Fwd: NH Rep. looks to muffle motorcycle noise
Bill
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: NH Rep. looks to muffle motorcycle noise
Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2011 09:43:43 -0400
From: Candy Alexander
Hey Everyone,
Hate to lay this on you RIGHT before the 4th of July, but it appears the
cat is out of the bag. Please read this story and make sure that we DO
NOT ADD FUEL to the FIRE! Please ride respectfully this weekend in all
areas of the state. As we've said in the past - there is a time and
place for everything; including having fun on the bikes. Just make sure
*you are not intruding on others with the pipes/noise. Please take this
seriously - THEY ARE!*
There are a couple of other proposed bills in the works that we need to
pay attention to - so I'll be in touch with everyone after the holiday.
Don't forget to mark your calendars for the 17th of July!!! NHMRO will
be presenting our 1st Annual "Right for Your Rights" Poker Run!!! This
is going to be a blast! Seriously! Grand Prize is $250 for the best
hand and it is only $15/rider and $10/passenger! We can now say that we
will be ending this event with a cookout type thing at the Broken Spoke
Saloon in Weirs Beach!!! Registration will be from 9-11 at the Deerhead
in Hooksett… first bikes out at 10:00. It is a self-guided run and
therefore you don't have to be there for 9:00 if you don't want to. I
KNOW some of our members like to sleep in a little bit. :-) I hope that
all of you join us and spread the word. We need to raise some cash for
our busy year again - especially with things like this article below.
God Bless America, Ride Safe and Ride Respectfully!!!
Candy
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http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110701/NEWS/107010324/-1/NEWSMAP
*Rep. looks to muffle motorcycle noise*
*/Peckham to introduce bill next year/*
By Shir Haberman
July 01, 2011 2:00 AM
*NORTH HAMPTON*— State Rep. Michelle Peckham, R-North Hampton, is
looking to file a bill to lower the allowable noise level for
motorcycles in the next legislative session, which begins in January.
"It has been suggested that this is an issue that needs to be addressed
by the Legislature," Peckham told the Select Board on Monday night.
Peckham said she will introduce a bill modeled on the California law
passed last year that requires motorcycles to not exceed the 80-decibel
noise standard of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The current
motorcycle noise level allowed by New Hampshire state law is 106 decibels.
Peckham noted that three attempts by the Legislature to reduce
motorcycle noise in the past four years have failed. She called
opposition from the motorcycle lobby "fierce."
"The motorcycle community and motorcycle dealers are telling us that if
we pass (this kind of legislation) and make it effective in January, it
means that every single motorcycle on the road is basically out of
compliance, and all those individuals will have to remove their mufflers
and replace them with EPA-compliant mufflers, which is a great expense
to these people," she said.
Peckham said, in response, she essentially wrote her bill to make the
legislation effective Jan. 1, 2013. The move would grandfather all
motorcycles on the road today that are compliant with the state's
106-decibel standard and allows motorcycle dealers time to deplete their
inventories, she said. However, her bill would require any motorcycle
brought in for service after the legislation's effective day to put on
EPA-compliant mufflers at that time.
She urged those who support the town's motorcycle noise ordinance passed
by voters in 2010, to get behind her legislation.
"We really need people's support to come to Concord and testify," she said.
North Hampton police are not enforcing the town ordinance on motorcycle
noise. Seacoast Motorcycles, the Harley-Davidson dealer on Lafayette
Road, filed suit in Rockingham Superior Court last July seeking a
preliminary and permanent injunction against the town enforcing the
ordinance, claiming it was unconstitutional and interfered with its
business. Town Administrator Steve Fournier said North Hampton officials
decided not to fight the preliminary injunction request because of the
money it would have cost to defend it. The request for a permanent
injunction is still in the hands of the court.
Police Chief Brian Page said he is using every tool at his disposal to
curb excessive noise and has partnered with Seacoast Motorcycles in an
attempt to "bring some peer pressure" to local riders. A new brochure
was produced, and signs urging motorcyclists to stay safe and stay quiet
will be up around town shortly, he said.
Aside from motorcycle checkpoints North Hampton holds with Portsmouth
and Rye police, as well as state troopers, Page said he appeared on a
radio talk show with four other area chiefs to discuss motorcycle noise.
He said he and some other chiefs have made contacts with the New
Hampshire Motorcycle Association and Seacoast HOGS with the hope of
holding noise information sessions with club members.