The boisterous sounds of revving motorcycles at stoplights have all but disappeared and the earthquake -causing rumble of trucks high as basketball goals on tractor tires seems to have dissipated with the warning by the Roanoke Rapids Police Department last week it was beginning a crackdown on improper exhaust systems.
Music to my ears.
It seems quieter to me and that's a good thing. I haven't had to roll up the window while waiting for a green light so I can hear the Dan Patrick Show or The Herd. I'm one of the few people living in the 21st Century who has a hand-cranked window system because the person who last had my car gave it up because they didn't want a hand-cranked window system.
Since the crackdown, I haven't had the sounds of my music drowned out by a truck with Yeti cooler stickers, duck heads and stylized buck heads on its rear windshields.
Was there ever a real need for the noise anyway or was it just to get attention? It's not hard to miss an F-150 jacked up like a rocket on the launchpad. I'm aware and pay special attention, particularly in spring and summer, for motorcycle riders. Loud pipes save lives, they say, but they don't save my already sensitive ears.
It seems quieter these days during the timespan from last week when we first ran the story of the crackdown to today, a day after I realized it does seem quieter.
I'm the person who drives with a window down in the heat of summer with the AC on and the bitter cold of winter with the heat on. I like to get a feel for the sounds of the season, the sounds of the city, the blare of a train whistle, the outside chance of gunfire and hear the slush from the snow as I drive with my camera in tow. Noise pollution I've never cared to deal with.
It seems quieter these days, even the pavement-cracking thud of music seems to have died down although it could be me embellishing, but I haven't heard it much.
Deputy Chief Andy Jackson of the Roanoke Rapids Police Department tells me other people have told him it seems quieter these days, that numerous people went ahead and rectified their noise problems.
The department never wanted to have to issue citations, he said, but just let the public be aware there have been those not complying with the laws on the state books and local books.
Music to my ears.
While I know I can be a killjoy, I'm not really. I like seeing the sleekness of a nice motorcycle although I would kill myself if I tried to ride one. I like seeing the fluorescent paint job on a jacked-up truck although I would kill myself if I tried to get in one.
Overall, I appreciate the effort which goes into making them special, matching the personalities of their owners.
What I never could figure out was the noise, noise, noise, to steal a line from Dr. Seuss.
That the city announced this crackdown shouldn't take away from the creativity vehicle owners take to make their cars, trucks and bikes their own. It should enhance it.
I hope to see more outlandish and bright paint schemes, some nifty airbrushing and stickers decrying a love for the great outdoors, bands the kids rock to these days or even the name of the driver's latest sweetheart etched around a deer antler decal before they break up and another name is etched over the original.
By all means exercise your creativity and thank you for complying. It seems quieter to me — Lance Martin
