July 1, 2012
Noise Free America
For immediate release
Contact:
Ted Rueter
877-NOISE-NO
[email protected]
Chapel Hill: Erie, Pennsylvania has won this month’s Noisy Dozen award from Noise Free America for sponsoring a massive motorcycle event, “Roar on the Shore,” from July 19 to July 21. The sixth-annual noisemaking spectacle will bring more than 80,000 “bike enthusiasts” to Erie and create thunderous levels of illegal noise. This three-day noisefest is a celebration of anti-social behavior and lawlessness. Instead of protecting peace and quiet, Erie officials have succumbed to the love of money.
This obnoxiously loud event will feature entertainment by such musical legends as Chrome, Leaders of Men, and Drunk in Memphis, as well as a “Miss Roar on the Shore” beauty pageant.
Event sponsors have made the purpose of the event very clear. There is a “Bringin’ in the Roar” bike parade. There is the fifth annual “Roar to the Vineyards.” The registered trademark of the event is “Roar.”
Ted Rueter, Noise Free America’s director, noted that “what is most shocking about this illegal noisemaking gathering is its official status. ‘Roar on the Shore’ is administered by the Manufacturer and Business Association. Its sponsors include the Erie Times-News, Howard Industries, Waste Management, Lamar Outdoor Advertising, and Rider Insurance. There will be ‘escorted rides’—meaning that the Erie police are giving official sanction to this illegal noise. And on July 20, there will be the annual ‘Thunder on the Isle: The Mayor’s Ride,’ escorted by Erie Mayor Joe Sinnott.”
Rick Holtsclaw, a retired Houston police officer who placed an emphasis on noise enforcement, states that “the overwhelming majority of the motorcyclists attending the ‘Roar on the Shore’ bike rally will be operating motorcycles equipped with illegally-loud aftermarket exhaust mechanisms. These exhausts were designed for off-road or racing environments only. These motorcycles are in direct violation of federal and state laws specifically designed to protect the citizenry from dangerously loud exhaust emissions.”
Officer Holtsclaw observes that “the federal Noise Control Act of 1972 clearly prohibits the alteration of motorcycle exhausts for the purpose of making noise. Also, the Act limits motorcycle noise to 80 decibels. In 1983, the EPA enacted a label match-up program, which requires that motorcycles have a stamp proving that the factory exhaust has not been altered.”
Also, Holtsclaw noted that “the unrestricted operation of illegally- equipped, illegally-loud motorcycles, automobiles, and trucks on our roadways has become an epidemic. Erie’s elected officials, business leaders, and law enforcement personnel are obviously too apathetic and greedy to understand the importance of peace and quiet. Therefore, the citizens of Erie will experience a weekend full of thunderous noise.”
Larry Deal, a member of Noise Free America, stated, “What baffles me is why the city of Erie would want this sort of noisemaking event in its jurisdiction. The least it could do is use the opportunity to do some motorcycle noise enforcement while those 80,000 roaring bikes are in their midst. I’m sure there will be plenty of illegally-equipped and loud motorcycles in that horde. It would make a good police training exercise, as I’m sure they could use the practice.”
In addition, Deal notes that “it’s astounding that the police often claim that they don’t have the resources or time to ticket motorcyclists for illegal pipes, but they always seem to have the time and resources to escort hordes of bikes on these rides—even the obviously loud and illegally-equipped ones.”
Rueter concluded, “’Roar on the Shore’ is a disgrace. There will be 80,000 noise criminals revving their ear-splitting engines. This event is the noise-industrial complex at its worst. It will be an ungodly nuisance, which will rob the entire area of its peaceful existence.”
Noise Free America is a national 501c3 organization devoted to noise reduction. Past “winners” of the Noisy Dozen award include the Sturgis, South Dakota motorcycle rally; the Fairfax, Virginia Harley-Davidson; and the “Concerned Citizens for Motorcycle Safety” in New York City.