We may be, as our national anthem reminds us, “The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave,” but we’re also a nation of noisemakers.
Here on the Westside, we have a daily dose of noise from multiple sources, including automobile and truck traffic, motorcycles, trains, helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, barking dogs, gunshots and/or firecrackers, lawn mowers and weed cutters. Most of it is inevitable, and most of us contribute to the racket. We’ve got cars and trucks, we depend upon goods that are transported by trains, we ride on planes, and we have lawns to mow, dogs that bark, weeds that need cutting and maybe a motorcycle in the garage.
Some of us generate more noise than others. I plead guilty – my beloved 2004 Ford T-Bird has been mildly hot rodded, including a Borla exhaust system. It doesn’t roar at low speeds, but it does make a little racket on the highway. I don’t believe that it exceeds allowed noise levels at any speed, but noisy cars and motorcycles are much beloved by some.
Take Harleys, for example. According to Noise-Free America: A Coalition to Promote Quiet, The California Air Resources Board noted years ago that “One of the more popular modifications today is replacement of the original exhaust system with aftermarket exhaust systems and parts. 85 percent of newer motorcycles in Southern California (primarily Harley Davidsons) had some form of exhaust modification. After-market exhaust systems on highway motorcycles can range from straight pipes without any catalysts to systems with catalysts that have not demonstrated durability and/or the ability to effectively control emissions.”
So loud do they become that they can cause permanent hearing loss.
“But hearing damage is not the only adverse effect excessively loud motorcycles have on the public. Unlike legally equipped and quiet motorcycles, the excessive noise of many illegally modified motorcycles can be heard for miles. Excessive motorcycle noise poses a severe public nuisance and health hazard and adversely impacts the public’s quality of life.”
Yup, Harleys are loud. But Harley owners love their noble steeds and argue that “loud pipes save lives.” That’s doubtful, and the decibel-levels of modified Harleys are well above national limits, as established by the EPA. But so be it – Congress defunded the Federal Office of Noise Abatement and Control decades ago. And no politician in his or her right mind would target Harley owners.
And as for worrying about identified and unidentified flying objects, so what? We’re the home of the Space Force, of the Air Force Academy, Fort Carson and multiple defense contractors -keep ’em in the sky!
So, what can we do about noise? Let’s see – sell the T-Bird and buy a Tesla? No! De-bark the noisiest of our three dogs? No!! Let the weeds grow in the yard? Fine, but city regulations require us to mow. Do nothing, enjoy our wonderful city, sit on the front porch and have a glass of wine at sunset? Emphatically yes!
And should we get a fourth dog, preferably a big deep-voiced 200-pound Mastiff? Sure! We’ll just call it a dog symphony …