August 1, 2019
Noise Free America: A Coalition to Promote Quiet
For immediate release
Contact:
Ted Rueter
877-664-7366
[email protected]
Chapel Hill: Sanger, Texas, a small town in the northeastern section of Texas (near Dallas and the Oklahoma border), has won this month’s Noisy Dozen award from Noise Free America: A Coalition to Promote Quiet for tolerating an abundance of pick-up trucks and motorcycles with illegally-modified exhausts.
A resident of Sanger, states that “back in 2005, I started hearing loud, intimidating noises coming from all kinds of pickup trucks, muscle cars, motorcycles, and even four-cylinder cars. In 2006, I was diagnosed with anxiety, all because of all the people installing after-market exhausts on their vehicles. There are hundreds of pick-up trucks and Harley-Davidson motorcycles with modified and loud exhaust pipes that drive through Sanger and past my house all day and night.”
The Sanger resident notes that “I started taking Risperdal to alleviate my anxiety, but that didn’t seem to help. I kept on hearing 1/2 ton pickup trucks, 3/4 ton dodge diesels, Harley Davidson motorcycles, sports bikes, and Honda or Nissan cars with Greddy exhausts. After doing some research, I found out that SEMA (the Specialty Equipment Market Association) has been influencing noise laws and enforcement across the nation.”
More people need to take action against illegal noise, says the Sanger citizen: “Anti-noise activists need to lobby Congress, seeking reinstatement of the federal noise pollution control office, in order to fight back against SEMA. The way of life of ordinary citizens is becoming a nightmare because of after-market exhausts. No one wants to live with constant anxiety.”
The Sanger resident encourages peace-loving citizens to “contact their local sheriff’s office, attend city council meetings to help put a stop to this, and encourage each other to have stock, original equipment reinstalled on your vehicle to give peace and quiet back to Sanger, Texas.”
In addition, this person observes that “the police need to enforce the fix-it tickets or impound those vehicles with custom exhaust set-ups, such as Flowmaster, Magnaflow, Borla, and MBRP. SEMA has influenced the enforcement of noise ordinances nation-wide. We need to lobby Congress and speak up against SEMA, enforce existing laws against after-market exhausts, and set the decibel limit to 75 dB. The law in Sanger, Texas should be that after-market exhaust or any exhaust system over 75 dB is illegal. Anyone caught will have their vehicle impounded.”
Ted Rueter, director of Noise Free America: A Coalition to Promote Quiet, commented that “many small towns across the nation are overrun with loud exhausts. Many young males in these towns think it is ‘cool’ and ‘fun’ to annoy their neighbors with thunderous sounds. Many law enforcement officials in small towns either look the other way—or have loud exhausts themselves. The epidemic of loud pipes in small towns is not just a nuisance; it is also physically harmful. Excessive noise is linked to sleep deprivation, aggravated behavior, heart disease, ringing of the ears, and hearing loss. Local governments and police departments throughout the nation need to crack down on excessive noise.”
Noise Free America: A Coalition to Promote Quiet is a national citizens’ organization opposed to excessive noise. Past “winners” of the Noisy Dozen award include Seagoville, Texas; Pharr, Texas; and the West Houston Reguladores Motorcycle Club.