A friend lends you his car. It is very noisy and blows a lot of smoke. He tells you the vehicle has been given a defect notice but it's still OK to drive it. What should you do?
Driving a noisy or smoky vehicle
There are fines for driving a noisy or smoky vehicle. Starting or driving a vehicle causing unnecessary noise or smoke carries a $311 fine and 3 points on your licence.
Smoky vehicles are vehicles that cause a lot of unnecessary air pollution. This accumulates in the air and affects people's health and contributes to smog which reduces visibility as well as damaging certain types of buildings as it can cause acid rain. Air pollution is said to cause over 3.6 million deaths per year.
Noisy vehicles are an annoyance to other people. An excessively noisy vehicle usually means that there's a problem with the muffler. If your vehicle has suddenly become noisy then you might have a hole in the muffler. If the muffler is still in generally good condition you can usually have the hole or crack welded quite cheaply.
If you undertake basic maintenance for your car then you'll reduce the chances of it becoming smoky. For causes of visible exhaust fumes see here.