KENNEBUNK – I am writing in response to the April 14 article concerning the regulation of too-loud motorcycles (“Panel backs limit on motorcycle noise”).

I was present at the hearing and the ensuing work session when the Transportation Committee considered proposed bills designed to curb excessive motorcycle noise.

At one point, a committee member quoted the following from Maine’s motor vehicle laws: “A person may not operate a motor vehicle unless that vehicle is equipped with an adequate muffler properly maintained to prevent excessive or unusual noise.”

This law has been in effect for several years, and committee members were puzzled as to why excessive motorcycle noise continues to plague Maine citizens despite clear laws forbidding it.

When Lt. Brian Scott, commander of the Maine State Police Traffic Safety Unit, reported that a mere 390 fines were issued statewide for inadequate mufflers (both car and motorcycles) in 2010, it became crystal clear that lack of enforcement is the main reason the noise continues. Police are simply not doing their job.

In my own informal interviews of police officers, I have come to my own conclusions as to why police are so lax in enforcing motorcycle-related laws. One officer told me he doesn’t remember learning about motorcycle laws when he was at the police academy. Another admitted he knows nothing about motorcycles and wouldn’t know how to identify an illegal muffler.

A judge related that many motorcycle cases are dismissed in court because there is no decibel reading. This is discouraging to police, who then resist enforcement because they believe the case will just be dismissed anyway.

An acquaintance informed me that when he complained about noise, the officer said he had more important things to do than chase motorcycles. Obviously, there are times when an officer has to prioritize; it would be more important to respond to a domestic violence case than a complaint of a loud motorcycle.

However, there are many officers who have traffic duty and sit for hours waiting for speeders. Surely they could use that time to nab biker scofflaws.

Finally, there are some police officers who don’t enforce because they themselves ride motorcycles with illegal mufflers.

I propose that the state police conduct a workshop to educate police officers about motorcycle laws and ways to identify illegal mufflers. District attorneys and judges could also use some educating.

I urge Maine citizens with complaints of motorcycle noise (or any excessive motor vehicle noise; there are more and more trucks operating with illegal mufflers) to contact their local police chiefs, selectmen, mayors and town managers and demand that the laws be enforced.

Police need to stop minimizing the issue of motorcycle noise. It is clearly a problem for countless Mainers, as evidenced by the many complaints that legislators have received concerning this issue.

Excessive motorcycle noise is not merely a nuisance. It is an in-your-face act of bullying and it has to stop.

 

 

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