Model on-highway sound legislation drafted by AMA--if only cities will use it

Many believe loud pipes save lives, but at what risk to our right to ride? The AMA has a proposal to address this.

Complaints about overly loud motorcycles are certainly valid, just as similar complaints about overly loud trucks, cars--and heck, even screaming teenagers--would be. But if noise is noise, regardless of the source, why do cities so often try to single out motorcycles and pass noise ordinances aimed specifically at them?

The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is among those who see such measures as discriminatory, and unlike so many of us, the AMA has the size and pocketbook to try to do something about it.

The AMA's latest effort is a newly released model for on-highway sound legislation. According to the AMA, the model legislation is intended for "cities seeking a simple, consistent and economical way to deal with sound complaints related to on-highway motorcycles within the larger context of excessive sound from all sources."

The AMA has previously released similar model legislation for off-highway motorcycles, but many cities ignore the offering. Boston, Denver, and New York City, among others have proposed or passed legislation in recent years that targets motorcycles specifically.

"Many cities and other jurisdictions already have excessive sound laws on the books, but when they get citizen complaints about loud motorcycles, they sometimes decide to single out the riding public with unfair or overly restrictive ordinances and laws," said Imre Szauter, AMA government affairs manager. "We believe that motorcycles shouldn't be singled out, but should be regulated as part of a comprehensive sound management policy that also addresses cars, trucks, leaf blowers, generators and other sources of excessive sound.

"Too many times, jurisdictions responding to citizen complaints about excessive motorcycle sound create laws that simply don't work in the real world," Szauter said. "They either set an unreasonable decibel limit, leave it up to a police officer to subjectively decide whether a bike is too noisy, or come up with another plan that is arbitrary or unworkable. Our model legislation is objective, workable and fair."