October 1, 2010
Noise Free America
For immediate release
Contact:
Mark Roberts
[email protected]
Gary Michaels
[email protected]
Ted Rueter
877-NOISE-NO
[email protected]
Albany: Roseville, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, has won this month’s Noisy Dozen award from Noise Free America for tolerating an avalanche of boom cars that make the city sound like a thunderstorm. In Roseville, there are hundreds of cars with super-powered subwoofer speaker systems pounding the streets, booming and thumping, day after day, disturbing everyone. And the city does nothing.
Mark Roberts, founder of the grassroots organization Ban the Boombox, states that “I’ve lived in Roseville Michigan for seven years. When we first moved here, it was a nice quiet neighborhood, even though we live three houses and across a semi main street from a high school. For the last four years, I have been fighting the inconsiderate idiots who blare their car audio boom cars. I have also been fighting the city over its lack of action.”
According to Roberts, “The problem started about five years ago and has gotten exponentially worse each and every year. With the onset of spring and warmer days, it seems as though the instances per day doubles with each passing year. Five years ago, there was about 10 to 15 of these inconsiderate idiots a day. Four years ago, there were perhaps 20 to 25 a day. That’s when I had enough and started contacting my city leaders. Currently, around 30 to 40 loud car stereos boom and thump through my neighborhood every day and every night. It’s even more on warm nights. The record: 72 boom cars in one day.”
“Think about it,” Roberts states. “Anywhere from 30 to 60 boom cars, each and every day, each and every night, for years, without ever getting a day or night off. Astounding. These boom car boys refuse to understand that the low frequency sonic booms that are emitted from their speaker systems not only travel through the air; they also travel through the ground and into our foundations of homes.”
Gary Michaels, a former resident of Roseville, had the same experience. He notes that Roseville has “hundreds and hundreds of boom cars prowling the streets of Roseville, every day and every night. These boom cars create noise far beyond legal, acceptable levels. These boom car boys seem to believe that they have the right to inflict their ‘music’ on us, as loud as they want, any time they want.” Michaels notes that he contacted Roseville’s code enforcement numerous times–to no avail.
Mark Roberts states that he and his family ” have been awakened by boom car noise hundreds of times. We cannot sit and have a quiet family dinner and my wife and I cannot enjoy a “date night” movie and relax without five or ten of these inconsiderate idiots booming around my neighborhood. I’ve had the chief of police, the city manager, and our mayor at my kitchen table to witness for themselves the sheer ignorance and disrespect that these boom car idiots bring. The police and city leaders have admitted that it is indeed, hard to catch a driver booming and thumping because if the perpetrator sees a squad car, all they have to do is turn their stereo down or hit the bass “kill switch.” It’s also difficult because they are mobile. They disturb you for five to ten seconds and then ‘disappear.'”
And the reaction of Roseville city officials? They told Roberts to “write down the make, model, and license plate numbers of the cars I see and hear thumping and booming in my neighborhood. But the argument that no one can answer is this: When I’m sleeping at 3:00 am and one of these idiots wakes us up and they’re three blocks away, how can I identify them and call the police?
Roberts observes that “there needs to be a complete ban on these systems. At the very least, there should be heavy fines to reduce the number of boom car idiots on our streets.”
Ted Rueter, Noise Free America’s director, noted that “what’s happened in Roseville, Michigan has happened all over the country. Boom car boys have taken over the streets–and the police and the city government do nothing. The police, mayors, city councils, and state legislatures need to understand that noise is a major quality of life issue. Millions of American citizens are suffering from excessive, unregulated noise. Noise is an invasion of privacy. Noise has negative health consequences. Noise damages property values. Noise makes it impossible to enjoy your own home.”
Rueter notes that “Roseville, Michigan–and all other municipalities across the nation–need to adopt the boom car policies of Elgin, Illinois, where boom car violators face a $500 fine and impoundment of their vehicle. Sarasota, Florida does the same thing. In Elkhart, Indiana, a fourth boom car offense draws a $2500 fine, and the police department has an officer devoted entirely to noise enforcement. Last year, Elkhart’s noise control officer did more drug busts than any other Elkhart police officer–and he was looking for noise violators, not drugs. Elkhart’s experience demonstrates the strong link between noise, guns, drugs, and crime.”
Noise Free America is a national 501c3 organization opposed to noise pollution. Past “winners” of the Noisy Dozen award include Royal Oak, Michigan; Kalamazoo, Michigan; and the Ford Motor Company.