Loud pipes and the Oakland Police motorcycle division
The Staff of Clutch and Chrome
June 11th 2008
The motorcycle
division of California's Oakland Police department are
making their opinion of loud pipes very clear.
Loudly
clear.
After an
accident three months ago when a motorist who struck a
motorcycle police officer claimed he didn't hear the
quieter, factory-installed mufflers, the law enforcement
agency installed louder pipes on their bikes.
Ironically,
the new mufflers have the police's Harley-Davidson motorcycles blowing past
the Federal sound limit of 80 decibels, roaring in at 93.
Only recently Oakland Police were issuing warnings and
tickets to motorists who had modified their mufflers to make
a whistling screech, a modification that was soon outlawed
by State law.
It's not the
first time the Oakland Police department used loud pipes on
their bikes, earning them the nickname of 'Rolling Thunder'
in the past. After officials ordered for quieter, stock
mufflers to be used many on the police force complained of
feeling vulnerable on the motorcycles.
Last year
the department commissioned a study to determine whether the
louder motorcycles contributed to officers' safety, were
detrimental to their hearing, and they complied with noise
standards. After the results, police officials decided to
install louder mufflers at a cost of $500 per motorcycle.
Another 15 newly purchased motorcycles were ordered with the
louder pipes.
Some
officials in City Hall, neighboring police agencies and some
at the Motorcycle Industry Council question not only the
safety claims of loud pipes but also a law
enforcement agency breaking federal sound limits. |
