Evelyn here,
with a copy of a letter from another member of NoiseOff who is offering some help those of us who are experiencing problems with drivers who disregard their neighbors by blaring their car stereos. The problem with this type of boom car driver is that they are our neighbors, and many of them are ignorance of Florida's law and of those who do know it, they disregard it as they do us.
These drivers stalk us, threaten us, damage our cars and/or any other unprotected property, and then attempt to cause problems for us among people we associate with daily. I empathy with the writer of this letter because his story is so like my own.
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Possible Alternatives
I want to pass on a couple ideas that may work for others as I have
had hesitant results here.
In Florida we have a stalking law that includes "harassment" which
defines any act directed at a specific person that causes substantial
emotional distress and servers no purpose. I tried this against one
of those loud exhaust cars that blears his stereo. I had to push hard
to get an officer to agree to take the complaint, but I had video of
him slowing down in front of my house and revving his engine and
complained of being woken up by it many times. I do not know if it
would have worked because when I convinced the officer to take the
complaint the tags on the car came back registered to a truck.
Eventually after a few more run-ins with the car it stopped coming
around.
Another limited success I had was complaining to the headquarters of
the local pizza delivery chain about cars with loud exhaust and
stereos. I supplied vehicle description and tag numbers. I threatened
with a web campaign against them over it when they did not take me
seriously the first time, promissing to hand out coupons to their
competitors to my neighbors and ahy one else I could reach. They said
they would take action and one driver quite over it, the other
harassed me for a few days (he lives near me and I am not shy about
letting them know it's me) then all was quiet from them for a few
weeks. I have had occasional problems but it seems most of them are
short lived.
Just wanted to shear a couple ideas that may work for others.
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We need more people like the writer of this letter because it takes courage and a special person to step up and attempt to stop these boom car drivers from violating the law and our legal rights to have and maintain peace of mind.
Here is few additional tips:
1. get tag/plate number
2. make/model of the car
3. color of car
4. if possible description of driver (male/female)
5. location of car and/or incident, finally report all incidents to the police department, They take you more seriously than you might think. Also, try to be as discrete as possible.If the boom car driver catch on to you, continues on but do not give into their harassment. Report it too.
For those offensive drivers who read my page, I repeat Florida Statutes 316.3045, the law governing the use of loud car stereos for you. This includes the man in the silver Chevrolet who just sat out in front of my home blaring his stereo.
Florida Statutes 316.3045 states:
The 2007 Florida
Statutes
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316.3045 Operation of radios or other mechanical sound making devices or instruments in vehicles; exemptions.-- (1) It is unlawful for any person operating or occupying a motor vehicle on a street or highway to operate or amplify the sound produced by a radio, tape player, or other mechanical sound making device or instrument from within the motor vehiclesothat the sound is: (a) Plainly audible at a distance of 25 feet or more from the motor vehicle; or (b) Louder than necessary forthe convenient hearing by persons inside the vehicle in areasadjoining churches, schools, or hospitals. (2) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any law enforcement motor vehicle equipped with any communication device necessary in the performance of law enforcement duties or to any emergency vehicle equipped with any communication device necessary inthe performance of any emergency procedures. (3) The provisions of this section do not apply to motor vehicles used for business or political purposes, which in the normal course of conducting such business use sound making devices. The provisions of this subsection shall not be deemed to prevent local authorities, with respect to streets and highways under their jurisdiction and within the reasonable exercise of the police power, from regulating the time and manner in which such business may be operated. (4) The provisions of this section do not apply to the noise made by a horn or other warning device required or permitted by s. 316.271. The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall promulgate rules defining "plainly audible" and establish standards regarding how sound should be measured by law enforcement personnel who enforce the provisions of this section. (5) A violation of this section is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving violation as provided in chapter 318. History.--s. 1, ch. 90-256; s. 220, ch. 99-248; s. 9, ch. 2005-164. |
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Evelyn out.
