|
|
|
|
|
 |
Mr. Mayor,
I hope that you or one of your trusted staff can spare a little time to address an issue that affects most residents in the city. A growing percentage of motorcycle riders that live in or frequent our beautiful city have, with malicious intent, installed straight pipes or non-baffled exhaust systems. Loud mufflers seem to be more about boosting egos, setting off car alarms, and scarring our children as they sleep - than promoting safety with the moronic belief that “Loud pipes save lives”. All of us I think are entitled to a reasonable level of quiet and peaceful enjoyment. If fraction of this arrogant noisy behavior occurred in a fixed structure like a apartment, the offended person could seek and enforcement from the landlord or the Police Department. Please steps to make the public aware of your new efforts to combat this growing concern and allow citation statistics to be published on a regular basis.
Please know that I’m not suggesting an all encompassing strategic initiative; although that would be great if resources were abundant, just some periodic, targeted enforcement of laws that have been on the books for many years. Lombard, Van Ness, and Franklin would be a great start on weekends, holidays, and some evenings.
Food for thought…
Laws vary
Asheville, Buncombe County and the state all have noise laws. For example, the state requires vehicles to have a muffler or exhaust system “of the type installed at the time of manufacture” that prevents “excessive or unusual noise.”
Examples of laws targeting motorcycle noise include:
• As of July 1, riders in New York City are subject to a minimum $440 fine for having a muffler or exhaust system that can be heard within 200 feet.
• In Lancaster, Pa., all motor vehicle drivers — could be ticketed for drawing attention to themselves, whether by creating too much noise by revving their engines or doing hard accelerations. Tickets start at $150.
• As of July 1, motorcyclists in Denver could be ticketed $500 for putting mufflers on their bikes made by someone other than the original manufacturer, if the bike is 25 years old or less. These so-called after-market products can be louder than their manufacturer-made counterparts. Denver’s plan is unique because it targets the after-market equipment.
Respectfully,
Russell
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
