Photo credit: Markus Spiske from Pexels
by Arline L. Bronzaft, Ph.D., Board of Directors, GrowNYC, and Co-founder, The Quiet Coalition
New Yorkers are very likely appreciative of the lawmakers, State Senator Andrew Gournardes and City Councilman Justin Brannan, for introducing legislation, a bill at the state level and a bill at the City Council, to impose stiffer fines for excessive vehicle noise. These legislators speak for many New Yorkers when they were quoted as being “tired of moronic motorists terrorizing New York streets with deafening loud mufflers and exhaust systems.”
The bills would increase the penalties for modifying mufflers and ensure that police officers have the ability to measure the decibel sound levels emitted. The legislators have noted the blasting noises from these vehicles at night have been especially disruptive to sleep. With so many people already experiencing extra stress, sleep is especially important. But sleep is always important to health, and lack of sleep due to noise has been found to impede overall health and quality of life.
While the legislators believe higher fines and police armed with decibel meters will make people think twice about modifying exhaust systems to make them intentionally louder, the key to stopping this noise is the enforcement of the law. Will this legislation indeed bring about an increase in the issuance of violations? Have the lawmakers thought of introducing provisions in the bills that will allow for an evaluation of how the bills are enforced within a year after their passage?
Passing laws is critical in maintaining order, but without enforcement these laws carry little weight. Too often, when it comes to noise, New Yorkers have found that noise laws do not get enforced as they should, as underscored in this 2018 noise report by New York State comptroller DiNapoli.
