A bill signed into law by Mayor Kirk Caldwell requires all Oahu mopeds to have mufflers or face misdemeanor charges that could result in up to a year in jail and/or a fine of up to $2,000.

Bill 53, introduced by City Councilman Tommy Waters, was approved 9-0 by the Council on Dec. 4. Waters’ Council district includes Waikiki where vehicular noise of all sorts tends to travel up the canyons of high-rise hotels and condominiums.

A state law already requires that mopeds, like motorcycles, be equipped with mufflers if they are on public highways. The law also prohibits the modifying of an exhaust system in a manner that would amplify or increase the noisiness of a moped or motorcycle.

The city law, however, regulated noisy mufflers on all motor vehicles but left mopeds out of the definition of motor vehicles.

Waters stressed that the main purpose of the bill was to clarify existing city muffler law to include mopeds with motor vehicles and motorcycles.

The bill “provides an additional mechanism for HPD to regulate moped noise to make our neighborhoods quieter and more enjoyable,” Waters said. “I appreciate the community members and neighborhood boards that came out in support to ensure the bill’s passage. I will continue to fight to improve the quality of life for our local families.”

A number of Waikiki residents joined the Waikiki Neighborhood Board in voicing support for the bill.

Waikiki resident Denise Boisvert told Council members before the final vote that Honolulu police only have cited a small portion of the moped muffler violators.

But Akihiro Murakoshi, owner of retailer Mr. Scooters Hawaii and repair shop Moped Doctors, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that stepped-up enforcement by Honolulu police of loud, intentionally modified older mopeds is the key to solving the problem. Most newer mopeds are quieter — and all have mufflers, he said.

Caldwell, in a statement, thanked Waters for the bill. “Oahu is such a beautiful place so it’s only fitting we take steps to make our natural environment as peaceful as possible through commonsense legislation like Bill 53,” he said.