New York latest to consider discriminatory motorcycle noise ordinance

December 16, 6:28 PMMotorcycle ExaminerKen Bingenheimer

Previous Next

8 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Motorcycle Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

  Loud pipes targeted in New York

Denver has already done it and now New York City has followed suit.

Problem: Loud motorcycle exhaust systems disturb people going about their daily lives.

Solution: Enforce noise ordinances already on the books.

Wrong.

New York City has joined Denver and other cities in considering an ordinance that unfairly discriminates against motorcyclists when other, better approaches are available.

In Denver you have to have a stamp on your exhaust pipes that declare them to be original equipment. It doesn't matter if you buy aftermarket pipes that are quieter than stock. New York has approached it a little differently. There, you would need to have a tag on the pipes stating that they have met Environmental Protection Agency standards. The fine for failure to display the tag would be $1,000 and you can't have your bike until you pay. Second violations would carry a fine up to $2,500 and forfeiture of the bike for good.

Why is that discriminatory? Well, do they have the same ordinance for cars and trucks? Are some cars and trucks just as loud as some motorcycles? Of course the answers are "no" and "yes" respectively. That is discrimination. That's a crock.

I have total sympathy with the people who are complaining about the noise. My dentist is one of them. He lives downtown and hated the noise of the motorcycles late at night when he and his family were trying to sleep. He applauded the Denver City Council's measure.

Much as I sympathize, however, two wrongs don't make a right. Pass a noise ordinance -- or hey, enforce the ones you've already got -- and apply them equally to all noise sources. It used to be the American way.

Note: This article has been updated thanks to a clarification offered in a comment (see below). The ordinance was proposed at the time this was written, not passed. I'm not sure how I got the idea it had been passed.