France cracks down on noise

Paris — Loud whines from motorcycles will be silenced, homes near airports will get insulation and airlines will pay more noise tax under measures announced Monday to make France quieter.

“Noise is among the concerns that citizens place at the top of the list of nuisances,” Environment Minister Roselyne Bachelot said in announcing the plan.

Airlines will pay the equivalent of $85-million Canadian in noise taxes next year, up from $27-million this year. The money will be used to provide sound insulation in homes near airports and other noisy zones, including major highways and rail lines.

Regulations will also allow police to seize and destroy motorcycle mufflers that break noise limits.

http://theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20031006.wfran1006/BNStory/International/

If you've been overseas, especially Asia, Africa, South America, you'd know that 2-stroke motorcycle noise is a real problem. (not to mention the vaporized oil.)

It's the Harleys. The racing riceburners aren't too bad, but they could be a bit quieter.

And we have plenty of Hondas with exhaust dumps. Almost drowns out the boomboxes.

And trucks. A little insulation in the engine compartment would be appreciated. And some research on quieting the Jake Brake.

I haven't found one square foot in this state without some sort of mechanical or other artificial noise. 3 AM in the middle of nowhere, I can still hear traffic.

Or boomboxes.