A local audio engineer is urging mutual respect in the ongoing debate over the din created by aftermarket devices used to augment the sound of motorcycles and other vehicles.
Brian Kenny recently set up a video and sound recording of the traffic passing through the intersection at the foot of Signal Hill and posted the results to the Pipe Down NL Facebook page.
Sounds above 85 decibels are considered harmful to hearing depending on how long a person is exposed. Kenny says over the course of a single hour, a threshold of 80 decibels was broken 16 times by passing vehicles.
(Example from video survey of sounds peaking above 80 decibels.)
Kenny says while the recording picked up trucks, commercial vehicles, and even the wind at one point, much of the higher-end noise was created by motorcycles with straight pipes. He says the conversation has to be larger than just regulation surrounding aftermarket devices.
He hopes there’s a way forward that doesn’t divide and pit one group against another and allows residents and vehicle riders and enthusiasts to coexist.
