Many comments have reached me following a series of texts that I recently published on noise pollution, more particularly on modified or completely removed mufflers from motor vehicles. Most encouraged me to continue my awareness campaign with elected officials and the general public. What largely compensate for the invectives of some libertarians who consider their abuses as acquired privileges.
For the latter, the backfires of the exhaust pipe have become inseparable from the pleasure of swallowing miles. Some bikers running out of arguments claim, wrongly, that noise is essential to compensate for their lack of visibility for motorists. It is often the same individuals who prefer to wear all black rather than flashy colors which would give them more protection.
Untouchables?
The excessive noise of motorhomes frightens peaceful people, who prefer to shut up and run away from the source of the problem rather than risk a verbal altercation that could degenerate into a physical confrontation. Especially since some, because of their getup and their propensity to roll in gangs and open grave, play on an image of tough guys that ensures them relative impunity.
One of the most eloquent testimonies came to me from a father, himself a motorcyclist, who has already expressed his disapproval aloud towards those who do not care about the regulations concerning modified silencers. He now refuses to challenge them publicly, especially to protect his school-aged children.
“Unnecessarily noisy exhausts are in themselves a form of aggression,” he explains. Drivers push their engines hard under our noses. Races take place in the streets of cities, villages, in the countryside. Many residents leave their balconies because the noise of vehicles irritates them. We console ourselves with the idea that they spend in the places where they stop. Two hot dogs, a beer, big deal. That’s cheap for a permit to disturb the peace! Are our traders so desperate that we have to let ourselves be bothered by a minority of thugs? »
Long-term struggles
Guy, a resident of Sainte-Croix in the county of Lotbinière, has been acting openly for ten years, within a group of citizens formed mainly to counter the nuisances generated by the local motor racing circuit. The intermittent din of the Riverside Speedway is added to that of Route 132 located nearby: “The circuit cuts vegetation in humid places, generates GHGs and clouds of toxic dust during these events, in addition to generating noise at levels exceeding 120 db. »
Like most anti-noise activists, he notes that his interventions with the municipality or the various ministries, including legal actions, have yielded few results so far. But the recent change of the guard at the town hall gives him some hope.
Not far from there, in Islet-sur-Mer, Gilles has also been striving for years to make our public bodies aware of the harmful effects of excessive noise associated with road traffic. With well-substantiated letters, he urges them to better enforce regulations that are already very permissive compared to those in force in certain European countries.
“I have been trying to get our leaders to move for more than 20 years, in vain. Citizens must be able to count on their municipalities, but the latter do nothing. As the municipalities do nothing, the RCMs do nothing. Since the RCMs do nothing, the Federation of Quebec Municipalities and the Union of Quebec Municipalities do nothing, and the government does nothing either. In short, the vast majority of Quebecers are fed up with this noise pollution, but no one in authority is taking action! »
Clarify areas of responsibility
These excerpts from a few testimonials call for action. However, we should not ask too much of the municipalities, their leeway being limited in terms of prevention and control of noise from motor vehicles. They can always increase police operations and increase the amount of fines for this type of offence, as the City of Quebec has done. It is still necessary to rally a majority of advisers and ensure that stricter regulations can be enforced.
For smaller municipalities located in areas invaded by motor vehicles during the peak tourist season, it is much more difficult to impose restrictions that could harm commercial activities and create social tensions. The SAAQ could start by at least issuing messages every spring reminding drivers of existing exhaust system regulations.
Obviously, the situation will not improve lastingly throughout the territory until the provincial government sends a clear message. Only the National Assembly has the power to increase fines for offenses committed on the intermunicipal road network and highways placed under the responsibility of the Sûreté du Québec. It alone can increase surveillance there using photo sound level meters and decree for the entire territory the loss of demerit points from the driving record for repeat offenders.
As a preventive measure, our government should also institute a mandatory annual inspection program, at least for owners of motorcycles in circulation in Quebec, even if the neighboring provinces have acquired enough maturity to do without it. We have a long way to catch up in terms of good citizenship and safety, both at the wheel and on the handlebars.