Opinion: Loud Driving is a Public Health Threat

Loud driving, argues Danny Pearlstein in Streetsblog NYC, "isn’t just a quality-of-life issue" but "a growing public-health threat demanding a multifaceted, whole-of-government solution."

"After the eerie quiet last spring, loud drivers with little else to do have turned up the volume to what for many listeners is a shocking degree." But far from just being a nuisance, "[n]ighttime noise disrupts sleep, which makes it harder to learn at school and be productive at work. Daytime noise drowns out teachers’ lessons, studying, and homework." Excessive traffic noise levels can also lead to "high blood pressure, heart attack and Type II diabetes leading to premature death." Pearlstein goes on to cite the higher amounts of air pollution and carbon emissions caused by modified vehicles and argues that loud driving "makes a sport of consuming fossil fuels."

Now, "[a]fter neighborhood outcry all across New York, public officials vow action. Bay Ridge State Sen. Andrew Gounardes crafted the SLEEP Act to better equip police officers to measure sound levels and impose penalties that deter loud driving." In a tweet, Sen. Gounardes said the bill would "curtail the dangerous & obnoxious noise pollution that has plagued our community."

Pearlstein recommends other actions including "engineering solutions to speeding," the reclamation of public space from private vehicles, and a crackdown on the sellers of illegal modifications and vehicles.