Noise Bill Passes In Delaware

Holy cow... 50 flippin feet?

Can one say "overkill"?

 

Would be a bit more fair if it were at least a distance where you could no longer hear the car operating.

 

Looks like a group of politicians are trying to please a small, but loyal band of constituents. Nobody in their right mind would make a noise ordinance/law that made it illegal to play a stereo that could be heard 50 feet away. Also, how is the cop going to determine 50 feet? What if it's 48 feet? Unless he has someway of measuring distance, he's going to be hard-pressed to prove any distance. It's good to see the people of Delaware are taking care of the important issues plaguing there state (aren't they among the poorest, least educated in the country??). Good job, boneheads :ban:

 

Cannot say that I agree with this at all. Why is it that so many feel there is a conspiracy against them. People dont like to hear other people's car stereos. For all you know 99% of their population could have voted yes on that. And who is to say that it isnt a big problem in Delaware? I know it is a big problem here. You need to remember that audiophiles are a minority. If what we do disturbs the majority then there is a problem.


My problem with it is that you could be driving along listening to your stereo and your vehicle will be making an audible sound further than 50 feet. Shouldnt you be ticketed for that since your car is actually louder than your stereo? And many like to say "what about motorcycles or other loud exhausts." I know here in vegas people get pulled over for that quite a bit. I remember one month where 3 of my friends all got pulled over for it. One of them has been pulled over on multiple occasions. Even if it isnt as inforced where you live its no excuse not to follow a written law on car stereo.

 

First off, I'm not one who blasts my stereo. In fact, my soon to be 30 year old ass listens to music at a level most people around here would deem "quiet". Don't be so damn presumptous and think I'm one of those people who thinks there's a conspiracy against anyone with a car stereo. Hardly.

You can go near almost any bar, restaurant, park, school, store...and hear activity within 50 feet of its source. What about airplanes or helicopters? I can hear those and they are faaaaaaaar more than "50 feet" away. And again, how does the cop determine if it's indeed 50 feet? How much money will be wasted in court arguing the distance? Will DE tax revenues be spent on some fancy gadget every patrol car will now have to carry?

Then again, how do you stop people from blaring the crap out of their stereos without being Nazi-like in some type of enforcement? :bash:

 

People who DO drive around in areas that aren't appropriate, booming, should take note.
It's THOSE PEOPLE that create laws like this.

There is a time and place for everything...
Main strips, tourist areas, cruise areas... car shows and competitions of course - these are more appropriate.

...certainly when compared to the ignorant kids you see driving around residential neighborhoods.

Hey, I think it's ignorant to even drive around parking lots booming... but that's a different kind of ignorant.... hey, what a good idea - advertise to everyone what caliber of equipment you have - and then park it and abandon it for a while. (and then wonder, when it's stolen... )

But seriously, booming around residential neighborhoods is what creates these laws.
Who do you think, in a residential area, would be impressed by that?
By contrast, how many people do you think are in their homes, trying to have conversations, entertain guests, watch TV, or maybe listening to their own audio systems... that are suddenly disturbed by a booming car?
That's one way to get the police called on you...and as both a homeowner and car audio enthusiast - I don't blame them for being upset.

That's where the laws are coming from.

Common sense...
just like you wouldn't use a shouting voice in places that don't call for a shouting voice, don't boom in areas that aren't appropriate for booming.
Please. For the rest of us car audio enthusiasts who DON'T want laws like this... do you want car audio friends, or car audio enemies?

 

You got me all wrong. I never made any presumptions about you and I am sure you are responsible with your stereo. You seemed more upset about the fact that there is a governing on your listening than on how it was done though. That I do not understand.

 

Its ok if you bother someone. An individual case is just someone being annoyed. But when one person annoys a large group of people, or a small group of people annoys a much larger group of people that is a problem.

Yes stock stereos can travel further than 50 feet. They too are targeted in this law. If they are punished for it is up to the police and I wont make judgments on them so I will leave that there. Just because a stereo has the ability to get loud doesnt mean you have the right to turn it up that loud. Think of it in terms of speed. Just because you drive a Corvette doesnt mean you can drive around at 150mph.

 

Since when do you have to respond to each individual part of a post? I commented on the part that I felt a need to comment on.

I too feel the laws are bullshit. But only in how they are setup. This is what I will complain about. But I dont like it when I see people trying to throw as much useless and irrelevent information in as they can. Yes stock stereos can be made to go 50ft. Yes motorcycles are louder than need be. Yes most of society is pussified. That doesnt mean that the purpose of the law is wrong. Measuring distances is important. The car itself making more noise than the stereo at that distance is important. Other laws not being upheld as much is important but kind of irellevent. I see that as more of a "Well since you let them slide I wont follow the law." kind of excuse. Instead we should complain about that by itself and try and get that taken care of too.

I can go through and comment on each little thing after I get off work if you like.

 

And I 100% agree to that. Thats why I didnt dispute it.

But to a point it isnt really valid. Yes there will be different conditions which would make the sound carry further or less. And I understand that brings up a gray area that many consider to be 'unfair' but if you think about it this does what its supposed to. It is there to protect the people who are offended not to punish those who want to listen to music. People will vary greatly. This includes the officers as well as the people who have to listen put up with the problem. 50ft is setting a concrete medium to satisfy most people. It gives us some room as well as them. Getting down to pulling out db meters is a bit more concrete but doesnt solve much IMO. Saying the law isnt fair because of it seems more of an excuse if you get caught if you ask me. But again, opinions are like assholes.

And I was a bit harsh saying people were throwing useless info in. Its just getting a bit mixed up and letting other material cloud your argument.

 

I agree that 50ft is way too short. If the music is contained within the distance of the operating noise of the vehicle I would go with the law a lot smoother. But then you have the problem of cars being louder than each other.

And yes interpretation can lead to corruption or favoritism. Very good point there.

 

I live in Fort Wayne IN and we have pretty rediculous noise ordinance here too... for a while i had my Polk audio MM6 component set running off of my Pioneer DEHP 2000 HU (45x4 peak power, pretty weak...) and yes i know this is a no no but that's not the point... driving out to my schools computer lab one day i passed a cop sitting in a parking lot... i was going 50 in a 35... he pulls out after me and i'm thinking o crap he clocked me... he pulled me over and gave me a noise ordinance warning... the music wasn't even loud in the car, but he could hear it slightly so he pulled me over... It was rediculous... IMHO if you can't feel it at 50 feet it shouldn't get a warning.... it's that kind of loud that travels into houses...


I also had my neighbors (on both sides) call me in for noise ordinance because i had my HT at a decent referance level ( well within the comfortable listning range within the room) for 20 minuites at 4:30 pm... now i can understand calling someone in if it's late at night, or incredibly loud, or for a long period of time... but for 20 minuites in the late afternoon at a fairly reasonable level? when the cop got there i was tempted to ask him if he'd be willing to give me an evaluation of the music level from outside my house at the level i had it at, because i'm confident that if i didn't LIVE IN A CONDO that it wouldn't have been a problem... just my moron neighbor getting worked up because he was mildly inconvenienced for 20 min... it's rediculous...

 

I guess you should be happy that you don't live in Tidewater VA, as you would have gotten the ticket for the noise and the speed and anything else he could find whilst he had you on the road side already. the fines are astronomically steep typically 575.00 for the first offense. Sadly the ordinances are made for those who lack better judgement and social courtesy, eg the 2 am drivebys rattling dishes and windows everywhere along their path of travel through the hood.

 

I live in Cincinnati and in some parts there is a $500 fine for "loud music." I'm not sure what the specific law is but it's so stupid. People are being fined for being inconsiderite. WOW