Editorials - August 8, 2004
Noisy jerks:
And politicians who amplify them

A SILENT majority of Granite Staters are being driven crazy by a rude, obnoxious minority who insist on rattling their tailpipes and thumping their woofers as loudly as possible. So wrote a Goffstown woman who responded to our reader survey on street noise last week. We think she is right.

More than 550 Union Leader and New Hampshire Sunday News readers have responded to our survey, and most wrote in to complain about noise from motorcycles and car stereos. On a scale of 1-10, respondents rated the road noise problem an 8.2.

Some readers defended their annoying behavior. Several motorcycle writers said motorcycles have to be loud so other drivers can hear them. While we agree that motorcycles are justified in being a little louder than the average car, too many bikers use safety as an excuse to justify deliberate obsterperousness. Roaring tailpipes are a way for them to thumb their noses at us "squares."

This goes double for the loud stereo gang. "Dude, we should be able to do anything we want with our cars, including modify the sound so it's cool," reader Joshua Solo of Peterborough wrote. We would not want the government to prevent people from installing a kickin' stereo. But the government absolutely should prevent people from cruising down the street with the sound so loud that drivers several cars away cannot hear their own radios. Dude.

Because common courtesy is no longer common, local governments and the state need laws to help restore the peace. That is why it is so unfortunate that House Bill 234 became law.

The bill revoked a state statute that read: "No person shall modify the exhaust system of a motor vehicle in any manner which will amplify or increase the noise emitted above that emitted by the original muffler installed in the vehicle. . . ."

That wording was problematic, especially for collectors of antique cars. Who knows what an original muffler on a Model T sounded like? But repealing the statute was not the solution.

Sen. Ted Gatsas, R-Manchester, gave a spirited commentary in opposition to House Bill 234 when it was debated on the Senate floor. But Senate Majority Leader Bob Clegg, R-Hudson, vigorously promoted the bill and rounded up the votes to pass it. Had Gov. Craig Benson had the courage to veto it, as he knew he should have, the state would not have given noisy jerks even more license to irritate the rest of us. But Benson let the bill become law without his signature.

Gone are the days when people would turn down their radios at traffic lights and bikers would refrain from revving their engines on quiet streets. Disrespect being a badge of honor for so many in our society, we now need laws to accomplish what simple decency used to achieve.

http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=41941