Nothing is sexier to a pedestrian than having her eardrums ruptured by the sound of some cool dude's modified crotch rocket at a stoplight, right?
Wrong. Almost everybody in every city hates excessively loud noises — mostly because we're inundated by them all the time, from jackhammers and train horns to screaming kids and squealing brakes.
So, when people actually pay for their vehicles to sound like lawn mowers with megaphones, it's annoying (not to mention unhealthy and potentially dangerous.)
Toronto Mayor John Tory, currently running for reelection, wants the city to crack down on motorcycles and sports cars with unnecessarily loud pipes by drafting stronger bylaws that dish out heavier fines to offenders.
"It is my view that over the past year in particular, this has become a much more widespread problem affecting quality of life for residents and visitors alike," wrote Tory in a letter to the city's head of municipal licensing and standards.
"It is disturbing people in their homes, during the day and at night, it is disrupting business and it is having a negative impact on tourists, all in the apparent cause of feeding the egos of inconsiderate people."
Tory requested that city staff conduct a review of Toronto's current noise bylaw (which doesn't specifically cover motorcycles) and report back on what could be done to make the rules tougher.
To all motorcyclist peacocking on a residential street in the night boasting how loud your engines are: there is a special cauldron of Hell reserved for you. And thank you very much for waking up my neighbors’ toddler. #Toronto #Motorcycles
— Yulia (@altitonanti) May 28, 2018
Among the suggestions floated in Tory's letter are higher fines for non-compliance, the use of red light camera-type technology to capture the licence plates of noisy vehicles and the installation of electronic signs that display a decibel level readout.
The mayor also suggested that bylaw officers take on more responsibility for enforcing noise rules, as opposed to the police, who often have more pressing matters to deal with.
"It's poor behaviour," he said to reporters on Monday. "We have to crack down on it."
He also said that drivers who break any new noise bylaws should be "fined heavily" and that those who most often engage in such behaviour are "making up for other inadequacies."
by Lauren O'Neil via blogTO
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