Rumbling over motorcycle noise
Deafening in Dedham
July 19, 2009
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Deafening in Dedham
“MUFFLE THOSE pipes,’’ your July 14 editorial about motorcycle noise, sounded sweet to my battered ears. Here in the Sprague Street neighborhood of Dedham, the situation is out of control. Mind you, we are not faint-hearted about noise here, living as we do on a commercial truck route. But by far the loudest sounds we experience every day are from private vehicles with after-market mufflers or none at all. My couch shakes from the roar as I try to relax on sunny Sunday mornings.The argument that this is necessary for bikers’ safety is an odd one. Are they actually saying that motorcycles are so unsafe that they require the regular emission of more than 100 decibels for protection? Why then are bikes allowed in residential neighborhoods at all?
These people fought the helmet laws vociferously, and the safety talk is disingenuous. Motorcycle websites are full of breathless references to “rolling thunder’’ and the like. This is simply a group of people with expensive toys living out a macho fantasy at our expense.
With area traffic levels at historic highs, it is time that muffler modifications are strongly discouraged. Boston has the right idea.
Donald Hastie
Dedham 
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
