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Says innocent will suffer with motorcycle bylaw
Ontario:http://www.citizen.on.ca/news/2010-09-30/Mailbox/Says_innocent_will_suffer_with_motorcycle_bylaw.html Says innocent will suffer with motorcycle bylaw

The Caledon Citizen deserves congratulations on its good coverage of the town’s proposed 2010-117 bylaw in its September 16 issue.

Back in the ’50s, I used to ride a motorcycle that had louder pipes than some of the bikes that are a target of the proposed legislation today.

I also have to admit that in recent times, I have had to stop in the middle of a conversation when one of the target offenders has passed by within a hundred metres of me.

I still ride today and some of those who have after-market pipes ride with me. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the engines are not working or revving high and the sound isn’t bad at all. Of course we all know that some will crank the throttle just to annoy people or show off.

I’ve heard all the arguments about how loud pipes save lives and I could argue on both sides of that premise, but I want to keep this brief.

I have two issues with this proposed legislation.

One is that a small, special interest group with an agenda is targeting motorcycles.

Notorious figures from history have started with small, special interest groups and the world said nothing until it was too late.

If we’re going to legislate what each other can do, please include the guy across the street with the hotrod and the neighbour with the loud lawnmower; not that we don’t have sufficient antinoise laws already.

The second issue is that they want to put a metre at 45 degrees and a specified distance from an exhaust pipe to register the sound at idle.

It’s not the sound at idle that people object to and most riders never reach that level while riding, at least not in city or urban communities. This net that they propose is like catching dolphins in a tuna net. The innocent will suffer along with the guilty.

It reminds me of the story of a couple who take their kids to the cottage. In the morning the husband goes out fishing early in the family boat. Not having a very good day, he returns to the cottage. The wife then decides that a couple of hours out in the boat, away from the kids will give her an opportunity to read her book.

While out there in peace and quiet, a game warden comes along in his boat. He asks her to show him her fishing license. She says she’s not fishing. He says he can see fishing gear in the boat.

She says, “Yeah, but I’m not fishing.”

He says, “I can see that, but I can’t be sure you won’t fish. You’ve got the equipment so I have to give you a ticket.”

She says, “Go ahead, but I’m charging you with rape.”

He says, “Rape!, I haven’t touched you.”

She says, “Yeah, but you’ve got the equipment.”

He says, “Have a nice day.”

I’d like to see council say “have a nice day” to these special interest groups.

Don Norris,

Bolton