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The Potent Pollution of Noise
- aljgz 3y agoWe talk about friction of tires on Asphalt, or engine noise. Nobody seems to do something about exhaust modification. This is big win with little effort. The logarithmic scale of DB hides how serious the issue is. A 95db modified exhaust create noise that's equal to 10000 54db cars. One such vehicle passing by downtown at 3am can disrupt the sleep of thousands of people (among hundreds of thousands who are in the range, but most of them might not be that sensitive). IMHO, an exhaust modification that adds more than 10db to the factory provided one should be illegal. It's easy to think of next steps for cars that are made noisy in the factory, but it's incredible that nothing is being done about this.
- wizardforhire 3y agoIt generally is illegal… but as I mentioned in the post on headlights the laws are rarely if ever enforced…
- wizardforhire 3y agoIf one were so inclined to be civically active in the US at least, it should be possible to set up an api with local law enforcement that would be able to take in data from always on microphones such as with widely deployed door bell cameras, smart assistants and phones coupled with ai sound recognition and automatically report and triangulate offending sources of noise which would probably go a long way towards making enforcement more plausible. Over a decade ago when I first proposed this I was against its development for obvious privacy concerns. Seeing as how that ship has long sailed it seems that were long over due to have such a background system in place. I mean at this point its no worse than the litany of cameras we see already deployed by municipalities on traffic lights.
- cuddlyogre 3y agoThe absolute void of interest to enforce the law is the problem here, not finding offenders. I'm my area, all it would take is a cop to watch the main drag and start enforcing speed limits and state and local noise ordinances and it would stop. But they don't because they are not interested. In part because they or their children partake in the hobby of harassing people in their homes a mile and a half away. Another part is its easier to ticket people late for work because they won't run like the noise makers do.
- roamerz 3y ago>The absolute void of interest to enforce the law is the problem here, not finding offenders. A couple of reasons come to mind: 1. Cops in our area are super busy handling call associated with theft, drug abuse, mental illness and homelessness that i’m not surprised they are not interested in bringing more work upon themselves by initiating contact for a relatively minor (to the above) infraction. 2. A lot of cops are into hotrods and imho the most flagrant of noise making vehicles, Harleys.
- endymi0n 3y agoInterestingly, France and Germany are getting serious on this. Looking forward to see more of these. https://www-adac-de.translate.goog/verkehr/recht/verkehrsvorschriften-deutschland/laermblitzer-berlin/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp https://www-adac-de.translate.goog/verkehr/recht/verkehrsvor...
- wongarsu 3y agoOr maybe we could finance some kind of scheme where law enforcement officers traverse cities, towns and countryside using a variety of transport options, primarily two- and four-wheeled motorized vehicles on a rotating basis. If we then equipped these officers with some kind of method to audibly detect abnormally loud noises, they could proactively investigate such offenses with minimal response times and take appropriate action. Of course one issue with my plan is that it depends on the cooperation of the dispatched law enforcement officers. If they were to symphonize with the people committing the noise infractions they might simply refuse to punish them.
- ericmcer 3y agoIf you want to really want to question your fellow human, check out some Reddit threads about loud exhausts. The number of people who steadfastly defend their right to drive a loud car is insane.
- tmnvix 3y agoCase in point from today: https://old.reddit.com/r/newzealand/comments/1ak06br/loud_neighbour_car/ https://old.reddit.com/r/newzealand/comments/1ak06br/loud_ne... "Hi all, could anyone please advise how to tackle this situation. My neighbour are good people but their sons car are very loud. There is so much base that I feel the sound on my bed in night Time. Our little one is due in 3 months. I’m worried about this situation." And one popular response: "Just the reality of people living their lives..." What I find interesting is that despite the rise of social media and the endless social-shaming that it enables, obnoxious behaviour doesn't seem to carry the same stigma that it once did. Related to this seems to be the conflation of what is legal and what is ethical (i.e. if it isn't illegal it is fine).
- jackvalentine 3y agoWhen I was a teenager with a loud car I’d kill the engine when I turned off the main road and rolled down to my parents house to not annoy the neighbours if it was late at night. When leaving at unsocial hours i’d do the same - roll down the road until I was away from the houses and then start the car. Some people just have zero awareness or empathy for their impact on other people.
- snarfy 3y agoWhat about the people that live near the main road?
- jackvalentine 3y agoThe main road was rediculously loud to begin with and there is a big difference between cruising past at 2000rpm and 70km/hr and coming down a residential street at 30km/h.
- genter 3y agoThe timbre is also important. Tire and engine noise are closer to white noise, which you can tune out. An aftermarket muffler like what my jackass neighbor has is a single pitch that pierces through anything.
- Swizec 3y ago> IMHO, an exhaust modification that adds more than 10db to the factory provided one should be illegal. It's easy to think of next steps for cars that are made noisy in the factory, but it's incredible that nothing is being done about this. In Europe cars have to pass an annual technical inspection to renew their license. Every part on the car has to be homologated and they'll only homologate things that are within all safety/noise/etc regulation. My sister's ex boyfriend had to remove his modded exhaust and reinstall the stock version every year before inspection. This is clearly annoying so most people wouldn't bother. It also comes with heavy fines should he ever get pulled over for speeding or street racing. Cops love to hand out additional "illegal car mods" tickets when they're annoyed. Added bonus: This would also solve the American problem with lifted trucks and LED headlights. Unfortunately it would also make my motorcycle unregisterable (not the exhaust, other stuff like distance between indicators).
- ioseph 3y agoI just cannot wrap my head around exhaust mods. I previously rode a 600cc sports bike, I specifically chose it because it's quiet, and still the noise from the stock pipes would give you a headache without earplugs if riding for more than an hour. When I sold it the buyer mentioned the first thing they would do was an exhaust swap...
- brailsafe 3y agoThere are few vehicles more cringe than a loud motorcycle of any kind. Kudos to you for still having fun but trying to reduce the blast radius.
- Geezus_42 3y agoI've heard people justify it as a safety thing. People in cars are terrible about paying attention to motorcycles because they don't take much space. So with a loud exhaust you can get their attention and let them know you are there. I can buy it except for the people that just rec their engine for absolutely no reason.
- jahewson 3y agoThis is an ollllllld myth amongst bikers. #1 killer of bikers is drink-riding.
- mcronce 3y agoThat statistic isn't particularly relevant to people who don't drink and ride
- brailsafe 3y agoIf you remove the deaths from drinking and riding, wouldn't it be reassuring to know the likelihood of dying isn't as high as it seemed, or even that the fake need for loud pipes is even less useful?
- 3y ago
- sirsinsalot 3y agoFor many of us with loud exhausts, the aim isn't noise... It is free flowing gasses allowing the engine to produce more power. The noise is what it is for that. That said, as a loud car driver, I can't stand people who map pops-and-bangs into their car or buy loud exhausts for loudness sake. It is lame, from an engineering standpoint. Also those of us with loud, modified, high performance cars appreciate engineering. With this comes maps and exhaust valves to allow the car to be quieter at 3am. Point is, we are not all the same. A ban would treat me as a criminal to punish the others. Isn't this something we argue is bad all the time here? Such as surveillance of everyone as if they're criminals for the sake of crime reduction? The situation with loud cars is more nuanced. Nuance is easy to ignore when something irritates or annoys you personally.
- amrocha 3y agoIt's really not nuanced. You seem to think that other loud cars are bad but your loud car is ok but guess what, they're all the same to the people outside the car. I don't care about your performance car. Go to a racetrack if you want that. Get your loud car off public streets.
- sirsinsalot 3y agoI think my loud car is OK when it isn't loud. When I switch map and close the exhaust flaps. OPs view would ban my modifications, when I respect people's desire not to hear my car. I'm saying don't tar everyone with the same brush. But sure, over simplify and catastrophise. It's clear you didn't read my whole reply but chose the pitchfork instead.
- amrocha 3y agoOk but why should a car have the ability to be a nuisance in the first place? I get that you're saying you're responsible about it but if we allow that, then people who are not responsible will also do it.
- 3y ago
- tayo42 3y agoIf you complain about noise you get labeled a Karen, or maybe even a genteifier under the right circumstance lol. It's like software, the hardest problem to solve isn't technical, it's people problems.
- uoaei 3y agoThe gentrifier label comes when you complain about things that have been neighborhood fixtures without engaging with your neighbors before deciding that your feelings matter more than theirs.
- tayo42 3y agoWe're talking about pollution though. Noise gets treated differently then other types of pollution, exception being light. You probably wouldn't get labeled a gentrifier, or really even get push back, if you wanted to clean plastic waste, put up garbage cans, recycle etc...
- PhilipRoman 3y ago>You probably wouldn't get labeled a gentrifier, or really even get push back, if you wanted to clean plastic waste, put up garbage cans, recycle etc... You'd be surprised haha
- switch007 3y ago> If you complain about noise you get labeled a Karen It’s incredible how effective that social media campaign was/is. Moan about bad service from any company and you’re a “karen”, not a customer who rightfully demands good service, given the cost of things. Suddenly you’re not allowed to complain about anything and all employees are literal heroes on the same level as war veterans
- metadat 3y agoRespectfully, I disagree. A "Karen" is a particular type of complainer, one who's only aware of themself in their little bubble world, with insufficient regard or empathy for other human beings, or the external factors which sometimes make delivering A+ (or even decent) service infeasible.
- JohnMakin 3y agoI've lived in cities (especially bustling downtown areas) for most of my life, and whenever I go out to somewhere quiet I get profoundly uncomfortable. For me, the sound of the city (sirens/cars/people) is soothing in the same way being inside during a storm can be relaxing knowing that you are safe from it.
- brailsafe 3y agoI agree, but wouldn't suggest there should be extra noise created in such an absence.
- JohnMakin 3y agoI didn’t suggest that was just trying to provide an alternate view point to the article
- brailsafe 3y agoIt's an interesting alternate take to explore. While I do enjoy a bit of ambient noise, I'd be perfectly happy to see all vehicles constrained more than they are, because vehicles of all kinds reduce the physical space for casual conversation outside, and make it audibly difficult. The level of noise I'd prefer is quite a lot lower than what is usual, but not silence
- lxgr 3y agoYou can very easily create the your personal noisescape of choice using speakers (at home) and headphones. The opposite is orders of magnitude more difficult and often prohibitively expensive (or impossible, when renting), especially given the poor noise proofing that most US buildings seem to have.
- JohnMakin 3y agoOf course this is true - my first thought is this article just makes me question its premise that noise pollution itself is inherently harmful to humans. That was the only “intent” to my post, not suggesting we should literally tolerate or promote excessive noise because my subjective experience makes it useful.
- hansonkd 3y agoSince I moved to California in a city, I have been finding it pretty hard to find any source of "pure" quiet. It really made me appreciate the saying "Silence is a luxury". When I grew up in a rural town in the midwest, it was quiet. Like we lived in a neighborhood full of houses, but it was silent almost all times of day except for nature sounds. There was occasional yardwork or a train going by. But neighbors driving around were drowned out by rustling trees it seemed, and I never noticed much traffic noises. When my wife visited for the first time, she was uncomfortable and almost in pain because of the silence, something I never expected. But where I live now, it is constant cars. When I try to go out to park or out hiking, you hear the highway. The trails here are full of people and I have to listen to people talk my entire hike. I live in a hilly area and leaf blowers seem to resonate through the hills. At 8am every day even on a Sunday, the golf course starts mowing which reverberates though the hills. There is no escape from man made noise. Sometimes I miss greatly having any space within an hour or 2 that I can go and just listen to nature. It is a huge difference and a shrinking luxury.
- H12 3y agoI've been feeling this pretty accutely of late. When stresses of work/life pile up, the inability to free myself from the unceasing car noise to find some tranquility can feel downright overwhelming at times.
- MaysonL 3y agoMy town recently outlawed gasoline-powered leafblowers. Glorious.