The reputation of many of those motorcycle riders who take part in the run to Harrison recently isn’t in doubt, so that isn’t my complaint. It’s their reamed out mufflers that are making me snap.

Let’s be blunt, science shoots down the idea that loud pipes saves lives. As I write this letter, there has been a great number of loud motorcycles going by with altered exhausts  and not a check point in sight to have them pulled off the road for inspection.

Claims that these pipes save lives are no more than anecdotal at best. It’s basic science 101 that sounds do not travel forward.

You do not hear bikes coming at you. You do not hear bikes coming up behind you until they pass, often with ear-shattering noise.

These motorcycles need to be pulled off the road and corked, because science says they do damage with their extreme decibel levels. Everyone’s right to peace and quiet is backed by science even if it isn’t by politicians and law enforcement.

It’s a sad fact that the majority of people will have to be content to suffer, not in silence, but in health-damaging racket which is so unnecessary and unjustifiable, and without one shred of actual science backing the argument to the contrary that loud pipes save lives.

Robert T. Rock

Mission