Excessive noise will never be solved unless someone in authority takes it seriously
I SEE from the latest report in the GP that the authorities are still prevaricating on the question of how to deal with excessive noise from vehicles, lumping this in with traffic matters generally and blaming lack of resources. I can understand that the Police force often have more serious issues and this may not be a priority but essentially this is just kicking the problem even further down the road. It will never be solved unless someone in authority takes this seriously and treats vehicle noise as a particular problem.
Just to be clear, the vast majority of noise is from small capacity motorbikes and scooters whose silencers and exhausts have been adapted. I raised the question in an earlier letter as to whether many of these bikes are properly insured. If I alter the specification of my car in any way, i.e. increase the power, lower the suspension etc, I need to notify my insurer otherwise my cover may be invalidated. Also there is the question of whether the vehicle rectification scheme could be a factor in discouraging this practice.
Clearly if this antisocial problem is ever going to be properly addressed the Police force will need to be more focused on dealing with it, but they will need proper guidance from politicians, most of whom don’t seem that interested despite that I’m sure most people would like this noise pollution treated seriously now.
Michael Watt
La Carriere
Vale