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Noisy Motorcycles Getting Pulled Over In Plymouth
PLYMOUTH
The revving of a motorcycle engine is a sound that's all too familiar to beachside businesses.
Now after months of complaining Plymouth police are listening, and they promise to bring back the peace.
This weekend police will be trying to stop the worst of the worst, but bikers say that noise keeps them safe.
To some it's an ear-splitting irritation, but to motorcycle riders like Francine Diamond it's safety equipment – a warning to motorists.
"Do I do it because I need someone to hear me? Yeah," she admits.
"If you're obnoxious about it, I think they need to crack down on it. But if you're not, and you're actually using it the way it should be… I mean people don't see us. Everyone's multi-tasking."
In recent years Plymouth has become a motorcycle mecca.
On summer weekends, the harbor road is a virtual motorcycle parade, and the noise can be deafening.
"This is America's hometown and it should be a peaceful, quiet atmosphere," said Brenda Silvieus, owner By The Sea Bed & Breakfast.
Her husband, Roger, says that many of their guests comment on the noise of the motorcycles and wonder why the "noise is allowed to happen in the town."
The Plymouth police are now using decibel-measuring tools in their fight against the noise.
Anything that registers more than 99 decibels, the state limit for motorcycles, will be pulled over.
Police say the vast majority of motorcycles have legal exhaust pipes, but the few who don't make it hard on everyone.
"It only takes a few, or a group of a few coming through to cause a lot of complaints that we receive on quality of life issues downtown," said Plymouth police chief Mike Botieri.
The decibel level also applies to car stereos.
