More NH towns face noise legislation

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More New Hampshire towns face motorcycle noise legislation
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Written by Digits
More towns in the state of New Hampshire are about to ride the controversial roads of what is and isn’t considered a loud motorcycle as local groups petition to expand a questionable law.

At the heart of the legal troubles in New Hampshire are a group of citizens who feel motorcycles are too loud and a law passed in the town of North Hampton in May 2010 that has many, including the local police chief who consider it unenforceable as well as unfair.

The new local law uses EPA standards to measure acceptable noise standards, setting the level at 80 decibels, contradicting the State of New Hampshire which considers that level to be at 106 decibels.

To monitor whether motorcycles adhere to the new noise level, the law requires any motorcycle with custom exhaust systems or those manufactured after 1982 to have a federal Environmental Protection Agency sticker verifying they don’t exceed the 80 decibel level.

The law passed in North Hampton carries fines of between $200 and $500 for the first offense with each subsequent violation punishable by a fine of $500 to $1,000. The offending motorcycle doesn’t even need to be running to receive a ticket with the law including those that are parked as well as being operated.

Now the same group that is fighting against local authorities and law enforcement in North Hampton to keep the law on the books is hoping to have similar legislation passed in the neighboring towns of Rye and New Castle. The group, NH CALM (N. H. Citizens Against Loud Motorcycles) are again going against the local law authorities advice to have the bill considered in the next election. The group gathered enough signatures in Rye to get a bill on the March town meeting ballot. But it’s not just local riders who are upset with the law passed in North Hampton, or the prospect of having similar laws in surrounding towns.

Some of the largest motorcycle dealerships in New Hampshire are located in the town of North Hampton; Seacoast Harley-Davidson, Great Bay Triumph, Ducati and Vespa, and MAX BMW and combined they employ approximately 100 people.

A suit was filed this year in response to the already passed law by Seacoast Harley Davidson in Rockingham Superior Court requesting a restraining order preventing North Hampton from enforcing the motorcycle noise ordinance, to declare that state law trumps the local ordinance in terms of motorcycle noise, and to award attorney's fees.

The possibility of having the law in other towns doesn’t make local law enforcement happy either. Rye Police Chief Kevin Walsh is reportedly against the proposed ordinance due to its unenforceable nature as well as the rising legal costs neighboring North Hampton is facing to defend their version of the law in court. His opposition to the proposed law isn’t a secret, with the Police Chief not only telling local papers of his concerns but the organizers behind NH CALM as well.

This view should be no surprise to those standing behind the law which strictly targets motorcycle noise. The Police Chief of North Hampton has refused to enforce the law which was voted in earlier this year.

“The town ordinance is trying to circumvent state law and is not enforceable,” North Hampton Police Chief Brian Page said in June, “It would be ridiculous for me to direct my men to enforce it.”

Since then, the county attorney and a N.H. Local Government Center attorney also stated publicly the North Hampton ordinance is not enforceable.

Rye Police Chief Kevin Walsh agrees with that sentiment, noting most taxpayers would not support sending their police officers to court to fight motorcycle noise cases. Walsh has also recommended if the members of NH CALM want the allowed decibels lowered, “they need to go to the state legislature.”

But they may have already tried that route. Failed legislation introduced in the New Hampshire State government earlier this year which would have required the state’s riders to follow the EPA’s 80 decibel guideline (with the appropriate sticker) was introduced and sponsored by North Hampton State Representative, Judith Day. Day’s husband Larry Miller is coincidentally a member of NH CALM.

Interestingly, if the standard of the new legislation was enforced more broadly, a range of residents could find themselves the next target of laws against noise pollution. According to comparative charts of decibel ratings, lawnmowers, subway trains, train whistles and even the sound of city traffic when sitting in a car all exceed the standard set by the legislation.

Even a telephone dial tone is rated at 80 decibels, the level set for the legislation. However, since none of these are motorcycles they wouldn’t be affected by the current actions.