Defeating the Boom Car Menace Michael Phillip Wright
Norman, Oklahoma
Copyright March 2002
All Rights Reserved
E-mail the AuthorGrass roots political action is necessary to address the growing problem of noise pollution in America. People who value peace and tranquility in their homes and communities must organize and demand it. The civil rights movement of the '50s and '60s provides the example.
I do not wish to trivialize anyone's noise pollution problems, but I do have my own hierarchy of concern in regard to the question of which noise sources are the least excusable. Train horns can be a nuisance, but at least trains provide a necessary service for society, and railroad engineers don't blast their horns for the joy of annoying people.
In contrast, nuisance noise arising from voluntary and recreational sources cannot be excused. As an inexcusable noise source, boom cars are at the top of the list. As the boom car advertisements demonstrate, the cretins who drive boom cars on public roads do so for the joy of aggravating others and because they pursue the fantasy that sexy young women will adore them for it.
Boom cars are everywhere. Because they annoy so many people and are among the least excusable noise sources, it makes sense that anti-noise activists should give them high priority as a noise source to oppose. How can the boom car menace be defeated?
Ultimately, tighter noise control laws and better enforcement are necessary. At this time, noise control laws in many municipalities around the country prohibit boom car noise. The General Code Advantage website states:
This is a good sign, and this development must be encouraged. The momentum is with advocates of the right to quiet.While laws regulating noise in general are commonplace in most municipalities, communities are increasingly enacting more stringent legislation in order to specifically regulate sound originating from car stereos.Where boom car equipment cannot be operated legally, confiscation of it is justified. Some cities, such as Cleveland, Ohio, already have ordinances which enable confiscation. Every city and state in the nation needs to follow this example.
Boom Car Bounty Hunters
With confiscation ordinances in place, boom cars could be eliminated pretty quickly with poetic justice for those of us who have suffered from their abuse. To accomplish this, I recommend a bounty system whereby individuals reporting the license tags of boom car offenders be compensated $50 for every report resulting in a confiscation. The bounty would be paid from the boom car boy's fine.
This would not require the police to hear the noise. All they would need to do would be to locate the vehicle, inspect it, locate the extra-powerful ("sub-woofer") bass speakers, and confiscate them. Boom car boys usually put them in the trunk, and this of course makes obvious their desire that the noise be heard by persons outside of the vehicle. Confiscated equipment should be destroyed. It should not be allowed to fall into the hands of other audio thugs.
Court-Ordered School for Noise Offenders
In lieu of jail time and in addition to fines, boom car boys and other recreational noise offenders should be required to attend a class in order to be educated about the public health and safety hazards of noise pollution. Those not rendering a satisfactory performance in the class should be required to go back before the judge.
Cleveland Noise Control Ordinance
Because of its low tolerance for noise pollution, the Cleveland ordinance is worth studying. Here is a sample of its language:
While many ordinances allow a 50-foot radius of tolerance for car stereo noise, Cleveland prohibits the noise from being heard beyond the vehicle.683.02 Playing of Sound Devices in Motor Vehicles Prohibited
No person shall play any radio, music player or audio system in a motor vehicle at such volume as to disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of other persons or at a volume which is plainly audible to persons other than the occupants of said vehicle. (Ord. No. 2487-A-89. Passed 6-18-90, eff. 6-27-90)Information Kit Available Here
For material to provide to your city council members and other public officials, see my Information Kit which has excerpts from a U.S. Department of Justice document which addresses the boom car problem.
Demonstrations Against Boom Cars
This may sound Machiavellian, but one of the best ways to defeat the boom car menace would be for young women -- the very people boom car boys want to impress -- to be educated about the dangers presented by these audio thugs and to start demonstrating against them in public with the idea of ridiculing them. This would humiliate the boom car boys in a way which they so richly deserve. I suspect that a tactic like this could also attract a good deal of publicity.
Excessive Horn-Honking: Another Nuisance
A growing number of writers are describing the agonies of noise pollution. In a March 2002 article in The New Yorker , writer Nick Paumgarten describes the anger inflicted upon a Brooklyn resident by drivers who entertain themselves by leaning on their horns for long periods of time while enduring slow-moving traffic.