Are you Annoyed by Loud Car Stereo Noise?
This material is posted to assist you in your efforts to combat noise pollution in your community.
Noise-related links Speech to the Board of School Trustees A Noise Abatement By-law How to work with the police
Invisible
Power
What is noise? We can’t see it, touch it, taste it, or smell it. So why should
we care about noise? Murders, robberies, and car accidents are surely more
important. Why then should the police be concerned about enforcing motor
vehicle noise abatement by-laws?
Noise
is unwanted sound. Though it is intangible and invisible, sound is a powerful
physical force. Sound can break glass, and crush kidney stones. Low frequency
sound can easily penetrate walls and spread widely through neighborhoods.
Sufficiently loud sounds can instantly and permanently damage our hearing.
In
addition to its physical power, sound affects our minds. Sound is what allows us
to communicate - through speech. Sound can bring us enjoyment and relaxation, as
we listen to our natural environment, or to the music of our choice. Sound can
also startle us, and warn us of danger. The sound of war drums has for
generations served as an irresistible call to battle. There can be no denying
the powerful psychological effect of sound.
Quiet
Appreciation
There can also be no denying the high value we place on peace and quiet, and the
absence of unwanted sound. For example, communities commonly ban the use of
noisy engine brakes in residential neighborhoods. Hospital zones have street
signs requesting quiet so patients can rest. Public libraries request quiet so
that people can concentrate. Rural residents of BC are currently lobbying to
obtain relief from the daily noise of blueberry cannons, so they too can have
peace and quiet. Real estate agents regularly acknowledge the value of peace and
quiet when they use phrases such as “nice quiet neighborhood” in their
advertisements for desirable residential real estate. And in our community, we have
two well-written anti-noise by-laws, and their very existence indicates a desire
for peace and quiet in our community!
We
do not need a scientific study to prove that noise is unwelcome in our lives.
Noise can interrupt casual conversations and business meetings. It can disrupt
our concentration at work and impede our productivity. It can disturb our sleep.
It can prevent us from enjoying our own choice of music. And noise can disturb
our children while they sleep, play and study.
On
our roads, loud boom-car noise can distract drivers, possibly increasing the
risk of accidents and personal injury. Conceivably, it could also incite more
aggressive driving behavior. And it probably results in permanent hearing loss
for the perpetrators.
Clearly,
noise can seriously degrade the quality of our lives, and it can be a safety
hazard as well. Unfortunately, much of it is unavoidable; we have no alternative
to cars, trucks, airplanes, and lawnmowers, despite the noise they make.
Nonetheless, we should not allow ourselves to become numb to noise. While we
have no choice but to tolerate necessary noise, unnecessary noise
only adds to the problem, and should be strongly discouraged.
A
Community Ear-Sore
We should not tolerate unnecessary noise any more than we should tolerate litter
on our streets. Like litter, noise hurts our civic pride, and defaces our
community. Like litter, noise lowers our morale. And like litter, noise degrades
property value. But the negative impact of noise far exceeds the impact of
litter, since noise can have such disruptive effects on our work, our thought,
our conversations, our leisure, and our sleep. Moreover, while we can look away
to avoid seeing litter, we cannot turn our heads to avoid hearing noise. Noise
is clearly as bad as litter, and worse. Since we do not tolerate litter, we
certainly should not tolerate noise!
Why
then is there so much noise around us, especially near our traffic arteries, but
also in our residential neighborhoods? Partly, the answer can be found in some
trends that seem to cause moral confusion in our world:
1.
The
advance of technology. Rapid
change begets moral confusion. Individuals become dazzled and disoriented by the
exponential advance of technology. In the confusion, common-sense practical
morality is too often abandoned. For example, just because technology allows it,
some people believe it is okay to invade others’ privacy with high-tech spying
equipment, to steal music and software on the Internet, and to play music loud
enough to rattle windows and disturb neighbors.
But the more our world changes, the more we must not forget the most basic
precept of practical morality: “Do what you like, as long as you don’t
infringe on other’s rights”. We must apply this principle anew with each
technological advance, and for this we depend on the vigilance of our government
leaders, police, and educators.
2.
Competitive
commerce.
In our economic system, money and profits rule. Each new technology is
inevitably exploited in every viable way, regardless of right or wrong.
Companies do not stay in business by teaching people morality or good manners.
Rather, they stay competitive by catering to every whim and fancy of consumers,
regardless of any consequent social ills. For example, a recent newspaper
advertisement for a local stereo shop urged people to make their cars “sound
like thunder” without consideration for their neighbors, without concern for
damage to their hearing, and without caution for the possible impairment of
their driving.
We live in a moral void on this issue, and this sort of mercenary amorality must
be challenged. Our political leaders and public administrators must make it
clear that noise pollution will not be tolerated in our community, regardless of
the urgings of stereo shops and electronics manufacturers.
3. Our growing prosperity. In our prosperous times, many ordinary people enjoy unprecedented wealth. This allows expensive discretionary purchases to be made with ease, including powerful boom-car sound systems. Having personally observed quite a number of boom-cars over recent years, I have noticed that many of these vehicles seem quite stylish, and must represent a substantial investment in automotive luxury. I wonder whether the drivers, as young adults, could possibly afford these expensive vehicles on their own. Or is it their parents who are sponsoring this significant community nuisance?
As
our society grows richer, will the culture of instant gratification and
permissiveness grow more extreme as well? As noise offences continue to go
unpunished, will a growing number of people forget their manners and disturb
their neighbors with loud car stereos? As more people install powerful boom-car
systems, causing a corresponding rise in ambient noise levels in our community,
will we no longer be able to enjoy an environment that is conducive to
productive work, or the peaceful enjoyment of life?
Offender Mentality
As
these trends continue, they will inevitably be reinforced by some aspects of
basic human nature: For example, we could expect that individuals suffering from
low self-esteem might resort to loud music or engine noise in order to feel more
important or to increase their status. Restless or bored people might make noise
for excitement. Disgruntled people might make noise to annoy society at large.
Petty tyrants might make noise to enforce their musical taste on the surrounding
population. Arrogant individuals might make noise to assert their feelings of
superiority.
Going to the Trouble
Regardless
of their motivation, people tend to identify with their own noise, and take
personal offence when asked to be quiet. Consequently, those victimized by noise
may prefer to do nothing about it, rather than risk having an emotional
confrontation with the perpetrator, and suffer possible retaliation, especially
if they work or do business locally. And they may be reluctant to request police
assistance if they believe that the police will not properly and dependably
resolve noise-related disputes. Instead, they may choose to suffer in silence
and allow their rights to be infringed by the noisemakers.
This
is unfortunate. All residents of our community depend on the government and the
police to sustain a community environment that is conducive to the conduct of
business and the reasonable enjoyment of life.
One
of the local by-laws that is essential to the maintenance of a livable community
environment is our existing “Motor Vehicle Noise Abatement
By-Law”. This well-written anti-noise by-law prohibits “amplified sound ...
[that can] easily be heard by someone outside the [perpetrator’s] motor
vehicle.”
Despite
the clear prohibitions stated in this by-law, local residents, (especially
at certain times of the year), are subjected daily to the penetrating booming
and thumping noises of over-amplified stereos emanating from vehicles that are
driven and parked on local streets and driveways. Without enforcement, this
boom-car noise continues unrestrained, and so for the selfish pleasure of a few,
the whole population must suffer!
A Public Nuisance
Each
time a noisy vehicle drives by on a city street, innumerable other drivers,
pedestrians, business people, and residents, must feel at least some degree of
disturbance, alarm, anxiety, displeasure, irritation, resentment, anger,
frustration, hopelessness, and cynicism about the free reign such noisy
hooligans are given in our city. Each time a car stereo is played loudly from a
vehicle parked in a residential area, the neighbors must feel similarly upset,
angered especially by the perpetrator taking advantage of their goodwill, and
taking advantage of their reluctance to complain.
Hundreds
or even thousands of victims must suffer from the pervasive and
invasive noise nuisance every day in our community. Each time, a little more joy
is killed, a little more anger enters our minds, a little more internal conflict
clouds our concentration, and a little more stress damages our health.
Action
Clearly,
change is needed. But what change? Are the police not already enforcing the
noise by-law? Sadly, the answer appears to be “No”. Though boom-car noise is
frequently heard in our community, there are only nine instances of
enforcement on file at City Hall for the period since the by-law was enacted in
1995. That works out to an average of less than two enforcement actions per
year, with a peak of five in 2001, only one of which was for loud music. Most of
the enforcement actions taken were mere warnings. No doubt, the police have been
spending their manpower resources well pursuing other worthy causes, but they
should not pursue those other causes so single-mindedly as to neglect our
widespread noise pollution problem.
Neighborhood noise disputes do sometimes require police intervention, and the police must enforce the by-law in a dependable manner. They should know and understand the by-law and be prepared enforce it, as it is written, with the prescribed fines. And in the case of boom-car noise emanating from moving vehicles, victims can have no influence whatsoever, and so the police should be even more vigilant. Obviously, noise offences cannot take priority over serious emergencies like bank robberies and car accidents, but otherwise, police officers should fine offenders whenever they are encountered.
Leadership and
Accountability
The
Police Department should regularly remind officers to enforce the by-law,
especially during periods or seasons when noise offences tend to be most
frequent. And City Hall should publicize the by-law in the local media at
regular intervals. Enforcement records should be kept at City Hall in sufficient
detail to allow meaningful analysis over a length of time. And the police should
provide evidence to the public that the by-law is being enforced, by releasing
to the local press the quarterly statistics for the number of tickets issued for
noise-related offences.
It Shouldn’t Cost
a Cent!
Balanced Priorities
Though
noise is intangible, its negative impact is real. It disrupts our work, our
thought, our conversations, our leisure, and our sleep, and
the cumulative effects must be substantial! Particularly
penetrating and invasive is the noise of boom-cars, which can often be heard
from vehicles that are several blocks away. This noise nuisance degrades the
quality of our lives, and we must not tolerate it. I therefore ask the Police
Board to direct the Police to properly enforce the existing Motor
Vehicle Noise Abatement By-law, to achieve a quieter, more livable community for
us all.
Thank you.
[End of speech]
Comment: The local Police have stated that 42,000 calls were received by them
on their emergency 911 line in 2001. That works out to an average of about 5 calls per
hour (42,000 divided by 365 days divided by 24 hours). Only a small
minority of these would likely have been for serious emergencies like murders or
robberies.
Salem,
Massachusetts, anti noise petition: http://scna.green-arrow.net/NoisePetition.php
Hearing loss information: http://www.ear-care.com/noise.htm
The Right to Quiet Society:
http://www.quiet.org/
A decibel chart of typical noise levels: http://www.cabq.gov/consumerhealth/typicalchart.html
Workers Compensation Board of BC - hearing conservation page: http://hearingconservation.healthandsafetycentre.org/s/Home.asp
Noise-related information from the University of Cincinnati: http://www.uc.edu/news/ebriefs/noisebr.htm
Some theories regarding the effects of loud noise: http://www.omnisonic.com/bbillings.html
The Noise Pollution Clearing House: http://www.nonoise.org/success.htm
Examples of by-laws: http://www.abbyviews.com/
Additional Links:
Noise
Pollution Clearinghouse
http://members.aol.com/mpwright9/boom_help.html
http://www.eie.fceia.unr.edu.ar/~acustica/biblio/boom.htm
http://www.noisefree.org/index.html
http://net.unl.edu/artsFeat/deafening_sound/ds_toys_n_noise_boom-nf.html
http://www.aap.org/policy/re9728.html
http://www.lhh.org/noise/decibel.htm
http://www.abbyviews.com/cgi-bin/om_isapi.dll?clientID=444080516&infobase=abbylaws.nfo&softpage=AV_Browse_Frame_Pg
http://www.norsonic.com/web_pages/nor-121_page.html
http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/970513/citynoisereport/implemen.htm
http://www.abelard.org/hear/hear.htm
http://www.icben.org
Reference
Canadian Press
ST. JOHN'S, Nfld. — Much to the horror of teenagers everywhere, a recent study has proven what parents have long suspected - loud noise decreases reaction time and decision-making ability.
The study is bad news for decibel-loving drivers, says Dr. David Behm, a professor of human kinetics at Memorial University in Newfoundland.
. . .
Measuring physical and mental abilities over the course of an hour, researchers found that reaction time decreased at higher noise levels.
. . .
For complex tasks that require decision-making, in this case playing a video game, reaction times decreased an average of 20 per cent at the highest level of noise.
Although it translates into mere fractions of a second, on the road those fractions make a big difference, said Duane Button, who performed the study while a master's student at Memorial.
. . .
"If you lose a bit of reaction time then that .035 seconds can be the difference between an accident or not."
On the job, the study proves that loud work environments without the proper ear protection could mean more accidents, Behm said.
Workplace regulations limit the amount of exposure to 95-decibel noise to one hour, but the length of exposure to the noise didn't make a difference in the study. The effect was immediate and ongoing.
. . .
Your ears may accommodate to noise but it appears your brain doesn't.
"Reaction time stayed depressed the whole time," Button said.
To read the whole story visit www.ctv.ca/ and search under the word "noise".
HEARING LOSS AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE
A quote from BC Workers
Compensation Board Audiologist Christine Harrison:
"...Approximately
25% of workers ‘new to noise’ (i.e., young) exhibit a (slight) noise induced
hearing loss in one or both ears on their first industrial audiogram--there's no
way they've had enough occupational noise at that point in their lives for the
loss to be caused at their work. Therefore, the cause of the loss must be
pre-occupational. The proliferation of higher and higher sound levels in
amplified music equipment makes this a possible source of the recorded loss.”
HIGHER NOISE LEVELS MEAN
LOWER ACHIEVEMENT LEVELS
From
http://www.uc.edu/news/ebriefs/noisebr.htm:
Nancy Nadler, director of the Noise Center for the League of the Hard of
Hearing, says the impact of noise on learning is well documented, pointing to a
study conducted 25 years ago. That study compared reading scores of children
whose classroom was located close to elevated trains to those in quieter rooms.
Children located in the noisy area tested one year behind the children on the
quiet side of the school. For more on the study, visit http://www.lhh.org/noise/children/learning.htm
HEALTH ISSUES: PEACE AND QUIET ARE THE BEST MEDICINE
From
http://www.lhh.org/noise/children/learning.htm
Nancy Nadler, director of the Noise Center for the League of the Hard of
Hearing, says research shows that noise affects health, pointing to a study that
suggested children living near airports had higher incidents of hypertension.
Exposure to noise is also associated with stress-related disorders,
gastrointestinal changes and interrupted sleep. "People are coming to the
League of the Hard of Hearing at younger and younger ages, suffering from
hearing loss. This is contrary to the general trend that we are getting
healthier. One possible reason is increased exposure to noise, which causes a
permanent but preventable hearing loss. Contact: 1-888-NOISE-88
EFFECTS
OF NOISE ON CHILDREN'S LEARNING
Studies show that noise negatively impacts children's cognitive
development. Dr. Arline Bronzaft and Dr. Dennis McCarthy, in a landmark study in
1975, found that students' reading scores were affected by noise. Dr. Bronzaft
and Dr. McCarthy examined reading scores of children in a school where classes
were located adjacent to elevated train tracks and compared them with reading
scores of students on the quiet side of the school. The researchers found that
by sixth grade, the students on the noisy side of school tested one year behind
those on the quiet side of the school. In a follow-up study in 1981, noise
abatement had been provided by the Transit Authority and the Board of Education
and Dr. Bronzaft found that reading scores between the two groups were now
equal.
Several studies have shown that children's cognitive development is affected by aircraft noise. In a 1982 study, Green found that children living near airports had lower reading scores than children living further away from airports. In a study by Gary Evans and Lorraine Maxwell at Cornell University (1997), it was found that children whose schools were affected by aircraft noise did not learn to read as well as those who were in quiet schools. The researchers compared children in a noisy school (in the flight path of a major international airport) with similar students in a quiet school and found that children in the noisy school had difficulty acquiring speech recognition skills, impacting on the ability to learn to read.
Parent
Responsibility
Parents, teachers and government officials must recognize noise as a
serious hazard with deleterious effects to children's learning. It is critical
to provide children with quiet environments to read, study, learn or just relax.
Our future depends on it.
Further References: http://www.lhh.org/noise/children/reference.htm
Students
Could Make Our Community More Livable - with the Leadership of the School Board!
(A black font is used for the first part of this speech, which is very similar to the Police Board speech shown above. A blue font is used in the second part of this speech to indicate where the content starts to differ.)
Car-stereo noise pollution is becoming an increasingly common
problem in our community, especially at certain times of year. This problem stems
partly from the attitudes and behavior of young people, many of whom are
probably current students or recent graduates of local secondary schools. I
believe your attention to this matter, and your creative input, will help to
reduce this public nuisance, to achieve a quieter, more livable community for us
all.
Invisible Power
What is
noise? We can’t see it, touch it, taste it, or smell it. Why then should the
School Board be concerned about noise?
Noise
is unwanted sound. Though it is intangible and invisible, sound is a powerful
physical force. Sound can break glass, and crush kidney stones. Low frequency
sound can easily penetrate walls and spread widely through neighborhoods.
Sufficiently loud sounds can instantly and permanently damage our hearing.
In addition to its physical power, sound affects our minds. Sound
is what allows us to communicate - through speech. Sound can bring us enjoyment
and relaxation, as we listen to our natural environment, or to the music of our
choice. Sound can also startle us, and warn us of danger. The sound of war drums
has for generations served as an irresistible call to battle. There can be no
denying the powerful psychological effect of sound.
Quiet Appreciation
There can also be no denying the high value we place on peace and quiet, and the
absence of unwanted sound. For example, communities commonly ban the use of
noisy engine brakes in residential neighborhoods. Hospital zones have street
signs requesting quiet so patients can rest. Public libraries request quiet so
that people can concentrate. Rural residents of BC are currently lobbying to
obtain relief from the daily noise of blueberry cannons, so they too can have
peace and quiet. Real estate agents regularly acknowledge the value of peace and
quiet when they use phrases such as “nice quiet neighborhood” in their
advertisements for desirable residential real estate. And in our community, we have
two well-written anti-noise by-laws, and their very existence indicates a desire
for peace and quiet in our community!
Noise is a powerful physical and psychological force that can
disrupt our work, thought, conversations, leisure, and our sleep. Scientific
studies show that noise can also impede the mental development and education of
our children.
On our roads, loud boom-car noise can distract drivers, possibly
increasing the risk of accidents and personal injury. Conceivably, it could also
incite more aggressive driving behavior. And it probably results in permanent
hearing loss for all occupants of the noisy vehicles.
Clearly, noise can seriously degrade the quality of our lives, and
it can be a safety hazard as well. Unfortunately, much of it is unavoidable; we
have no alternative to cars, trucks, airplanes, and lawnmowers, despite the
noise they make. Nonetheless, we should not allow ourselves to become numb to
noise. While we have no choice but to tolerate necessary noise, unnecessary
noise only adds to the problem, and should be strongly discouraged.
A Community Ear-Sore
We should not tolerate unnecessary noise any more than we should
tolerate litter on our streets. Like litter, noise hurts our civic pride,
defaces our community, lowers our morale, and degrades property value. But the
negative impact of noise far exceeds the impact of litter, since noise can have
such disruptive effects on our lives. Moreover, while we can look away to avoid
seeing litter, we cannot turn our heads to avoid hearing noise. Noise is clearly
as bad as litter, and worse. Since we do not tolerate litter, we certainly
should not tolerate unnecessary noise!
Why then are we increasingly disturbed by boom-car noise in our
community? Partly, the answer can be found in some trends that seem to cause
moral confusion:
1.
Technological Progress.
Rapid change begets moral confusion. Individuals become dazzled and
disoriented by the exponential advance of technology. In the confusion,
common-sense practical morality is too often abandoned. For example, just
because technology allows it, some people believe it is okay to invade others’
privacy with high-tech spying equipment, to steal music and software on the
Internet, and to play music loud enough to rattle windows and disturb neighbors.
But the more our world changes, the more we must not forget the most basic
precept of practical morality: “Do what you like, as long as you don’t
infringe on other’s rights”. We must apply this principle anew with each
technological advance, and for this we depend on the moral leadership and
vigilance of our educators.
2.
Competitive commerce. In our economic system, money and profits rule. Each new technology
is inevitably exploited in every viable way, regardless of right or wrong.
Companies do not stay in business by teaching people morality or good manners.
Rather, they stay competitive by catering to every whim and fancy of consumers,
regardless of any consequent social ills. For example, a recent newspaper
advertisement for a local stereo shop urged people to make their cars “sound
like thunder” without consideration for their neighbors, without concern for
damage to their hearing, and without caution for the possible impairment of
their driving.
We live in a moral void on this issue, and this sort of mercenary amorality must
be challenged. Our educators must teach and remind students and parents to be
considerate of others in the community, regardless of the urgings of stereo
shops and electronics manufacturers.
3.
Our growing prosperity.
In our prosperous times, many ordinary people enjoy unprecedented
wealth. This allows expensive discretionary purchases to be made with ease,
including powerful boom-car sound systems. Having personally observed quite a
number of boom-cars over recent years, I have noticed that many of these
vehicles seem quite stylish, and must represent a substantial investment in
automotive luxury. I wonder whether the drivers, as young adults, could possibly
afford these expensive vehicles on their own. Or is it their parents who are
sponsoring this significant community nuisance?
As our society grows richer, the new
technology we can afford to buy endows us with greater personal power – the
power to disturb and the power to pollute – and that power requires greater
personal responsibility. If our children continue to go uneducated about noise
pollution, will a growing number of them forget their manners and disturb their
neighbors with loud car stereos? As more people install powerful boom-car
systems, causing a corresponding rise in ambient noise levels in our community,
will we no longer be able to enjoy an environment that is conducive to
productive work, education, and the peaceful enjoyment of life?
Offender Mentality
As these trends continue, they will inevitably be reinforced by some aspects of
basic human nature. For example, we could expect that individuals suffering from
low self-esteem might resort to loud music or engine noise in order to feel more
important, or to increase their status by associating themselves with popular
music idols. Weak or powerless people might make noise to feel more powerful.
Restless or bored people might make noise for excitement. Disgruntled or
alienated people might make noise to annoy society at large. Arrogant
individuals might make noise to assert their feelings of superiority.
|
Personal Condition |
Motivation for Making Noise |
|
Low self-esteem |
Feel more important, increase status, and feel associated with
pop music idols. |
|
Weak or powerless |
Feel powerful |
|
Restless or bored |
Feel excitement |
|
Disgruntled or alienated |
Annoy society at large |
|
Arrogant |
Assert sense of superiority |
Whether or not we empathize with their unfortunate personal
condition, we should not have to suffer from their noise. Especially with
today’s technology of mass disturbance, even a single individual’s loud
stereo can disturb hundreds of households simultaneously. But one person’s
emotional turmoil cannot be allowed to disturb so many others. Our young people
must learn that creating noise disturbances is morally wrong.
It is also against the law. In
our community, we are fortunate to have
a well-written anti-noise by-law that prohibits “amplified sound ... [that
can] easily be heard by someone outside the [perpetrator’s] motor vehicle.”
Noise polluters must be made to understand that this by-law was written in
recognition of our right to peace and quiet, and because people do not want to
be disturbed.
Action
I therefore ask the School Board to direct our secondary schools to educate
students about noise pollution by taking the following steps:
1. Publicize and Remind.
Our schools should teach students and
remind parents that making boom-car noise is an inconsiderate act that disturbs
people in our community. Boom-car noise is against the law, and perpetrators can
be fined. It may cause permanent hearing damage, and it may impair driving.
Discussions and reminders of these realities should become a regular part of
personal planning classes, school newsletters, curriculum guides, and school
Internet sites, etc.
2. Foster Self-Understanding.
Students should be encouraged to
explore possible motivations for making noise and should be encouraged to
recognize these motivations in themselves and in others. Teachers should explain
that making noise does not earn respect, but instead, earns pity, scorn, and
animosity. They should suggest alternative behaviors, that are more socially
acceptable and personally rewarding. For example, behaviors associated with
achievement, team contribution, integrity, social skill, and consideration of
others, do earn true self-respect and the genuine admiration of others.
3. Teach Practical Morality.
Our schools should teach
students to adopt a personal code of ethics conducive to social harmony. For
example, “Do what you like, as long as you don’t infringe on other’s
rights”, is a principle that would serve our community well. Students should
be taught that the basic principles of morality still apply, even when the
advance of technology allows us to get away with unethical conduct.
4. Understanding Commercial Seduction is a Life Skill!
Students
should be asked to analyze the appeal of car-stereo advertisements, in order to
understand how they can be seduced into making purchase decisions that might not
be in their own best interest. They should learn that, because of the
competitive nature of business, most advertising is amoral and motivated solely
by profit. Individuals must therefore depend on their own judgment, and not be
swayed by clever advertising to abandon their own moral code.
5. Don’t Encourage Unwanted Behavior.
School administrators should avoid praising or encouraging noise pollution. For
example, administrators should stop sponsoring contests that compare students’
boom-cars to see whose is the loudest.
6. Just Say “No” to Noise. Administrators should prohibit
the use of loud stereos on or near school property.
7. Set A Good Example.
School leaders should demonstrate
concern for damage to students’ hearing by setting safe decibel limits for
music played at high-school dances. (On more than one occasion, one of our sons
attended a local high-school dance, and subsequently experienced ringing in his
ears and temporary hearing loss, presumably from the high sound levels he had
been exposed to.)
8. Don’t Cave In. Administrators should encourage the
habit of quiet concentration by prohibiting the use of “walkman” stereos
during study time in academic classes. At present they are commonly allowed in
this setting, but should be restricted to visual design courses.
If our schools have a
mandate to prepare students to take a place in the world and make a positive
contribution to society, then surely a part of that mandate is to teach respect
for the rights of others, and educate our young people about noise pollution.
All members of our community have a right to peace and quiet, but to enjoy that
right, we depend on our schools to produce socially responsible, considerate
citizens.
I therefore ask the School
Board:
1.
To instill in young people a code of ethics to help them resist any
temptation to create noise pollution.
2.
To help students recognize possible motivations to create noise
pollution, and to find more socially acceptable alternative behaviors to satisfy
these motivations.
3.
To set a good example, by establishing its own code of conduct
relevant to all noise-generating activities that take place on school property.
As a local resident, I ask that this initiative be undertaken in order raise our young people with responsible attitudes toward noise pollution, and to achieve a quieter and more livable community for us all.
No.
20-95 - Motor Vehicle Noise Abatement By-law, 1995
WHEREAS
Section 932(c) of the Municipal Act, Chapter 290, R.S.B.C. 1979, provides that
Council may, by by-law, regulate or prohibit the making or causing of noises or
sounds in or on a highway or elsewhere in the municipality which, in the opinion
of the Council, are objectionable or liable to disturb the quiet, peace, rest,
enjoyment, comfort or convenience of individuals or the public;
NOW
THEREFORE, The Council of the City, in open meeting assembled,
ENACTS AS FOLLOWS:
1.
CITATION
By-law
No. 20-95 may be cited as “Motor Vehicle Noise Abatement By-law, 1995”.
2.
DEFINITIONS
(a)
Words defined in the “Motor Vehicle Act”, being Chapter 288 of the Revised
Statutes of British Columbia, 1979, and the “Municipal Act”, being Chapter
290 of the Revised Statutes of British Columbia, 1979, shall have the same
meaning when used in this by-law unless defined in this by-law, or unless the
context otherwise requires.
(b)
In this by-law, unless the context otherwise requires:
“Council”
means the Council of the City;
“City”
means the local community or the area within the boundaries thereof as the
context may require;
“Noise”
includes any loud outcry, clamor, shouting or movement, or any sound that is
loud or harsh or undesirable;
“Person”
includes any company, corporation, owner, partnership, firm, association,
society, or party;
“Road
Surface” means gravel, asphalt, cement or material of any kind whatsoever
placed upon any road, highway, bridge, viaduct, lane, or any way designed or
intended for use by the general public for the passage of vehicles, and every
private place or passageway to which the public, for the purpose of the parking
or servicing of vehicles, has access or is invited.
3.
OBJECTIONABLE NOISES DESCRIBED
The
following noises are, in the opinion of the Council of the City,
objectionable or liable to disturb the quiet, peace, rest, enjoyment, comfort or
convenience of individuals or the public.
(a)
the squeal of a tire on a road surface made by a motor vehicle which is
accelerating, stopping or changing direction;
(b)
a loud, roaring or explosive sound emitted by a motor vehicle;
(c)
the amplified sound of a radio, television, player or other sound playback
device or amplification equipment, or the sound of a musical instrument, that
emanates from a motor vehicle and can easily be heard by someone outside the
motor vehicle;
(d)
the sound of the diesel engine of a bus which has been idling or otherwise
running continuously for more than three minutes at the same location, except
that this clause shall not apply where the bus is located within a garage or
depot intended for its long-term parking;
(e)
the sound of an automobile security system which is made, either continuously or
intermittently, for a period exceeding one minute, or the sound of an automobile
security system, but not including its activation status signal, which is made
more than three times in a 24-hour period;
(f)
the sound of a horn or other warning device on a motor vehicle used for any
purpose other than as an audible warning incidental to the safe operation of the
motor vehicle;
(g)
the sound of a “Jacobs” brake or other type of engine brake on a motor
vehicle used or operated for any purpose other than as an emergency braking
device incidental to the safe operation of the motor vehicle.
4.
PROHIBITION OF OBJECTIONABLE NOISES
(a)
A person shall not make nor cause to be made, any objectionable noise set forth
in Section 3.
(b)
A person shall not operate a motor vehicle so as to cause objectionable noises
as set forth in Section 3(a) or 3(b).
5.
EXCEPTIONS
(a)
The prohibitions contained in Section 4 shall not apply to participants in a
parade provided it has first been approved by City Council.
(b) A vehicle which has an automobile security system operating in contravention of this by-law shall, for the purposes of the Traffic By-law, be deemed to be a vehicle unlawfully left upon a street.
6.
PENALTY
Every
person who contravenes or violates any provision of this by-law, or who suffers
or permits any act or thing to be done in contravention or in violation of any
provision of this by-law, or who neglects to do or refrains from doing anything
required to be done by any provision of this by-law, commits an offence and,
upon conviction, shall be liable to a fine of not less than $100.00 and not more
than the maximum penalties provided by the “Offence Act” and, where the
offence is a continuing one, each day that the offence continues shall be a
separate offence.
READ
A FIRST TIME this 6th day of March, 1995
READ
A SECOND TIME this 6th day of March, 1995
READ
A THIRD TIME this 6th day of March, 1995
ADOPTED
this 13th day of March, 1995
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Car stereo noise tends to be more common in good weather. We are plagued with it just when we all want to go outdoors and enjoy the sunshine. Yes, the problem is seasonal - it is most common
at the time of year when it can cause the most annoyance and harm.
The police generally do not consider protecting the quality of life to be part of their mandate, except for responding to incident-specific complaints. But how exactly does a citizen complain to the police about a particular noisy car that passed by two minutes ago? It is plainly not practical.
Therefore, the police need to make a commitment to the ongoing aggressive enforcement of vehicular noise by-laws, and not merely respond to specific complaints. They will be more likely to take on this task if they believe that car-stereo noise is relevant to the other issues about which they are normally concerned.
For example, here are some issues that are typically of concern to the police, and some suggestions about how car-stereo noise can be linked to those concerns:
1. Safety
It has been scientifically proven that loud noise increases reaction time. Thus, a loud car stereo could impair driving ability and increase the chance of car accidents. A loud car stereo could also prevent a driver from hearing and responding to an emergency police-car siren, and thereby delay emergency services. Loud car-stereo noise can also be a dangerous distraction to other drivers. It could conceivably trigger "road rage". Therefore, the police should vigorously enforce anti-noise by-laws for the sake of public safety.
2. Protection of Commerce
If tourists come to a tourist location to enjoy beautiful scenery and the ocean, is it likely that they also enjoy being blasted by noise?
Probably not. If you want tourists to come to your community and speak favorably to their friends about their vacation experience,
every possible step should be taken to ensure that they enjoy their stay. Therefore, the police should vigorously enforce anti-noise by-laws in order to promote
your community as a tourist destination.
3. Crime and Vandalism.
If certain individuals enjoy annoying other people with loud noise, then they probably also enjoy other destructive, anti-social, and unlawful activities. Therefore, it would make sense for police officers to identify and become acquainted with these anti-social individuals, which they could easily do by enforcing the relevant anti-noise by-laws.
In order to obtain a genuine commitment from the police, the police themselves must be held
accountable. They should be required to regularly provide anti-noise by-law enforcement statistics for public review.
Otherwise, nobody will know who does what, or how well it is being done, and residents and tourists alike will continue to feel annoyed, bullied, victimized, frustrated, and angry.
White Rock, BC has prominent street signs advertising a $2000 fine for loud car-stereo noise. That is a positive and proactive step.