Motorcycle Exhaust Laws Defeated

[Buzz_Kanter]

NOISE LAWS DEFEATED
The Massachusetts Motorcycle Association has announced that a proposed noise
ordinance in North Reading, MA that would have required an EPA Stamp on
motorcycle exhaust systems and stricter noise controls has been defeated.

Prior to a recent meeting of town Selectmen, MMA Chairman Dave Condon met
with MMA Member Bill McGarry, a local resident, to review the warrant and
the pertinent Massachusetts laws. During an earlier town meeting, the
legality of the EPA stamp requirement was discussed in detail and ultimately
dropped, but an alternative proposal was amended into the Warrant which
would have made noise levels and testing requirements stricter than those
currently in Massachusetts General Law (MGL).

With significant support from McGarry, who attended both public hearings and
spoke on behalf of the MMA and motorcyclists across Massachusetts, the
Selectmen and North Reading Chief of Police recognized that the town cannot
impose laws stricter than the Commonwealth -- instead, the town acknowledged
that enforcement of the existing MGL coupled with appropriate education
could be a far more effective tool, and by vote of the selectmen the warrant
was removed from the town agenda.

Meanwhile, following much lobbying and testimony from local bikers, a hotly
debated noise ordinance in Portland, Maine was unanimously rejected by the
City Council and sent back to the Public Safety Committee for more work.

The proposal would have enforced the federal law that all motorcycles made
after Dec. 31, 1982 must have mufflers with an EPA label certifying the
exhaust system meets EPA standards. A biker riding a motorcycle within city
limits without an EPA sticker on the muffler would have been fined $50. The
ordinance would have been the first of its kind in Maine, and supporters
said its adoption would have made it easier to pass a similar state law.

Opponents, including the United Bikers of Maine (UBM), said the measure
would discriminate against motorcyclists and could cost the city tourism
dollars by discouraging motorcyclists from visiting Portland.

Motorcycle noise continues to be a contentious and controversial issue
across the country, with places like Boston and New York contemplating
stricter laws.