An editorial published in the Laconia Citizen notes that an agreement was reached between legislators, police chiefs and concerned riders regarding New Hampshire House Bill 326, a bill that would get tough on bikers with loud pipes.

The original bill was written in such a way to make it much more easier for police officers to bust bikers with loud pipes. The bill was the result of policemen and residents frustrated about not being able to control the noise during Laconia Bike Week.

The law in question, Title XXI, Chapter 266:59-a, as it is written right now, states:

No person shall operate a motorcycle which has a measured noise level of more than 106 decibels on the decibel meter when measured 20 inches from the exhaust pipe at a 45 degree angle while the engine is operating at 2,800 revolutions per minute for one and 2 cylinder motorcycles and 3,500 revolutions per minute for any motorcycle with 3 or more cylinders.

In order for police to enforce this law, they would need a decibel meter, which apparently most policemen don't have, and it would require a second policeman to rev the engine to the appropriate RPM. Because of this, police just didn't bother pulling riders over for loud pipes.

The House Bill sought to bypass the testing parameters, by simply outlawing straight pipes (exhaust pipes with baffles removed). However, the bill also raises the noise level to 110 decibels, allowing bikers to legally make a litle more noise than they make right now.

Several riders complained that they don't want bikers to get pulled over and have to wait while the police officer requests a backup officer to rev the engine. A compromise was reached where the RPM parameters were removed, such that the rider need only softly increase the throttle. Thus, the meat of this bill is focused on straight pipes.

This bill has only passed the House Transportation Committee. It would still need to get a vote from the full House, and then the Senate, and then get the Governor's signature. But it looks like this bill will probably become law, because it will translate to increased revenues from traffic citations.

Labels: Laconia Bike Week, Loud Pipes, New Hampshire

An article published in the Union Leader Staff reports that the City of Laconia, New Hampshire has modified its ordinances to limit temporary vendor permits to no more than nine days. This came at the request of the city's police department, who sought to gain greater control over Laconia Bike Week.

For many years until the mid-1990s, the event was a weekend rally that drew mostly a regional crowd. But it has grown to a week, with two weekends at either end, and the number of visitors now come from greater distances and stay longer.

It is now considered one of the largest motorcycle rallies in the nation, behind Sturgis, S.D., and Daytona Beach, Fla.

After the 2004 rally, some residents pressed for limits on the event's length.

Last year, vendors were able to get a nine-day temporary permit, with the ability to stretch it to a full month for only an additional $50.00. Now, vendor permits are limited to nine days, with no extension. Police hope that as vendors leave, the bikers will leave too.

Labels: Laconia Bike Week

Published today in Citizen Online, a news service in Laconia, New Hampshire, is a report that the New Hampshire State Legislature will hear testimony on a bill to muffle noise coming from motorcycles.

I blogged about this earlier this month.

Today, the House Transportation Committee is scheduled to hear testimony on House Bill 326, which seeks to simplify enforcement of motorcycle noise.

"This isn't really a law enforcement issue; it's the result of a number of complaints in our area," said Portsmouth Deputy Police Chief David Young. "The way the law is written now, it's almost impossible to enforce. We're looking to simplify the process to end the frustration we have in not being able to enforce the law, and at the same time address the concerns of the public."

The bill, sponsored by Rep. MaryAnn Blanchard, D-Portsmouth, would make it illegal for motorcycles to produce a noise level of more than 110 decibels.

The bill also requires makes it illegal to remove baffles from the exhaust pipes.

The issues I see here are that #1, locals are disappointed with noise and traffic that comes with Laconia Bike Week, in which last year, saw 400,000 bikers attending, and #2, that the city has an opportunity to score some big revenue from issuing citations, that rarely get challenged because the visitors are from out of state.

But the existing law on motorcycle noise is very difficult to enforce. According to the Citizen Online:

The existing law requires that a decibel meter be held 20 inches from the exhaust pipe at a 45 degree angle, while the engine is operating at 2,800 revolutions per minute for motorcycles with one or two cylinders and 3,500 rpms for motorcycles with three or more cylinders.

In order to properly conduct the test, a police officer would need a decibel meter, which Young said many departments do not have. In addition, at least two officers are needed to conduct the test, one to operate the meter and the other to check the rpms.

So this proposed law makes it much easier to enforce by simply requiring exhaust pipes have baffles in them. This will allow State and Local governments to cash in on the thousands of motorcycles entering their domain.

Labels: Laconia Bike Week, Loud Pipes, New Hampshire

The Associated Press reports that the Legislature in New Hampshire is considering a bill that will outlaw motorcycles with exhaust pipes or engines that produce more than 110 decibels of sound.

Police said the measure would make it easier to enforce noise limits at events like Laconia's annual Bike Week. But enthusiasts said louder engines make a bike flashier and safer because others can hear the machine coming.

To me, this sounds like the government is not making enough money from the popularity of motorcycles, so they create laws that allow police to write more tickets.

Labels: Laconia Bike Week, Loud Pipes, New Hampshire