10 June 2009

Careful Where You Put That Probe, Officer...

"(Sgt. Todd) Newberry probed 20 inches into the idling Ford's tailpipe, and took a reading of 103 decibels -- 13 past the legal limit of 90."
With my curiosity sufficiently piqued by this measurement procedure, I looked up the Mansfield (OH) city code, which states the following regarding vehicular noise emissions:
"Ninety db(A) when measured twenty inches from the rear of the exhaust pipe at a forty-five degree angle to the center of the pipe at a minimum height of eight inches from a hard surface."
Hmmm... Assuming this was reported accurately, it would seem that Sgt. Newberry went 40 inches the wrong way with his, er, probe. Advice: Avoid body cavity searches in Mansfield, OH!