Jul 8, 2017 2 min read

Here’s something that I can’t understand: Why is it that some owners of trucks and motorcycles think it’s OK for their vehicles to be exceptionally loud?

Is it really necessary? Are they compensating for some inadequacy in another part of their lives? Maybe they can’t hear the noise because their hearing has been damaged.

I was trying to get to sleep the other night around 10 p.m., when an extremely loud motorcycle made a circuit around the block. I almost had to peel myself off the ceiling. After it moved out of the neighborhood, I was finally able to calm down and shut my eyes again. Much to my dismay, the cyclist came back two more times before finally going away.

Sometimes, when sitting at an ice cream place on Route 136, trying to have a pleasant conversation with a friend, loud motorcycles and trucks go past and I have to cover my ears. It’s annoying.

If I had my way, I would make the owners of all motorcycles, cars and trucks that produce noise over a certain number of decibels subject to fines for disturbing the peace. This burden shouldn’t be placed on the police, so maybe when these loud vehicles are inspected, their decibel level should be tested, and if they exceed a certain point, the owner would have to pay a monthly fine until the problem is fixed.

Also, I’d like to find out where the owners of these noisy vehicles live, and blow an air horn at their bedroom windows at 4 a.m., and see how they like it.

If owners of exceptionally loud vehicles think they’re cool, they’re not. And if they think everyone is looking at them, they probably are, but they are scowling.

Debra Whiteford

Monongahela