Archive for April 29th, 2008
April 29th, 2008
Just heard from Pat Hayes, Rockford’s legal director. Yes, loud motorcycles or loud vehicles of any kind are covered by both a city noise ordinance and a state law. Hayes concedes that
“motorcycles are more difficult to catch, but if our citizens have complaints about consistent activity, we’ll try to get people out there to interdict that. ”
Sometimes the bikes have been altered so they make too much noise on purpose. Often, though, the bikes are street legal and make excessive noise when riders perform jackrabbit starts off the light.
Folks, the place for drag racing is the Byron Dragway. Not East State, not Perryville, not Riverside.
Here’s the city ordinance covering loud vehicles:
Sec. 17-3. Vehicular noise generally.
(a)Â No person shall sound any horn or audible signal device of any motor vehicle of any kind while not in motion, nor shall such horn or signal be sounded under any circumstances except as required by law, nor shall it be sounded for any unnecessary or unreasonable period of time.
(b)Â A person shall not operate a motor vehicle which is equipped with a muffler or exhaust system or sound muffling device which has been altered or changed to allow noise in violation of these regulations.
(c)Â A person shall not sell, transfer, install, or cause to be installed upon a motor vehicle a muffler or exhaust system or sound-muffling device, or a part, thereof, which will allow noise in violation of these regulations.
(d)Â No person shall operate, sell, or offer for sale any motor vehicle subject to registration that will, at any time or under any condition of grade, load, acceleration or deceleration, operate in such manner as to exceed the following noise limit based on a distance of not less than fifty (50) feet from a center line of travel for the category of motor vehicle indicated:
Any motor vehicle with a manufacturers GVW rating of 8,000 pounds or more, and any combination of vehicles towed by such motor vehicle:
35 MPH or less . . . 86dB (A)
Over 35 MPH . . . 90dB (A)
Any motorcycle:
35 MPH or less . . . 82dB (A)
Over 35 MPH . . . 86dB (A)
Any other motor vehicle and any combination of motor vehicles towed by such motor vehicle:
35 MPH or less . . . 76dB (A)
Over 35 MPH . . . 82dB (A)
(Ord. No. 1974-67-0, 4-15-74)
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April 29th, 2008
This is the weirdest Democratic presidential campaign I’ve ever seen. First, Hillary Clinton was the inevitable Democratic nominee, then she was toast because Barack Obama was the man with the “yes we can” plan.
Now, it’s Barack who’s on the ropes, and all Hillary had to do was sit back and watch.
Rather, it was Barack’s own pastor, the Rev. Jeramiah Wright, who threw Obama under the bus not once, not twice, but three times over the weekend , in a series of speeches that prove the guy is about three bricks short of a load.
Wright claims it’s the “black” church that’s under attack. What “black” church? Now, I’ve been to a fair number of services at black churches over the years, and I’ve heard some mighty dynamic sermons. There are a number of worship styles in so-called black churches, same as so-called white churches.
(Although 11 a.m. Sunday morning remains the most segregated hour in America, there are in Rockford at least a couple of churches that are multiracial, the chief among them being Faith Center, pastored by Don Lyon.)
Of all the sermons I’ve heard in my life, I’ve never heard anything like the anti-American, paranoid rantings of the Rev. Wright. And I’m not talking about the 7-second sound bytes heard over and over on Sean Crapity.
To get the whole picture of the man, I listened to Wrights’ entire speech at the NAACP, and his entire presentation to the National Press Club. And, I watched the entire interview with Bill Moyers. Conclusion: Wright is so far out of the mainstream with his anti-American conspiracy views (the government created AIDS to kill black folk, we’re the United States of KKK America, his belief that God damned America) that if Obama does not strongly rebuke, reprimand, disown him and leave his church, his candidacy is effectively over. If it isn’t already.
April 29th, 2008
The city of Rockford has been ticketing and impounding cars that have stereos deemed to be too loud. I live about a block from a busy intersection and I’ve noticed that there are fewer, “thump-a-thump-thumpa” bass sounds coming from over yonder.
However, booming bass sounds are only part of the noise problem on city streets. What about the other end of the sound spectrum, the high pitched whine of noisy motorcycles? On spring, summer and fall weekends, they’re the real noise problem.
“I think that was brought up” on the City Council, said Ald. Frank Beach, R-10th. But he doesn’t think the stereo ordinance addressed other loud road sounds.
I checked with the city’s Legal Department. Someone was supposed to get back to me. That was 3 hours ago. I’ll let you know when they finally do. Clock is ticking.
