Occupancy Vehicle Lane Usage.

Note: White CAV decals are valid only until January 1, 2019. New white CAV decals are no longer issued. Eligible vehicles issued a white decal in 2017 or 2018 are eligible to apply for a red decal in 2019 granting them access to HOV lanes until January 1, 2022

If they were issued before that, you're out of luck for an extension. (I'm in that boat. Oh well.)

 

[whitex]

That really stinks. I mean, the car has zero emissions and that was the whole point of HOV lanes, right? Get people to share a ride to reduce emissions.

Ironically, EV's are more efficient in the slow lane, unlike ICE cars which pollute more when in stop and go traffic.

 

[echin]

Yes, if they were issued 1/1/2017 or later, you can apply for red ones. See Expiration Dates under California’s Clean Air Decals | California Air Resources Board. It's also covered at Clean Air Vehicle Decals - High Occupancy Vehicle Lane Usage.

If they were issued before that, you're out of luck for an extension. (I'm in that boat. Oh well.)

Thanks for the info.. I'm in the 2016 category too.. Bummers.

 

[.jg.]

Ironically, EV's are more efficient in the slow lane, unlike ICE cars which pollute more when in stop and go traffic.

Yes - in a perverse view of this, to reduce overall pollution, it might be better to keep all the low and zero emission vehicles in the slow lanes and let the more polluting vehicles get to their destinations faster, using the HOV lanes. Of course, that view wouldn't account for the long term effect on vehicle buying habits.

 

[whitex]

Yes - in a perverse view of this, to reduce overall pollution, it might be better to keep all the low and zero emission vehicles in the slow lanes and let the more polluting vehicles get to their destinations faster, using the HOV lanes. Of course, that view wouldn't account for the long term effect on vehicle buying habits.

That's why I said "ironically". In Washington state EV's don't get access to HOV lanes because as per official state justification, pollution is not the problem, congestion is - so no such dilemma.