Across Fairfax County, vehicles with modified exhausts are disturbing neighborhoods at all hours. The noise wakes children, disrupts sleep, and hurts quality of life for thousands of residents.

I’m a veteran who lives a quarter mile from I-66 in Fairfax County. The sudden, explosive crackle of modified exhausts sounds like fireworks or gunfire. My two dogs are afraid to go outside, even into our own backyard. I’ve lost the peace and quiet of the home I worked hard for, and I am now considering leaving the neighborhood. No resident should be driven from their home by noise that our laws already say shouldn’t exist.

Virginia law already requires exhaust systems that prevent “excessive or unusual levels of noise,” and it treats chambered pipes as a violation. But the law sets no measurable standard, so loud modified vehicles pass annual safety inspections and keep driving our streets.

We, the undersigned, respectfully ask the General Assembly and the Virginia State Police to:

1. Set a clear decibel limit for exhaust noise in Virginia’s annual safety inspection.
2. Require inspection stations to fail vehicles with non-factory or chambered exhaust systems unless they are restored to compliant equipment.
3. Continue and expand roadside enforcement, including the noise-monitoring pilot program, so vehicles that pass inspection and are modified afterward are still held accountable.
This is not about banning car enthusiasts. It is about a clear, fair, enforceable standard so every neighborhood can enjoy basic peace and quiet.

Sign if you’ve been woken up, interrupted, or worn down by loud exhaust noise in your neighborhood.