NoiseOFF

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(No Transcript)
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NoiseOFF.org

• The Citizens Coalition Against Noise Pollution

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Chapters

• Introduction
• Boom Cars
• Boom Car Advertisements
• Car Alarms
• Motorcycles
• Exhaust Systems
• Landscaping
• Engine Brakes
• Our Agenda
• Frequently Asked Questions

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Introduction
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Noise Pollution Epidemic

• American families cant sleep at night because of
  boom cars, car alarms and motorcycles
• 2001 U.S. Census Survey
• 11.8 million households said street or traffic
  noise was bothersome
• 4.5 million residents said it was so bad they
  wanted to move

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Types of Noise

• Boom Cars
• Car Alarms
• Motorcycles
• Exhaust Systems
• Landscaping
• Truck Engine Brakes

• Traffic
• Airports
• Stadiums / Events
• Clubs / Bars / Restaurants
• Construction
• Public Transportation

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Counting Decibels (dBA)

• Boom Car 140
• Jet Takeoff 140
• Shotgun 130
• Rock Concert 125
• Thunder Clap 120
• Leaf Blower 100
• Motorcycle 95
• Lawn Mower 90
• Traffic Noise 80
• Conversation 50
• Whisper 30
• Breathing 10

• Pain Threshold 125
• Hearing Loss Risk 100
• Very Annoying 90
• Intrusive 70
• Comfortable 60
• Very Quiet 30
• Just Audible 20

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Dealing with Noise Pollution

• Some types of noise, such as boom cars and car
  alarms can be eliminated
• Other types of noise, such as vehicle traffic can
  be mitigated
• Noise pollution issues are sometimes based on
  zoning and land use rights

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Members of the Coalition

• Working to reduce noise pollution from the United
  States and abroad
• Citizens
• Elected Representatives
• Law Enforcement
• Educators
• Researchers
• Activists

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About Us

• People just like you
• Similar problem in big cities and small towns
• Organized on the Internet
• Independently researched the problem
• Dedicated to ending urban blight ruining
  communities

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Join The Coalition

• Help create a national movement
• People in every community
• Membership is free
• Enlist friends, neighbors and relatives
• Spread the word
• Situation gets worse every day
• Joining together makes our voices loud enough to
  be heard

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Government Issues

• Police departments are not solely effective in
  solving noise pollution problems
• Current federal administration is not focused on
  protecting the environment
• EPA not effectively protecting Americans from
  noise pollution
• Legislators are overwhelmed by the political and
  financial power of the noise industry

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The Noise Industry

• Identified companies that profit from creating
  noise pollution
• Boom car industry promote anti-social behavior in
  their advertisements
• We are not going to let them get away with it
• We refuse to be victims
• Working to pass laws against their industry
• Empowering the public

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The Noise Industry

• Making billions of dollars a year at your expense
• Vehicle Aftermarket Industry
• 29 Billion Year Retail Industry
• 5,700 Companies
• Enormous Political and Financial Resources
• Manufacturers and Installers
• Boom Cars
• Car Alarms
• Motorcycles and Hot-Rod Exhaust Systems

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Noise Industry Trade Groups

• Industry Trade Groups
• Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)
• Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA)
• Mobile Enhancement Retailers Association (MERA)
• Tactics
• Lobby against proposed noise-pollution ordinances
• Create political caucuses and PACs
• Enlist hot-rod and motorcycle clubs to lobby on
  their behalf
• Attempt to marginalize noise pollution activists

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Join The Coalition

• Common complaints
• My family was awakened by the sound of boom cars
  driving by. We called the police to report the
  offenders but they took no action. And for the
  entire night, we couldn't sleep because of the
  noise. The next day at work, I was tired, angry
  and frustrated. And the next night, the same
  thing happened all over again. -- J.T.
• Car alarm sirens is making my child and newborn
  upset, I dont know what to do. -- M.H.
• My neighbors Harley wakes me and my family up
  at five in the morning -- W.E.

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Join The Coalition

• Health and safety issue
• Huge deaf population looming on the horizon
• Drivers with reduced reaction times and
  diminished awareness
• Whole towns being held hostage to extremely loud
  noise by a few people
• Police diverting resources away from other crimes
  to handle quality of life issues
• Multibillion dollar industry callously profiting
  from all of this

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Learn More about NoiseOFF

• Sign up at NoiseOFF.org and learn how others are
  working to reduce noise pollution in their own
  community
• Yahoo! Groups where you can discuss and meet
  other members
• Join a vibrant community of concerned citizens
  just like you

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Boom Cars
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Boom Cars

• Vehicle equipped with an audio system producing a
  powerful bass sound
• Also called
• Street Pounders
• Trunk Thumpers
• Bass Noise
• Rattle windows
• Travel through walls
• Heard and felt more than a block away

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Boom Cars

• Disturb millions of people each day
• Urban residents suffer
• No community is immune from this type of noise
  pollution
• Manufacturers are working to develop even louder
  systems

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MTX Audio SuperWoofer

• MTX Thunder 9500 SuperWoofer for use in boom
  cars
• Advertised as head splitting, heart stopping,
  ear shattering, mind numbing and retina
  detaching
• Designed to even louder than a Boeing 747 at
  takeoff

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Boomers

• Profile
• Male
• Late Teens / Twenties
• Lower-Middle Social Class
• Attitudes
• Louder the better
• Little regard for others
• Car is an expression of themselves
• Improve their social standing among their peers
• Will attract women

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Safety and Health Concerns

• People exposed to this noise experience
• Anxiety
• Lost Sleep
• Depression
• Hypertension
• Permanent Hearing Damage
• Pregnant woman, infants and children may be
  adversely affected

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Safety and Health Concerns

• Intense low frequency noise produce
• Produces a drug-like euphoric effect
• Causes a numbing effect
• Medical journal report
• Four young men suffered a lung collapse triggered
  by loud bass music
• One of the men was in a boom car outfitted with a
  1,000-watt bass system
• Source Thorax Medical Journal

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The Money Trail

• Manufacturers
• Sony
• Pioneer Electronics
• JBL
• Alpine
• Audiovox
• Retailers
• Crutchfield
• Circuit City
• Best Buy

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The Money Trail

• Socially Irresponsible
• Aware of the negative environmental impact their
  products have, but continue making and selling it
• Explicitly promote its use as a means to disturb
  people and ruin neighborhoods
• Sponsor sound pressure level (SPL) competitions
  awarding prizes to the loudest boom cars

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The Money Trail

• Marketing and Promotion Tactics
• Print, Internet, Event campaigns
• Viral / Guerilla / Stealth Tactics
• Avoid public scrutiny because marketing falls
  under the radar of mainstream culture
• Anti-social and sexist messages
• Product Placement in Movies / Television
• The Fast and the Furious
• 2 Fast 2 Furious
• MTVs Pimp My Ride

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The Money Trail

• Trade Groups
• Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)
• Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA)
• Mobile Enhancement Retailers Association (MERA)
• Tactics
• Lobby against proposed noise-pollution ordinances
• SEMA created Congressional Automotive
  Performance and Motorsports Caucus enlisting
  members of congress to support their agenda
• Enlist car and motorcycle enthusiast clubs to
  lobby on their behalf

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Legal Considerations

• Police
• Do not regard the problem as serious
• Often do not enforce existing noise ordinances
• Some municipalities require that the police
  officer personally monitor and measure the amount
  of noise with a sound meter before issuing a
  summons
• Officers sometimes drive boom cars themselves

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Legal Considerations

• Major Cities
• New York City Revised its noise code
• Chicago Imposed greater fines for boom cars
• Los Angeles Beholden to the car audio industry
• Issues
• Nationwide patchwork of noise ordinances are not
  effectively enforced
• Local elected officials charged with protecting
  the public are overwhelmed by the noise
  industry's financial and political power

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Legal Considerations

• Environmental Protection Agency
• Charged with protecting the public from this
  onslaught of noise pollution
• EPAs Office of Noise Abatement and Control has
  not been funded in over 20 years
• Current federal administration has no plans to
  reinstate funding

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Effective Law Enforcement

• Lorain, Ohio
• First offense is a fine
• Second offense results in stereo equipment being
  confiscated and destroyed

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Solutions

• Do not approach or attempt to reason with
  motorists in boom cars
• Record their license plate number and call the
  police
• Lobby the community council for stronger laws
  against booming

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Learn More about NoiseOFF

• Sign up at NoiseOFF.org and learn how others are
  working to reduce noise pollution in their own
  community
• Yahoo! Groups where you can discuss and meet
  other members
• Join a vibrant community of concerned citizens
  just like you

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Boom Car Advertisements
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Boom Car Ads

• Corporate irresponsibility and greed that is
  ruining communities all over the country
• Boom Car Marketing
• Disgusting Language
• Sexist Content
• Promotes Thuggery
• Anti Social
• Not intended to appeal
• Motorists looking to upgrade the factory speakers
• Audiophiles

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Boom Car Ads

• Ads are the smoking gun they promote thuggery and
  anti-social behavior
• MERA position statement warning its members
• ...not to use symbols, messages or suggest
  behavior that would adversely affect the
  industry. Irresponsible promotion could
  negatively impact the perception of our industry
  by the public at large and could be used against
  us by activists or government to regulate our
  products and activities

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Boom Car Ads

• Corporate Slogans
• Sony X-Plod Disturb the peace
• Pioneer Electronics Disturb, Defy, Disrupt,
  Ignite
• JBL Either we love BASS, or hate your
  neighbors
• JL Audio Be Very Afraid
• MSX Proud to be loud
• Kicker You deserve a beating...Kickers
  loudest, meanest subwoofer ever!

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Boom Car Ads

• More Corporate Slogans
• Concept When TOO loud...is just right!
• Lightning Audio Sonic submission
• Boss Audio System Turn it down? I don't think
  so
• Cerwin-Vega Mobile Audio Shake the living, wake
  the dead
• Crossfire We're louder...Deal with it!
• Earthquake Sound The Meanest, Loudest, Most
  Powerful, Motherfing Amplifiers Money Can Buy

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Boom Car Ads

• Leading Magazines
• Auto Performance
• Car Audio
• Hot-Rod
• Culture / Hip-Hop
• XXL
• The Source
• Vibe
• Mens
• FHM
• Maxim

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Car Sound Magazine

• How to build a boom car
• SPL Competitions
• Boom car ads

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Boss Audio Systems

• Turn it down? I don't think so
• Depiction of a punk giving the finger

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Cerwin Vega

• Shake the living - Wake the dead
• Depiction of an Egyptian mummy holding its ears

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Hollywood Sound Labs

• The Word on the Street Shake Seats and Annoy
  Neighbors

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JBL

• Either we love bass or hate your neighbors
• Uses hate and contempt as a means to sell a
  product

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JL Audio

• Be Very Afraid
• Uses fear as a marketing message to suggest that
  boomers will be feared by others

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MA Audio

• Depiction of a busty women on all fours with a
  kitchen knife
• Meant to appeal to males who assume they will
  attract a woman with a boom car

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MB Quart

• Bolt-On Performance Theyll Hear a Mile Away

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Sony Electronics

• It's not my remote, its my detonator
• Equates boom car equipment as a weapon,
  specifically an explosive device
• Marketed under the brand name X-Plod
• Tasteless considering heightened sensitivities

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Pioneer Electronics

• Everyone Gets a Free Concert When I Roll By
• How Pioneer Electronics executives envision urban
  life for us all

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Pioneer Electronics

• As a Matter of Fact, I Do Own the Road
• Attempts to speak in the voice of a boomer
• Underlying message is that Pioneer Electronics
  owns the road (we beg to differ)

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Pioneer Electronics

• Depiction of an SUV with 5,000 watts of audio
  power
• Pioneer Electronics consistently depicts gloom
  and blight in their ads to create a sense of
  menace

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Tuner Expo Event

• Event organizers attract the boomer crowd to its
  car shows with low-class advertising
• Promoters use the lure of sex to suggest that
  boom cars are attractive to women
• Topless model was hired to promote event

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The Big Kahuna Event

• Events sponsored by the boom car industry are
  held in communities all over the country
• Events are a come-on to purchase or upgrade more
  powerful boom car equipment

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Boycott Pioneer Electronics

• Pioneer brags its car audio systems can be heard
  and felt a block away
• The pounding bass noise can travel through walls
  and rattle windows
• Families can't even sleep at night in their own
  homes because of boom car noise

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Learn More about NoiseOFF

• Sign up at NoiseOFF.org and learn how others are
  working to reduce noise pollution in their own
  community
• Yahoo! Groups where you can discuss and meet
  other members
• Join a vibrant community of concerned citizens
  just like you

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Car Alarms
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Car Alarms

• Car alarms ruin neighborhoods everywhere
• No evidence that car alarms deter auto theft
• Thieves often trip the alarm to mask the sound of
  breaking glass
• Thieves can disable an alarm in seconds
• Passersby ignore the alarms
• Frustrated residents vandalize cars in
  retaliation
• Car alarms disrupt special occasions
• Parents are concerned that noise exposure can
  harm their babies and children

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Safety and Health Concerns

• People exposed to this noise experience
• Anxiety
• Lost Sleep
• Depression
• Lost Productivity
• Hypertension
• Physiological Effects
• Fight or flight mode
• Nervous system releases adrenaline
• Heightened state of alert

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Safety and Health Concerns

• Social Harm
• Frighten infants and young children, a time in
  their lives when they are developing patterns
  that will last the rest of their lives
• Wake people up at night and ruin their day
• Not a decent way for people to live

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The Money Trail

• Manufacturers
• Directed Electronics / Viper
• Audiovox
• Bulldog Security
• Crimestopper
• Aware their products are ineffective at
  preventing auto theft and its negative
  environmental impact

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The Money Trail

• Trade Groups
• Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)
• Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA)
• Mobile Enhancement Retailers Association (MERA)
• Lobbied against proposed noise-pollution
  ordinances in communities
• Responsible for auto-related noise pollution
• Little regard for quality of life issues

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Legal Considerations

• New York City
• Residents protested in front of City Hall
  demanding a complete ban on car alarms
• Passed a lame duck law that only prohibits the
  sale of motion activated alarms and alarms that
  sound off for more than three minutes
• MERA takes credit the language of the proposed
  ordinance has been amended to soften the blow to
  the mobile electronics industry

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Solutions

• Talk to your neighbors and organize
• Most communities have some type of noise
  ordinance in place
• Citizens should know what they are and if they
  require strengthening
• Lobby the city council or the community board in
  your area to increase police patrols and fines
  for offenders

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Solutions

• Talk to your neighbors and enlist their support
• Remove your car alarm if you have one
• Effective solutions to reduce risk of car theft
  include silent alarms that page the owner
• Call 311 and log a noise complaint
• Call 911 at night to report a possible auto theft

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Learn More about NoiseOFF

• Sign up at NoiseOFF.org and learn how others are
  working to reduce noise pollution in their own
  community
• Yahoo! Groups where you can discuss and meet
  other members
• Join a vibrant community of concerned citizens
  just like you

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Motorcycles
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Motorcycle Noise

• New motorcycles are built to federally mandated
  noise control standards
• What makes them noisy is when bikers remove or
  modify the muffler tailpipe
• Modification is illegal in most states, yet
  companies continue to sell and install custom
  exhaust pipes

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Quiet Motorcycles

• Manufacturers know how to build quiet motorcycles
• Europe and Japan mandate lower noise levels
• In London, motorcycles are used much more for
  commuting and recreational use than in most
  American cities
• Motorcycles quiet as a typical automobile
• In America, riders often deal with road use
  restrictions because of the widespread perception
  that all motorcycles are noisy

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Bikers

• Bikers who ride in big noisy machines
• Have no regard for the rights of the community
• Enjoy the attention they get, particularly from
  annoyed passersby
• See themselves as free-spirited rebels following
  their own rules
• They are not outlaws, they are overbearing

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Safety and Health Concerns

• Riders assume significant risk of serious injury
  or death on roads and highways
• Riders claim few safety options to mitigate
  injury other than a helmet and gloves
• But most do not bother to take a safe riding
  course
• Many riders claim Loud Pipes Save Lives
• No statistical correlation between the noise
  level of a motorcycle and its ability to reduce
  accidents
• American Motorcyclist Association has taken a
  position statement against excessive motorcycle
  noise

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The Money Trail

• Manufacturers
• Harley-Davidson
• Honda
• BMW
• Trade Groups
• Motorcycle Industry Council
• Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA)
• Mobile Enhancement Retailers Association (MERA)

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The Money Trail

• Lobbied against proposed noise-pollution
  ordinances in communities
• SEMA created the Congressional Automotive
  Performance and Motorsports Caucus enlisting
  members of congress to support their agenda
• Enlist local motorcycle enthusiast clubs to lobby
  on their behalf on political issues

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The Money Trail

• Overwhelming public disdain against motorcycles
• Riders join political action groups in an effort
  to combat increased legislation against their
  sport
• Motorcycle Riders Foundation
• The American Motorcyclist Association
• The National Motorists' Association
• ABATE
• American Brotherhood Aimed Toward Education
• American Brotherhood Against Totalitarian
  Enactments

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Legal Considerations

• Modifying the muffler pipe for the purpose of
  making it louder is illegal in most states
• Legal exhaust pipes are marked to indicate that
  they fall within EPA standards for noise
  emissions
• Loud exhaust pipes are not street-legal and
  intended for off-road use or professional track
  use (sometimes not EPA marked as required by law)
• Not illegal to purchase or install

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Law Enforcement

• Officers
• Charged but not always mandated to enforce laws
• Not educated on the harms of noise pollution
• Overwhelmed by the problem
• Attitudes
• Reluctant to take action
• Little regard for noise pollution
• Need to be educated on harms of noise
• Own loud motorcycles

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Legal Considerations

• Police
• Charged with enforcing laws against illegal
  motorcycle pipes
• Often reluctant to enforce the law
• Own modified pipes in their own civilian
  motorcycles
• Little regard for noise pollution
• Need to be educated on harms of noise pollution
• Expected to be professional and enforce the law

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Solutions

• Do not approach or attempt to reason with bikers
• Take down their license plate number and call the
  police
• Lobby the community for stronger noise ordinances
• Lobby the state to enact stronger laws against
  muffler modifications

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Solutions

• Talk to your neighbors and organize, chances are
  they are just as frustrated as you are
• Most communities have some type of noise
  ordinance in place and you should know what they
  are and if they require strengthening
• Lobby the city council or the community board in
  your area to increase police patrols and fines
  for offenders

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Learn More about NoiseOFF

• Sign up at NoiseOFF.org and learn how others are
  working to reduce noise pollution in their own
  community
• Yahoo! Groups where you can discuss and meet
  other members
• Join a vibrant community of concerned citizens
  just like you

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Exhaust Systems
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Exhaust Systems

• Exhaust systems are required on all vehicles in
  the United States and in most other countries
• Hot-rodders and so-called tuners often modify
  vehicle mufflers and/or disable the catalytic
  converter to produce distinctive humming or
  roaring sound
• Modified vehicles are often referred to as Vroom
  Cars

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Exhaust Systems

• Mufflers are designed to absorb the extremely
  harsh noise from an internal-combustion engine
• Catalytic converters are designed to reduce the
  toxic emissions of exhaust gasses
• Modified mufflers can sometimes be identified as
  having a much wider tailpipe
• Vibration can travel long distances through walls
  and windows
• Low frequency noise cannot be localized

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Exhaust Pipes

• Vibroacoustic disease
• Breathing Difficulty
• Irregular Heartbeats
• Nausea
• People exposed to this noise experience
• Lost sleep
• Stress
• High blood pressure
• Hypertension
• Feelings of dread or depression
• Permanent Hearing Damage

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The Money Trail

• Manufacturers
• Flowmaster
• Magnaflow
• Retailers / Installers
• Meineke Car Car Center
• Midas
• Trade groups
• Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA)
• Mobile Enhancement Retailers Association (MERA)

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The Money Trail

• Flowmaster claims its performance exhaust systems
  produce an aggressive muscle car sound
• Meineke Car Care Center allows vehicle owners to
  sample different sounds from their line of
  performance mufflers

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The Money Trail

• Lobbied against proposed noise-pollution
  ordinances
• SEMA created the Congressional Automotive
  Performance and Motorsports Caucus enlisting
  members of congress to support their agenda
• Enlist motorcycle enthusiast clubs to lobby on
  their behalf

89
Magnaflow

• Market loud pipes for SUVs including the Hummer
• Do you want this in your neighborhood?

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Flowmaster Mufflers

• Noise as a selling point to market hot-rod
  mufflers
• Product Placement
• MTV
• Pimp My Ride
• History Channel
• Full Throttle
• Discovery Channel
• American Chopper
• American Hot Rod
• Biker Build-Off
• Monster Garage

91
Legal Considerations

• Modifying the muffler is illegal and enforceable
  by the police in most states
• Disabling the catalytic converter is illegal in
  all states
• Most aftermarket exhaust systems sold by
  retailers are marked to indicate that they are
  not street-legal and intended for off-road use or
  track use

92
Law Enforcement

• Officers
• Charged but not always mandated to enforce laws
• Not educated on the harms of noise pollution
• Overwhelmed by the problem
• Attitudes
• Reluctant to take action
• Little regard for noise pollution
• Need to be educated on harms of noise
• Own modified exhaust systems in civilian
  motorcycles and cars

93
Legal Considerations

• In 2002, former California Governor Gray Davis
  signed into law legislation that changes the way
  vehicles are measured for exhaust system noise
• SEMA heavily lobbied for the law to be changed
  and managed to convince pro-business and hot-rod
  enthusiast politicians to sponsor and pass the
  bill
• Law changes the decibel standard to A-weighted
  that fails to measure the presence and intensity
  of very low frequency sound
• Officers no longer have the authority to fine
  offenders if their vehicle exhaust systems are
  plainly audible

94
Solutions

• Do not approach or attempt to reason with bikers
  or motorists
• Take down their license plate number and call the
  police
• Talk to your neighbors and organize
• Find out what noise ordinance is in place and if
  they require strengthening
• Lobby the city council or the community board in
  your area to increase police patrols and fines
  for offenders

95
Learn More about NoiseOFF

• Sign up at NoiseOFF.org and learn how others are
  working to reduce noise pollution in their own
  community
• Yahoo! Groups where you can discuss and meet
  other members
• Join a vibrant community of concerned citizens
  just like you

96
Landscaping
97
Landscaping

• Yard work is healthy exercise
• Activity that involves the entire family
• Strengthens neighbor relations
• Increases property values
• Improves the community

98
Gas Powered Equipment

• Some homeowners opt for noisy gas powered
  two-stroke mowers, hedgers, trimmers and leaf
  blowers or hire professional landscapers
• Ruining the peace of suburbs all over the country
• Loud grating noise from a leaf blower can be
  heard a block away
• Families looking for peace and quiet in their own
  property are denied that right by their own
  neighbors
• Creates exhaust and blows particulate pollution

99
Landscaping

• Leaf blowers should be completely banned
• Alternatives for other types of lawn equipment
• Electric lawn equipment
• Produce far less noise pollution
• More reliable
• Require less maintenance
• Cost less than fuel-based counterparts
• Hand powered equipment
• Newer models are much easier to use

100
Leaf Blowers

• Blow Particulate Matter
• Dust
• Fertilizers
• Pesticides
• Insects
• Spores
• Molds
• Fecal Matter
• Gas powered models also burn mixed combination of
  gas and oil fuel that create toxic exhaust

101
Safety and Health Concerns

• People who cannot tolerate the noise or suffer
  from allergies are captive in their own homes
• Young children are at risk because their immune
  system is not yet fully developed and they are
  more susceptible to asthma
• Elderly people exposed to airborne contaminants
  experience severe lung and respiratory problems
• Leaf blower operators are putting themselves at
  greater risk because of the direct exposure to
  airborne pollutants

102
The Money Trail

• Manufacturers
• Black Decker
• Ryobi
• Stihl
• Echo Incorporated
• Toro
• Craftsman
• John Deere

103
The Money Trail

• Retailers
• Sears
• Lowe's
• Home Depot
• These companies are well aware of the air and
  noise pollution their products cause

104
The Money Trail

• California Landscape Contractors Association
• Released position statement acknowledging the
  serious environmental harm caused by leaf blowers
• Advocate use because it would otherwise hurt
  profits
• Little regard for peoples health
• California communities banning leaf blowers
• Beverly Hills
• Santa Monica
• Laguna Beach
• Berkeley

105
Toy Leaf Blowers

• In the spirit of fun and safe play, John Deere
  licensed its brand to a toy company to produce
  toy leaf blowers
• Actually blows air

106
Legal Considerations

• Trade groups
• Working to oppose environmental legislation
• Environmental evidence against them is
  overwhelming
• Communities
• Enacting legislation banning leaf blowers
• Public support is growing

107
Solutions

• Find other neighbors in your area who are also
  disturbed by leaf blowers and together, talk to
  the offending neighbor about the problem and win
  their support
• Approaching noisy neighbors
• Good diplomacy
• Offer information
• Answer questions
• Encourage alternative solutions
• Appeal to their better nature

108
Solutions

• Organize and lobby your local community board to
  pass an ordinance against leaf blowers
• Most communities have some type of noise
  ordinance in place and you should know what they
  are and if they require strengthening

109
Learn More about NoiseOFF

• Sign up at NoiseOFF.org and learn how others are
  working to reduce noise pollution in their own
  community
• Yahoo! Groups where you can discuss and meet
  other members
• Join a vibrant community of concerned citizens
  just like you

110
Engine Brakes
111
Engine Brakes

• Most people have no idea what an engine brake is,
  but they know it when they hear it
• Deafening bellowing noise that semi trucks
  produce when they slow down
• Engine brakes also known as
• Jake Brake
• Retarder
• Jake Brake takes its name from the manufacturer
  who invented most common implementation of the
  technology, Jacobs Vehicle Systems

112
Why Engine Brakes

• Semi trucks can weigh forty tons
• Standard wheel brakes results in expensive wear
  and tear
• Engine brakes causes no wear and tear
• Device is installed on top of diesel engine and
  operator uses a switch to activate it
• Used in downhill situations to keep rig moving at
  controlled speed

113
How Does It Work

• Jacobs Engine Brake used in large diesel trucks
• Locks down engine exhaust valve during the
  exhaust stroke and increases resistance delivered
  to piston
• Turns a power-producing engine into a
  power-absorbing air compressor to slow down the
  truck
• Sudden release of pressure creates an explosive
  roaring staccato noise that can be heard hundreds
  of feet away.

114
Engine Brakes

• Without an installed muffler system to mitigate
  the noise, it is a serious noise pollution hazard
• Operators do not properly maintain vehicles or
  install an illegal straight pipe in place of
  standard muffler
• Truckers sometimes intentionally use the brake to
  make noise

115
Jake Brakes Prohibited

• Communities are now posting signs banning the use
  of Jake Brakes in an effort to protect its
  citizens
• Syringa, Idaho

116
Safety and Health Concerns

• Noise produced by a Jake Brake is a nightmare for
  people who live near highways / truck routes
• People exposed to this type of noise on a daily
  basis lose sleep, experience depression and
  hypertension
• Occupational hazard to truckers as prolonged
  exposure can result in permanent hearing loss

117
The Money Trail

• Manufacturers of engine brakes is
• Jacobs Vehicle Systems
• Voith Turbo
• Well aware of the negative environmental impact
  their products have

118
Jake Brake Device

• Installed on top of a diesel engine
• Noise can be heard hundreds of feet away
• Families who live near truck routes suffer at all
  hours of the day and night

119
Legal Considerations

• Some municipalities install signs banning use of
  engine brakes
• Some municipalities require the officer
  personally monitor and measure the amount of
  noise with a sound meter before issuing summons
• Most communities and law enforcement do not
  understand the problem

120
Legal Considerations

• EPA needs to be actively involved in protecting
  the public
• Solution beyond the reach of local and state
  governments
• Problem is getting worse

121
Solutions

• People may not know what an engine brake is, but
  know what it sounds like
• Talk to your neighbors and organize
• Most communities have some type of noise
  ordinance in place and you should know what they
  are and if they require strengthening
• Lobby the city council or the community board in
  your area to increase police patrols and fines
  for offenders

122
Learn More about NoiseOFF

• Sign up at NoiseOFF.org and learn how others are
  working to reduce noise pollution in their own
  community
• Yahoo! Groups where you can discuss and meet
  other members
• Join a vibrant community of concerned citizens
  just like you

123
Our Agenda
124
Our Agenda

• You have the right to peace and quiet in your own
  home and to live in a peaceful community
• Working to reduce the blight of noise pollution
  in communities everywhere
• Outlaw boom cars, car alarms and loud muffler
  pipes on all vehicles
• Restrict the sale and use of consumer products
  that exceed certain noise levels

125
Our Agenda

• Increase public awareness that noise pollution is
  a serious problem
• Enact laws and promote effective enforcement to
  protect the public
• Hold accountable individuals, businesses and
  special interest groups who violate the rights of
  the people
• Work on all levels of the government

126
Public Education and Awareness

• Families who suffer from noise pollution in their
  own homes know little about the problem in
  general or what do about it
• We provide information and resources to empower
  citizens to take action in their own community

127
Public Education and Awareness

• Citizens
• Entitled to environmental protection from noise
  pollution
• Should know the laws in their community and who
  their elected representatives are
• Mindful about noise pollution and how it might
  affect our community
• Should research the issue and enlist the support
  of friends, neighbors and local representatives

128
Media Outreach

• Present facts honestly and directly to the media
• Noise Industry
• Uses public relations firms to spin the media
• Have little regard for the rights of the public
• Have lots of money
• Collect facts about the noise industry
• We expose them and hold them accountable
• We have the truth and that is something they
  cannot buy

129
Reduce Public Demand

• Encourage use of equipment that do not cause
  noise pollution
• Protest and boycott businesses that blatantly
  promote noise pollution
• Work with manufacturers and installers
• Who act in good faith
• Hold them to a set of standards to protect the
  public

130
Reduce Public Demand

• Boomers, Bikers and Hot-Rodders
• Cause most of the noise pollution we suffer from
• Courted by trade groups such as SEMA to lobby
  against noise pollution ordinances on their
  behalf
• Does not reflect the interests of the greater
  community

131
Governmental Legislation

• Create effective noise pollution laws
• Political lobbying
• Partnering with other environmental groups
• Problem is beyond the reach of local and state
  governments
• EPA needs to be actively involved in protecting
  the public from noise pollution that is getting
  worse

132
Governmental Legislation

• Legislators charged with protecting the public
  are overwhelmed by the noise industry's financial
  and political power
• Industry spends huge sums of money to hire
  lobbyists to win legislation
• Action is based on financial or public pressure
• We will pressure law makers to protect the rights
  of the public

133
Governmental Legislation

• Local noise ordinances often cannot be enforced
• Written in a way that the police must measure the
  noise violation with a decibel meter or measure
  the noise level from a specific distance
• Offenders often lower the noise when police are
  nearby and then turn it back up when the police
  are away
• Change the way noise ordinances are written so
  that it is actionable by law enforcement

134
Law Enforcement

• Police
• Responsible for enforcing noise ordinances
• Police need to do a better job
• Require education and support to be more
  effective
• Sometimes perpetuate the problem because they own
  vehicles with modified pipes, boom cars and car
  alarms that go off intermittently
• Officers do not always have the authority or
  departmental mandate to effectively handle noise
  pollution complaints

135
Law Enforcement

• Public Perceptions
• Police departments not always receptive to public
  inquiry or demands for better enforcement
• People sometimes afraid of dealing with the
  police for fear of retaliation
• We need to change attitudes and perceptions so
  that the police can do a better job protecting
  the community

136
Learn More about NoiseOFF

• Sign up at NoiseOFF.org and learn how others are
  working to reduce noise pollution in their own
  community
• Yahoo! Groups where you can discuss and meet
  other members
• Join a vibrant community of concerned citizens
  just like you

137
Frequently Asked Questions
138
Frequently Asked Questions

• Is noise pollution a health issue?
• Yes, exposure to daily levels of noise pollution
  causes hearing loss, hypertension, increased
  blood pressure and headaches
• Excessive noise causes depression in many people
  and can lead to loss of productivity and even
  violence
• When people lose sleep at night, it affects their
  day

139
Frequently Asked Questions

• If you don't like noise, why not move away?
• Noise pollution is everywhere
• Families moved out of cities to suburbs because
  of the noise from car alarms, boom cars and
  nightclubs
• Gas powered lawn equipment such as leaf blowers
  ruined the tranquility that once made suburbs so
  attractive
• One noisy neighbor can ruin a neighborhood

140
Frequently Asked Questions

• Does the EPA regulate noise pollution standards?
• Yes, they are charged with protecting the public
• In the 70s, EPA created the Office of Noise
  Abatement
• In the 80s, funding was stopped funding and the
  office closed
• EPA needs to be involved in reducing noise
  pollution
• Problem is worse than ever

141
Frequently Asked Questions

• Why is noise pollution such a contentious issue?
• Some people feel that they have the inalienable
  right to make all the noise they want in public
  and on their own property
• Some people are less sensitive to hearing than
  others, possibly caused by hearing damage
• People who do not experience noise pollution in
  their own environment do not take the issue
  seriously

142
Frequently Asked Questions

• Why is noise pollution such a contentious issue?
• Poor families often live in densely populated
  environments with lots of noise pollution, and
  affluent families live in less populated
  environments that are quiet
• Poor families are not well represented on
  environmental issues and they suffer in silence.
• Trade groups and special interests try to
  marginalize noise pollution activists in an
  effort to protect their financial interests

143
Frequently Asked Questions

• Isn't this a free speech issue?
• United States Constitution Bill of Rights
• Amendment I. Congress shall make no law
  respecting an establishment of religion, or
  prohibiting the free exercise thereof or
  abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press
  or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
  and to petition the government for a redress of
  grievances.
• People have the right to listen to whatever they
  want
• Your rights to not be a captive audience to other
  peoples free speech is also protected

144
Frequently Asked Questions

• Dont people have the right to make noise?
• People do not have absolute rights to do anything
  they want on their property
• We all share a common environment and we have
  limited rights to ensure our mutual quality of
  life
• Noise ordinances
• Quality of Life
• Environmental Landscape
• Property Values
• Neighbor Relations

145
Frequently Asked Questions

• Any chance of reducing noise pollution in the
  near future?
• As a coalition of concerned people all around the
  country and abroad, we are building momentum that
  will lead to positive change
• It's a tough fight, but we have a strong desire
  to restore our rights as citizens
• With your support, we can make that happen

146
Learn More about NoiseOFF

• Sign up at NoiseOFF.org and learn how others are
  working to reduce noise pollution in their own
  community
• Yahoo! Groups where you can discuss and meet
  other members
• Join a vibrant community of concerned citizens
  just like you