[Video] Bangalore police’s new ‘silencer destroyer’ is totally savage

Just yesterday, we showed you how the Bangalore Traffic Police is destroying seized exhausts of motorcycles using a road roller. Today, there’s a video that shows the cops using a new contraption to destroy seized motorcycle exhausts. And this one is pretty dramatic. Here, watch it for yourself.

As the video indicates, the cops are using some kind of hydraulic press to destroy seized exhausts, making them unusable. Over the past few weeks, traffic police in Bangalore are cracking down on loud exhausts, especially those run by a lot of Royal Enfield owners. Similar drives are going on in other states including Kerala and Maharashtra.

According to rules in the Motor Vehicle Act of India, vehicle exhausts (popularly called silencers) have to be limited to 80 decibels. Anything more than this limit is considered to be noise pollution, and cops can act against the vehicle making noise. However, most cops in India that stop two wheelers or cars for modified exhausts don’t use decibel meters to measure how loud the exhaust actually is. They go by ear, a method that many bikers say is random and unscientific. Unscientific or not, any modification to a vehicle without RTO approval is illegal.

If not for loudness, traffic police can still fine owners and impound motorcycles that have aftermarket exhausts as they are illegal. Royal Enfield owners are the most common offenders, with almost every second Royal Enfield on Indian streets featuring an aftermarket exhaust, meant mainly to make the ‘thump’ bassier.

Aftermarket exhausts that are sold by accessory shops and Royal Enfield dealers are meant only for ‘off-road’ use. Off-road here means private roads. So, you can still ride a motorcycle fitted with an aftermarket exhaust in say your apartment complex or perhaps a private township. On public roads though, cops can stop and fine you.