Noise pollution

I have always believed that when you get home after a hard day’s work, you are entitled to a good night’s rest. Everyone needs to recharge. Your body asks for it, your body demands it. I consider myself a multi-tasking workaholic but I do relish my rest. And rest requires peace, and quiet. Most importantly, quiet. Which is why I sometimes go ballistic whenever I hear a motorcycle retrofitted with a noisy muffler, tearing down the road. What’s even more idiotic is the guy isn’t even racing with anyone! He’s alone, thinking that his aftermarket muffler that really only makes noise and does nothing in terms of added horsepower, so I was told by an aficionado, has made his bike the fastest in the block, in the country even! I’ve even heard these on tricycles, for goodness sake! Who, or even why, set-up a tricycle for performance? It is just plain idiotic!

So rampant is the adding of these noise-generators on motorcycles that some places have banned these on their premises, because they are simply annoying. Places like hospitals, schools, even some villages. And I don’t blame them. They should be banned. Because we do have a nuisance law in place, but it is not enforced. They are even broken by the very people supposed to uphold it.

I asked a motoring enthusiast if these devices do add horsepower to these motorcycles. The answer was a flat NO. They just make them noisy. Any modification to the exhaust system of any engine with the intention of enhancing performance must start from the time the exhaust gases exit the engine, and not just altering the tail end. So aside from the misinformation that these bikers are getting from those selling the damned contraptions, it is really all ego. The “I have a noisy bike, so I’m cool” attitude. That’s why they speed alone. Total nonsense, absolutely annoying!

And let’s not limit the rant to motorcycles. There are cars who do the same thing. They just buy the noisy mufflers and voila! They are now fast and furious. I think we should be furious. If these guys want performance on their cars, then they should keep these off the streets and on the track. Real motorsports enthusiasts live by that motto.

Then there are also the public utility jeepneys who have ear-splitting exhausts that could wake up the dead! I believe it is time to enforce the nuisance law, where it states that no noise that could be disturbing to the community be allowed after ten in the evening. I bet you didn’t know that! Let’s add another deterrent. For those who cannot live without hearing the sound of their own vehicles, be it motorcycles to cars and others, let them pay an extra fee if they insist on keeping these devices on. Let’s call it a noise pollution fee. Add a substantial amount of money if you want to sound “cool”. It is a form of pollution, so it has to be regulated, it has to have these fines. You want to make noise, then you have to pay for it!

That would also work well with these inconsiderate karaoke bars who force everyone within earshot distance to listen to the way they murder songs. If they want us to listen then they should pay us, right? So the establishment pays a hefty fee, maybe like twenty thousand pesos a month, for them to be allowed to blast their speakers into the night. Fair enough, right? I mean, who wants to listen to these wannabes anyway? They want to sing, do it privately, I say. Because like I said, I do cherish my rest.

A quiet rest.