Loud vehicles here in NJ affect your quality of life. A town in PA has a solution

I usually don’t get involved in controversial subject matters on these posts. I keep it fun and hopefully entertaining by sharing events, music news, favorite recipes, restaurants that I want you to try, and community service.

The topic of extremely noisy vehicles came up, and I jumped on it.

Loud, obnoxious vehicles that race down my street have become the bane of my existence. It truly disturbs the quality of life.

I live a few blocks from the beach, and my street dumps you right onto the main drag adjacent to the ocean. My street is a straightaway.

Knuckleheads insist on flexing their narcissistic, look-at-me, small-minded, skinny muscles to either rev their engines that have been modified to sound like a herd of leaf blowers or have a sub-woofer base in their trunk with sounds that come out stronger than an open-air concert at MetLife, causing the house to shake, literally shake as they drive down your street. Those modifications, in some cases, are more costly than what these degenerates pay for their car.

I will be in my studio at home, which has soundproofing, and the sound of their small cars reverberates through the soundproofing. It is unbelievable and very selfish, close-minded, and frankly stupid, with absolutely no regard for families or children playing close to the streets.  Their speed alone is criminal.

Some of you will say that this is an old man’s rant. You may be right, but I have been involved in hundreds of concerts, some very loud, been to drag races, and other events where that noise is expected. I don’t expect it on my street when I’m trying to enjoy my house on my time.

ASLO READ: Hate the clatter? NJ is noisiest state and it's not even close

What to do about loud vehicles? Allentown has a solution!

According to an article in the Lehigh Valley News, it was stated that the Allentown council is looking into adding “noise cameras” that will detect and then cite vehicles that violate a municipality’s noise ordinance. I think that is great!

Allentown has a city code that prohibits motor vehicles from causing noise disturbances between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. In my opinion, it should be 24/7. Vehicles must be equipped with an effective muffler or noise suppression system.

There are noise cameras now in operation in parts of New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The council will be voting on whether to add the cameras to the 2026 budget, with revenue from the cost of the noise cameras coming back in revenue from citations. The new program also calls for a board with a professional audiologist or acoustician to hear appeals from those cited for noise violations.

How does New Jersey cope with noisy vehicles?

New Jersey has a strict law that says you may not alter a car’s muffler or exhaust system to make it louder. Violators will be fined up to $500. It used to call for the maximum 30-day imprisonment, but they took that off the table.

The question remains: How do we catch the violators?

We need a system like the noise cameras that can be installed on residential streets that have the most noise activity that is reported. The penalties should be increased, and that revenue would pay for the cameras and put a little extra cash in the coffers of the municipality that implements the system.

For the record, I have never complained about the vehicles that go screaming down my street. My police department has its hands full, and by the time I dial the nonemergency number, they're gone, into the wind like the knuckleheads that they are.