Slow down...

[nowalmart.livejournal.com]

I realize this might be a little late for tonight, but it is still worth saying:

If you are driving on a residential street on Halloween, please be *very* mindful of your speed. There are a lot of little kids out wanting candy. Add in the fact that it is dark and some of them are wearing masks that obscures their vision...

I live on a very residential street just north of Teele Square and have seen several cars blow down the street at speeds that were in excess of 40-45mph. To me, at least, that is completely unacceptable.

Just be careful out there.

Comments

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

Your point about slowing down on Hallowe'en is well taken. One thing tha'ts always bugged me is the fact that Daylight Savings Time ends *right before* Hallowe'en, giving drivers an extra hour of unaccustomed darkness just as the little kiddies are hitting the streets in search of their loot. The end of DST really oughta be postponed for a week, to the first weekend in November, or moved up *several* weeks, say, to the first weekend in October.

BTW, studies have shown that untrained observers tend to greatly overestimate the speed of passing vehicles. It's why cops use things like radar guns to clock speeders--the human eye, even the eye of a cop who's been working traffic for years, just isn't up to the task.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

studies have shown that untrained observers tend to greatly overestimate the speed of passing vehicles.

I was about to say "that sure explains all the pedestrians on the Minuteman making absurd claims about the speed of us cyclists!", and then I noticed your username ;).

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

actually, the "biker" refers to motorcycles...but we too are often subjected to complaints about "them damn speedin' motorsickles" even when we're obeying the law and riding safely and sanely. :-(

[nowalmart.livejournal.com]

Completely off the original topic, but...

My only problem with motorcyclists (and I definitely realize this is not all of them, but enough that they give all motorcyclists a bad name) are people that feel that the best way to demonstrate their presence is through sound. Modifying your exhaust system for an added 2 HP and 40 dB is just not cool in my book.

Do the police in Massachusetts enforce a noise ordinance on motorcycles? *Is* there a noise ordinance on vehicles?

[Note: I am going to be buying a used motorcycle during the winter, having learned how to ride this past spring. Do not mistake me for a rabid motorcycle-hater at all.]

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

if only pedestrians had "louder pipes", it would "save lives" :)

well, that's the excuse some bikers give. it's lame. my bike purrs like a well oiled and quiet sewing machine.

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[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I find people who put loud exhausts on motorcycles to be annoying, too.

Noise enforcement on bikes gets kind of complicated. The law in Mass. AFAIK is that you may not install or modify any exhaust system so that it increases the noise level the bike makes. On first reading, that would seem to mean that *any* aftermarket exhaust is illegal, should fail inspection, and should get you a ticket. Obviously, there are plenty of aftermarket exhausts out there--some louder than others. Making all aftermarket exhausts illegal is very bad public policy and very unfair. I really don't want to be locked by law into buying OEM parts if my exhaust system gets worn out or damaged--what if, for example, the law said you *must* go back to the Ford dealer to buy an exhaust for your ten year old Taurus? So in practice, aftermarket exhausts are kind of a wink-wink, nudge-nudge kind of thing at inspection time, and you'll likely only get a ticket if you're being a jerk to a cop or if you have the misfortune to whack the throttle open and make a whole lotta noise while passing a parked police cruiser.

I know of no specific decibel level that's enforced in MA.

All too often, though, noise enforcement against motorcycles is highly discriminatory and subjective. Sportbikes with inline-four engines get tickets while v-twin cruisers emitting similar noise levels do not, and vice versa. (The two types of motorcycle make exhaust sounds very different in character.) Bikes get ticketed while cars emitting similar sound levels don't. Exhaust noise gets you a ticket while the chowderhead with the thumping car stereo doesn't. And so on. For a typical example of what often happens, read about this situation (http://www.americanmotorcycleclub.com/states/massachusetts/news/motorcyclists_sue_over_noise_issue.shtml) in Newburyport MA a number of years ago. I don't like loud pipes either but this kind of discriminatory, arbitrary enforcement shouldn't exist in this country.