District 8
Dedicated to Freedom of the Road
Final action:
City of
Title:
Amending Section 7-10-3 ROA 1994, The Vehicle Nuisance Ordinance To Expand Violations To Include Revving of Engines To Magnify Engine Noise In The Downtown Quiet Zone (Benton, by request)
[only part of ordinance]
[+(C) Downtown Quiet Zone. It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in exhibition driving in the Downtown Quiet Zone by operating a vehicle in a manner that willfully creates excessive engine noise because of revving the engine to magnify the engine noise. For the purposes of this section, the Downtown Quiet Zone shall be defined as the downtown core area generally bounded by Marble/Slate/Lomas Boulevard on the north, AT & SF railroad tracks/ Broadway Boulevard on the east, Coal Avenue on south, and Tenth/Ninth/Seventh streets on the west, as defined and depicted in the approved Downtown 2010 Sector Development Plan and which encompasses approximately 321 acres (0.5 square miles). +]
East Greenwich putting a lid on loud motorcycles
01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, August 1, 2009
EAST GREENWICH — Bikers planning to blast through East Greenwich may want to steer clear of the town instead, especially if their exhaust systems aren’t the proper match for their choppers.
The Town Council unanimously passed an emergency ordinance Monday night allowing the police to pull over and levy fines on bikers if the noise-rating data stamped into the chrome of the exhaust doesn’t match the label on the bike frame.
Modified exhaust systems are also outlawed.
The label-matching program is an indirect attempt to eliminate a noise problem that has been drawing complaints, particularly in the waterfront area of town.
The first offense is $500. It jumps to $700 the second time and $1,000 for the third and each subsequent violation.
“I hope we don’t have to pull over one single motorcycle,” said Police Chief David Desjarlais. “But if they’re loud and they draw our attention because of the volume of the exhaust, and we find they’re not in compliance, we’re more than willing to write the ticket.”
The ordinance, now in effect, sparked questions Wednesday from Buddy Cardoso, president of the Rhode Island Motorcycle Association, who said his group supports courteous riding, including keeping the noise down.
But if the labels have to match, “What do you do, throw away the motorcycle if the exhaust wears out?” he said.
Owners of other vehicles are allowed to use after-market exhaust systems, and it would be unfair to single out bikers, he said.
“If you’re not making too much noise, we’re not going to pull you over in the first place,” said Desjarlais.
Cardoso’s fears are also unfounded, the chief said Wednesday, because after-market exhausts say which bikes they were designed for to conform to federal noise pollution standards.
He said officials in Woonsocket, Cumberland, South Kingstown and Smithfield have already contacted the town, wanting to know how well the ordinance works for East Greenwich.
“It’s practical, it works, and officers can enforce it without specialized training,” said the chief.
The emergency ordinance, which applies only to motorcycles manufactured after 1982, expires 90 days from Monday. The council is expected to give the full ordinance a first reading at its meeting Aug. 11 and hold a hearing on Aug. 24.
“This addresses a problem that needs to be addressed,” said Council President Michael B. Isaacs.
“I think it will go a long way toward solving some problems,” said Town Manager William Sequino Jr.
The proposal was sparked by riders gunning their bikes while coming up the King Street hill from the waterfront area. The stone railroad trestle they have to pass under amplifies the sound.
Desjarlais said the problem was also obvious over the weekend, when good weather drew a large group of bikers to Goddard Park. When they left, riding through the center of town, “you couldn’t hold a conversation in the street.”
He acknowledged that the fines are steep “but they do allow some leniency in the first instance.”
Under the ordinance, a system would be set up to allow a biker to avoid the first fine, of $500, by bringing in the bike and having it tested with a noise meter.
But the chief said he doubts that will happen, or most who come in for testing will fail “because they don’t put these exhaust systems in to be quiet. They do it to make noise.”
Cardoso of the motorcycle association agreed that “a lot of younger guys buy a motorcycle and the first thing they want to throw on is a set of pipes and get it as loud as they can. And you know what? They need to be ticketed. I have no problem with that whatsoever, especially if he’s going through a neighborhood and being rude. Some bikers believe that being loud is important for staying safe because it alerts other drivers to their presence. “We don’t subscribe to the ‘Loud Pipes Save Lives’ notion,” said Cardoso. “You should be driving respectfully.”
Portland Maine Posted 8/9/09
PORTLAND COUNCIL MAY VOTE ON MOTORCYCLE NOISE LAW IN AUGUST 2009
On July 14, 2009 the 3-member Public Safety Committee of the Portland, Maine City Council voted unanimously to require that all motorcycles operating in the city have EPA-approved quiet mufflers. Councilman Kevin
Donoghue reports the bill may be before the council August 17 for a public hearing and possibly a final vote.
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Subchapter six of chapter two of title 24 of the administrative code of the city of
§24-236.2 Prohibition on the sale or installation of a motorcycle exhaust device without
A. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, "motorcycle" shall mean every motor vehicle having a seat or saddle for the use of the rider and designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground, but excluding a tractor.
205.169 of title 40 of the code of federal regulations, nor shall any person sell a motorcycle without an exhaust muffler bearing such labeling.
C. Any person who violates subdivision B of this section shall be liable for a civil penalty of not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars for a first violation thereof; not less than one thousand dollars nor more than two thousand five hundred dollars for a second violatioB. No person shall sell or install a motorcycle exhaust device that is not equipped with an exhaust muffler bearing the United States environmental protection agency required labeling applicable to the motorcycle's model year, as required by section n thereof; and not less than two thousand five hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars for a third or subsequent violation thereof. Such civil penalties may be recovered in a proceeding before the environmental control board.
§2. This local law shall take effect immediately upon enactment.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - Charleston City Council let it be known loud
And clear Monday night that nuisance noise will not be tolerated in the
City.
Council unanimously passed an ordinance to regulate noise, including
Loud music, barking dogs and repeated revving of car and motorcycle
Engines in residential areas. Councilman Jack Harrison said a council
Committee recently met with a local judge and Charleston Police Chief
Brent Webster about the issue.
"Both felt it was a move in the right direction in giving police
Officers a path forward in the enforcement of nuisance noise," Harrison
Said.
Under the new law, a police officer may issue a written warning
Citation, which may or may not include a penalty. If the recipient of
The citation, however, violates it within six months, he or she will be
Fined as much as $250. Each additional violation within a six-month
Period can carry an additional fine of up to $250.
By Beth LaMontagne Hall
House Bill 3332 provides the following:
AN ACT FURTHER REGULATING MOTORCYCLE SOUND LEVELS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 7U of chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- "The use and sale of any exhaust pipe that increases the sound emission of any vehicle including motorcycles shall be prohibited. All motorcycle exhaust pipes must conform to 82dBA maximum noise level measured directly to the rear exhaust outlet at a distance of 12 inches. The angle of measurement shall not exceed 30 degrees. Sound measurements taken beyond 12 inches that exceed the requirements are not acceptable. Violation of said decibel level, or illegal retrofitting, will result in a license suspension for six (6) months and/or a fine not to exceed two hundred and fifty dollars ($250)."
Kennebunckporte, Maine Posted 9/17/09
KENNEBUNKPORT - While nearby communities such as Kennebunk, Arundel and
Boston Police unveiled a new voluntary program to reduce motorcycle noise on North End streets, called "Pipe Down Please." The
Boston Police from Area A-1, Captain O'Rourke, Sargent Lema and Officer Teddy Boyle discussed the "Pipe Down Please" program at the September North End Public Safety Meeting. The police commented that enthusiast bikers are likely to comply with the program while there will always be some troublemakers.
The outreach and self-policing program has had positive results in Golden,
"In a bar, an officer shared this cooperative idea with a group of bikers. Shortly after the group went to the patio to chat about sharing the public peace value, two motorcycles with customized exhausts rode by with almost perfectly orchestrated timing. One was riding absolutely “rapped out” in a low gear, forcing the conversation to stop due to the bike’s loudness. The amazing part of this intrusion was that the bikers with whom the officer was conversing responded by exclaiming, “Now he needs a ticket!” They added that people who ride in that manner are “ruining the ride for the rest of us.” By contrast, the second motorcyclist, also riding a motorcycle with a customized exhaust, was in high gear with “low rev,” and the volume did not interrupt the conversation. The officer was quick to point out that the second motorcyclist was a great example of riding in a “community-friendly” fashion."
The Golden,
The initiative follows the efforts of District 1 City Councilor Sal LaMattina who introduced a city ordinance that calls for an EPA stamp on all approved motorcycle mufflers operating in
