Noise violations are almost
Noise violations are almost impossible to enforce, since they all (according to the research I've done) require an intricate setup to evaluate the noise in a particular setting.
Just requiring police vehicles to carry equipment that can evaluate vehicle noise levels and giving them the authority to use it is a huge step forward in noise violation enforcement. From what I've seen, the typical response from police to noise complaints is, "Sorry, but we don't have the equipment to measure the noise to allow writing a ticket, but we'll give them a verbal warning."
Naturally, the ever-increasing friction between people in neighborhoods doesn't stop at ridiculously loud vehicles, as gas-powered leaf blowers, string trimmers, mowers, chain saws, power washers, and a host of construction tools all emit noise well over the 60dB threshold that most noise ordinances are written to. My biggest objection to the SLEEP Act in this article is that it allows motorcycles to produce noise up to 95dB. That is absolutely ridiculously loud.
I have a neighbor 4 houses down with a stupidly-loud motorcycle that rattles my windows and walls whenever he starts it and of course he leaves it idling in his driveway for about 10 minutes while he walks around doing whatever he does to get ready to leave (and whatever he does when he gets home before he pulls it in the garage). As soon as he starts driving, absolutely nothing else is audible in my house. I can be sitting right in front of the TV or talking right next to someone and there is no way to hear anything until he gets almost 1/4 mile away -- and that's with all the windows closed.
Various iPad noise meters I have used to measure the sound puts it at 50-60dB when idling down the street and 75-80dB when driving by barely above an idle (the ambient noise level in the house is 40dB). This far exceeds the 60dB limit of our local noise ordinance, but as I said, the police won't do anything about it (and there's some speculation the guy is a police officer himself anyway).
So my point is that besides 95dB being far beyond annoying and extremely disrespectful to other people, it is well documented that noise over 80-85 dB is hearing loss inducing -- so to have a legal limit that contributes to hearing loss is very irresponsible.
I've also been "that guy". Among other vehicles, I had a very nice Corvette with headers and Borla exhaust that used to set off car alarms as I drove through parking lots. I even took it to Germany when I was stationed there and living out in town, I was introduced to the extremely respectful society they have. After living there a while, I was embarrassed to be associated with the great number of "Ugly Americans" that permeate other countries. I also felt horrible each morning when I started my car and I always tried to keep as quiet as possible by finessing the clutch and driving out of the neighborhood at an idle.
Of course, I grew up and the need to be loud and obnoxious for no particular reason faded.
With the rise of electric vehicles, there will naturally be a decline in fossil-fuel powered vehicles and other equipment, that on one hand may make issues like noise legislation less necessary, but I also think this is going to create a new class of "have and have-nots". I believe in the short term there will be drastic increases in the ever-growing rift we have seen between neighbors, communities, states, political parties, etc. with many people "blaming" electric vehicles (think "ICE-ing" and all the indiscriminate vandalism to Teslas multiplied by every manufacturer that comes out with an electric car).
Like it or not, electric vehicles will dominate the marketplace very soon, and legislators have a huge portion of the population ready to pull out their guns and bats to start shooting and bashing everything in sight they don't agree with or simply can't dominate by overpowering. So you have to ask yourself, how can we possibly "normalize" society so people can have their own beliefs, but don't feel the need to kill other people to proclaim their beliefs? What is going to happen when the winning car on race day is an electric car?
So when looking at legislation that seeks to limit the "rights" of people to modify and use their vehicles in obnoxious and environmentally irresponsible ways, take a moment to think through how you would solve the greater issues that are trying to be addressed rather than just instinctively bashing someone's attempt at making a better life for a part of society that may not currently include you.