4 ms·

I don't care how it happens, but the day petrol mopeds are completely phased out will be a very happy one for me. Being woken up by a loud scooter deliverying p

I don't care how it happens, but the day petrol mopeds are completely phased out will be a very happy one for me. Being woken up by a loud scooter deliverying pizza late at night is a continual annoyance. Electric mopeds presumably make little to no sound.

Analemma_ 8y ago
You may not get your wish. My personal most-hated source of urban noise is unmuffled motorcycles that can be heard for miles, but it turns out these exist on purpose: ICE bikes with stock mufflers have a reasonable noise level, but bikers take them off they think it makes them safer ("loud pipes save lives"). It might turn out that we have the technology to make personal vehicles whisper quiet, but then people refuse to use it.
- fredley 8y ago
  When the majority of vehicles are electric, I can see the case being made for all vehicles to have noise-emission limits. Noise pollution is a serious health issue in cities, and could be a new target once emissions pollution is largely taken care of.
  - mikestew 8y ago
    I can see the case being made for all vehicles to have noise-emission limits. Oh, did you think those loud-ass Harleys and wannabes have legal exhaust systems on their bikes? They do not. But the laws are so rarely enforced that we might as well not have them. My old Honda, and I'm pretty sure the current BMW, have a stamp in the metal on the muffler with words to the effect of "meets EPA noise standards of 84db", or summat. I don't know why it's not enforced, either. Seems like easy money on the part of the municipalities.
    - haldean 8y ago
      My understanding (from a friend who was a cop, this was in NYC but it's probably similar elsewhere) is that what happens is: 1. Motorcycle makes a ton of noise because muffler is removed / modified 2. Cop pulls over motorcycle, gives them a citation which requires them to go to a testing center to have the loudness measured 3. Motorcycle owner reinstalls stock muffler 4. Motorcycle owner goes to testing center and passes test with stock system, and thus doesn't get a ticket 5. Motorcycle owner removes stock muffler 6. Goto 1 He said that no one ever pulls motorcycles over for being too loud because they know this is what happens, and all it's going to be is a lot of paperwork with no actual punishment for the rider. Cops would have to carry noise meters for them to be able to give the ticket in-person.
      - mikestew 8y ago
        Cops would have to carry noise meters for them to be able to give the ticket in-person. I would happily buy them with money from my own pocket. Absolutely serious, send me an invoice. Yeah, Redmond didn't take me up on it, either. The fact that it is universally not enforced tells me my simple solutions were obviously missing something. OTOH, if you replace the headlamps in your car, they're supposed to have a DOT stamp on them somewhere (granted, I've never even heard of that being enforced). Given that my stock mufflers have stamps referencing the EPA, seems to me we could do the same as headlights. Roar past a cop, cop looks for stamp, no stamp: here's your ticket. We already regulate car exhaust systems, I have no problem with it for bikes. And unlike a loud Civic, you can visually inspect the system with little effort. But what it really boils down to is that no one is riding an open-pipe Harley past a Senator's house at 2:00 a. m. Because no one but the cretins that ride them likes the sound of a loud bike.
      - wingspar 8y ago
        Is the testing center free?
      - vkou 8y ago
        Do cops require people to go to a testing center when they cite then for a broken taillight, or a DUI? Why are motorcyclists handled with kid gloves, here?
  - tomjakubowski 8y ago
    If your city ever hosts a ciclovia, go to one and just sit outside on the route and eat lunch or have a drink. The difference in noise compared to a regular day with ICE traffic driving by is remarkable.
- gascan 8y ago
  Somehow affixing large speakers to your tiny moped to make vrooming sounds, seems like a rather niche outcome. Chopping off the exhaust pipe for "moah powah!" fits much better into human behavior.

Analemma_ 8y ago

You may not get your wish. My personal most-hated source of urban noise is unmuffled motorcycles that can be heard for miles, but it turns out these exist on purpose: ICE bikes with stock mufflers have a reasonable noise level, but bikers take them off they think it makes them safer ("loud pipes save lives"). It might turn out that we have the technology to make personal vehicles whisper quiet, but then people refuse to use it.

fredley 8y ago
When the majority of vehicles are electric, I can see the case being made for all vehicles to have noise-emission limits. Noise pollution is a serious health issue in cities, and could be a new target once emissions pollution is largely taken care of.
- mikestew 8y ago
  I can see the case being made for all vehicles to have noise-emission limits. Oh, did you think those loud-ass Harleys and wannabes have legal exhaust systems on their bikes? They do not. But the laws are so rarely enforced that we might as well not have them. My old Honda, and I'm pretty sure the current BMW, have a stamp in the metal on the muffler with words to the effect of "meets EPA noise standards of 84db", or summat. I don't know why it's not enforced, either. Seems like easy money on the part of the municipalities.
  - haldean 8y ago
    My understanding (from a friend who was a cop, this was in NYC but it's probably similar elsewhere) is that what happens is: 1. Motorcycle makes a ton of noise because muffler is removed / modified 2. Cop pulls over motorcycle, gives them a citation which requires them to go to a testing center to have the loudness measured 3. Motorcycle owner reinstalls stock muffler 4. Motorcycle owner goes to testing center and passes test with stock system, and thus doesn't get a ticket 5. Motorcycle owner removes stock muffler 6. Goto 1 He said that no one ever pulls motorcycles over for being too loud because they know this is what happens, and all it's going to be is a lot of paperwork with no actual punishment for the rider. Cops would have to carry noise meters for them to be able to give the ticket in-person.
    - mikestew 8y ago
      Cops would have to carry noise meters for them to be able to give the ticket in-person. I would happily buy them with money from my own pocket. Absolutely serious, send me an invoice. Yeah, Redmond didn't take me up on it, either. The fact that it is universally not enforced tells me my simple solutions were obviously missing something. OTOH, if you replace the headlamps in your car, they're supposed to have a DOT stamp on them somewhere (granted, I've never even heard of that being enforced). Given that my stock mufflers have stamps referencing the EPA, seems to me we could do the same as headlights. Roar past a cop, cop looks for stamp, no stamp: here's your ticket. We already regulate car exhaust systems, I have no problem with it for bikes. And unlike a loud Civic, you can visually inspect the system with little effort. But what it really boils down to is that no one is riding an open-pipe Harley past a Senator's house at 2:00 a. m. Because no one but the cretins that ride them likes the sound of a loud bike.
    - wingspar 8y ago
      Is the testing center free?
    - vkou 8y ago
      Do cops require people to go to a testing center when they cite then for a broken taillight, or a DUI? Why are motorcyclists handled with kid gloves, here?
- tomjakubowski 8y ago
  If your city ever hosts a ciclovia, go to one and just sit outside on the route and eat lunch or have a drink. The difference in noise compared to a regular day with ICE traffic driving by is remarkable.
gascan 8y ago
Somehow affixing large speakers to your tiny moped to make vrooming sounds, seems like a rather niche outcome. Chopping off the exhaust pipe for "moah powah!" fits much better into human behavior.