With more and more cars getting high tech sound systems, hearing loud music while driving has become a daily occurrence for most people. One council is fighting back and has introduced a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) which gives officers the ability to fine people £100 for anti-social vehicle use.
This could include loud noise, shouting or being sexually suggestive. The measure was introduced after two-thirds of Bradford said they felt unsafe on the roads and said that nuisance drivers were a problem.
PSPO in place
A PSPO is already in place in certain areas of Bradford for antisocial behaviour and between March 2017 and June 2018, alcohol in various forms was confiscated 497 times. Bradford residents seem to be in favour of further PSPOs.
In a consultation of Bradford residents on the roads, 70% of those surveyed said they felt unsafe on the roads and 76% supported a PSPO to help reduce the anti-social behaviour in roads.
How will a PSPO help?
The PSPO is an order that protects the natural environment of an area and keeps residents safe in the area. Certain council enforcement officers are authorised to act upon a PSPO for the purpose of keeping the peace. Police officers are also able to enforce PSPOs.
In this instance, the PSPO can be used to stop anti-social driving. Whether this is wheel spinning excessively, blasting loud music, shouting from windows or being overtly sexual from a car, the PSPO can be used with correct judgement to help with the issue of anti-social driving in the area.
Mr Burns-Williamson, West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “I support the step that Bradford Council have approved in the use of Public Space Protection Orders, a move which I believe will help to tackle a number of anti-social behaviour and road safety related issues.”
“Road safety is clearly a significant area of interest in Bradford and for many communities across the county and remains a key focus in my Police and Crime Plan. The PSPO will complement the significant work already undertaken by West Yorkshire Police, the Council and other partners in the District such as Operation Steerside which targets wider road safety offences and behaviour.”
Draconian or desired?
Some have come against the PSPO suggestion, labelling it “a bit draconian” and questioning how personal this could become.
Local councillor in Bradford, Simon Cooke, said of the PSPO “Is there the justification of making criminal what wasn’t criminal before? What we seem to have is a bit of virtue signalling, so we are seen to be doing something about the problem. But it doesn’t really address the problem to any great extent.”
He also raised a valid point of determining what anti-social behaviour in a vehicle was bad enough to warrant a fine or order. One person’s attitude could be completely different from someone else’s on what constitutes anti-social behaviour. “When it comes to music being played too loud is there not a risk that personal music preference may decide if music being played is ‘good or bad’?” he added, showing the potentially highly personal nature of the issue at hand. How can one person decide that someone’s driving is anti-social when it may be a personal prejudice? While strict training and regulations will no doubt be given, both having evidence of the act and being able to justify the reasons for the fine could easily be swayed through personal judgement.
Will the days of people driving around blasting music slowly be going out of fashion or is it overly restricting peoples behaviour? In recent months there has been a lot of talk of driving becoming very big brother like, with cars able to limit top speed depending on the road area soon and next-generation speed cameras that can pick up multiple fineable offences.
Anti-social driving
There are not many people who would openly admit to cutting people up in traffic, blasting loud music or sitting around in a car park drinking. However, the people who use their vehicles for things that aren’t illegal but aren’t seen as proper use could soon be feeling the sharp end of a £100 fine.
One can see both sides of the argument, they aren’t doing anything technically illegal, but people don’t want to be surrounded by anti-social driving. On the other hand, the small minority that does use their vehicles for anti-social purposes are more at risk of breaking the law, such as speeding or distracted driving.
People in Bradford have said bad driving is an issue, but in many large towns and cities across the country, this will no doubt be a very prevalent issue as well. You only need to watch Police Interceptors on Channel 4 to see the amount of dangerous driving that takes place come nightfall. Protecting our roads from dangerous drivers is essential but is this taking it one step too far or is this the next best thing to happen to residential areas?
What do you think of the PSPO? Would you like to see one in your local area? Let us know below
This is utter nonsense: these councillors probably are a load of old duffers who forget that they were young once ( I’m 61 BTW ) and probably did the same or similar then .
Anyway , re the music , it is already an offence to render yourself unable to hear audible warnings from other road users ; and on the subject of noise – loud exhausts , being that much louder than most car audio units , are more of a problem than music .
Music being played in moving cars is hardly a disturbance, because the car will be gone in a few moments.
Councils should be stripped of the authority to pass so many stupid laws .
I’m 61 too and when we were teens our Escort’s/Viva’s/Astra’s car stereos didn’t have the volume potential of modern systems and loud exhausts didn’t exhist. If ever you’d been to Bradford you’d realise it really is the motoring badlands. It has the largest number/proportion of unlicensed motorists in the country and car crime is rife.
I’m only 59, for a couple of months anyway 🙁 , but I promise you, Loud stereos and very loud exhausts did exist when we where young! You must have lead a very sheltered life 🙂
Not as many as today
You see how it works…
As much as I agree with you, there’s a car that drives around Southampton streets and his bass is constant and causes the windows etc to vibrate excessively. By the way, deaf people drive too so I don’t know what law there is for not being to hear audible warnings.
Deaf people can’t help being unable to hear ; with hearing people it is avoidable. You are required to maintain awareness of other road users at all times – that includes visible and audible warnings .
Deafness is frequently CAUSED by loud noises. Pop concerts cause measurable damage to hearing – so an amp turned up high in a car…
Thats a thumbs up for loud exhausts
Yipeee! and about time too!. I’m fed up with being forced to listen to some thumping bass emanating from the wide open windows of a lowered Yaris. But it’s all well and good saying they’ll prosecute but if the truth be known I doubt if they have the manpower as usual.
I agree as it needs Police on the streets to witness it in the first place…
Maybe they could take them off Though Policing duties (You Tube, Twitter ‘mean comments’)?
You’re right, Andrew, but don’t you think it’s all part of the same problem?
These days, youngsters think it’s “it’s my right” to express themselves in any way they like, whether that’s offending the ears of other road users or trolling people on the Internet.
I’ll use my mobile phone whenever I wish. I’ll abuse people on social media. I’ll dress like a pick-up girl or wear a string vest and have my ar** hanging out of my trousers. I’ll tailgate others because I want to break the speed limit. And, I’ll have my car HiFi on max, just to be sure everyone knows it’s all about me, and the rest of you can go …. yourselves.
You know, I was thinking about this comment and how right it was, But then I thought a bit longer and it occurred to me that I was agreeing “wholeheartedly” with everything you said, However, weren’t we like that when we were young, I modified my car and played loud music while driving around the streets while older people gave me bad looks, What was I thinking at that time?, “F**k you, I’ll do as I want when I want and what are you gonna do about it”, It can be annoying to listen to their c***py music and see them walking down the street with their a***s hanging out of their trousers because they can’t dress themselves properly at their age, but that’s all part of growing up and discovering yourself, We’ve all done it and need to to find our place in society, Like my father and yourself I agree with you to a degree, But to pass laws prohibiting things like this I don’t agree with its possibly the start of a slippery slope we don’t really want to go down, It’s surprising how nice these youngsters are if you talk to them and ask them nicely as an adult to please turn their music down or ask them why they have their trousers around their ankles, Have a chat with them, you might be surprised at the result and learn a bit as well as both parties gain a bit of respect for each other, Remember, we were like this once ourselves and our parents didn’t pass laws on us.
Agreed, Ian,
But I’m sure you always respected that there were limits to your “rebellious” behaviour, whereas what I’m talking about is Yobs as opposed to teenage Rebels. These are people who think that there are no limits to what they are entitled to do.
I am NOT saying that anyone playing their music very loud — even if it’s to say, “hey, look at me, I’m being a rebel” — makes them a bad person.
What I am saying is that we’ve somehow lost a general acceptance of the social values of our forefathers (and mothers) who said, so far and no further. Generations are growing up believing they have “Entitlement” to do whatever they want, whenever they want. There are no Rules that can’t be ignored, especially is they challenge the individual’s “Entitlement” to do what they want.
We’re failing to follow the guidance of generation upon generation of our ancestors. “Spare the rod and spoil the child” may be a harsh way of putting it, but unless we all respect a common code of “limits”, then expressing our right to individuality turns us into Yobs, rather than youthful Rebels.
Another consideration here is, who told them they were “entitled”?
I’m pretty certain they didn’t evolve that way all by themselves, after all that word has 3 syllables, it’s meaning must have been explained to them.
Truth is we are responsible for letting those kids have everything their way from birth, we have reared a generation (or 2) of brats, simple as.
Regardless of that, creating bylaws relative to topics that are extremely subjective should be banned in its self.
Who decides what is anti-social?
Relative to driving there are a few things I find anti-social, like, pulling away from traffic lights and practicing how slow they can go without stalling, like taking half a mile to achieve 30 MPH.
Sitting at junctions and lights at night with the stupid bright brake lights on!!! Seems people don’t know their cars have handbrakes.
Now introduce fines for such as those issues and just watch and listen to the sad lethargic killjoys start whingeing.
Well said I think there are too many laws on our personal doings it’s not as if the music they play u have to listen for long a few seconds and there away out of sight come on a law on this I don’t think so
That sir, is a typical ill informed comment. You know nothing about policing and how they do their work, I do, and I can assure you, that policing the web is a specialist area not performed by the standard bobby.
But then consider the amount of time that is taken on the following up arrest or interview that emanates from such comments on the web. if a warrant has to be executed and evidence given in court this takes get more police officers.
But I do agree with you it does take a specialist officer to police the web, normally a patrol show overweight or very emaciated type of creature
Providing Wagner Maria Callas, ALL jazz and Phil Collins are included on the banned list…. or is that just a matter of taste?
I wasn’t sure whether to agree with this or not. It’s clearly intended to be humorous, but is it sarcastic? Of course it’s a matter of taste; personally I like Phil Collins.
I agree with the banning of all Jazz however, you must be a philistine to want to ban Maria Callas and my dear lady wife would take issue with the banning of Phil Collins, although you may be correct, perhaps it is just a matter of personal taste.
They will always find the manpower to screw cash out of a driver.
Same rule should apply to loud exhausts don’t see why others have to put up with one person’s selfishness. They should only be allowed on race tracks only.
I agree with the general gist of the article, but question how much noise is too much noise when it comes to music playing in our vehicles. I listen to music / radio as I drive along, if a song comes up I particularly like, I may turn ithe volume up. On a Summer’s evening, with the windows open, it may not be to everyone’s taste. Am I breaking the law?
Of course not . Similarly I enjoy listening to music in my convertible ; if stopped at lights someone else may hear it for a minute or two , but I don’t make a nuisance of myself .
No but some snowflake who doesn’t like your choice of music can complain and get you investigated.
its not always snowflakes, usually the worst offenders are those playing something so basey that the car is rattling from the bass levels and is usually so awful you cant even say it is music
Technically, YES.
ANYTHING that might cause a “distraction” to the driver is an offence.
I’d guess that even chatting with your passengers is included. This might sound crazy until you consider business colleagues, guys driving to/from a footie match, or a girls’ night, when everyone is deeply engrossed in the subject of the discussion, and the last thing on the driver’s mind is his/her driving.
Maybe, some time soon, our cars will be fitted with noise analysers, that send an alert to the authorities to issue an automatic fine and 3 points on our (also electronic smart driving licence, which communicated with the car’s computer, before letting us drive it). …All technically possible right now.
Think about it .
The same should apply to parents (though mainly female) who have a child strapped in the back seat and spend the journey coochy cooing to them via the rear view mirror instead watching where they are going! People should not drive when distracted d by young brats in the car! Get a babysitter in the car so that they can keep an eye on the brats! Vehicles are NOT kindergartens!! They are killing machines in the hands of distracted drivers!!
surely it worse if the parents have their young kid in the front passenger seat which itself is illegal
That’s 1984 stuff and too over the top. We’re already being stifled with free speech and other draconian measures. These youngsters are a pain I know, but they will eventually grow up and start complaining about young people themselves. Let’s be careful about going down this route.
You are surely only breaking the law if your music is excessively loud. I think most right minded people use their common sense.
I totally agree with you on the above. So what if they want to listen to a bit of music. Your next to them at the traffic light for no more then 3 minutes. get over it. We all have our favourite music. Of course in the night time I don’ t agree as we have a child at home but day time blast your tunes baby!
I thought there were already laws/regulations about excessive noise.
They are, like many other rules and regulations, being ignored by the public and the enforcers.
Why should we be surprised. People put themselves first in conversation and action.
I could go on but what’s the point.
Nothing will change.
The drivers’ hearing will change and the NHS will pick up the tab as another negative aspect of this behaviour.
You are correct – but it’s mainly enforceable via councils through environmental health laws. I doubt if they have enough staff, given they already don’t do enough about people living in council houses and flats doing the same in the evening/overnight in their own homes.
So, is it only council tenants who behave in this way?
Is it only council tenants who are guilty of anti-social behaviour?
I ONCE POINTED OUT TO A POLICE OFFICER ATTENDING A HIT AND RUN ACCIDENT WHO LIKE WE WITNESSES WAS BEING BLASTED BY LOUD MUSIC FROM A CAR ON A PETROL STATION FORECOURT ACROSS THE ROAD. THE DRIVER WAS IN THE PAY KIOSK AS THE POLICEMAN WENT ACROSS AND SPOKE TO THE PASSENGER WHO TURNED THE MUSIC DOWN. THE DRIVER GOT BACK INTO THE CAR AND PROMTLY TURNED OUT OF THE FORE COURT SO THE POLICEMAN STEPPED IONTO THE ROAD TO STOP THE CAR. HOWEVER THE DRIVER SPED UP AND DROVE STRAIGHT AT THE POLICEMA KNOCKING DOWN. THIS FORTUNATELY WAS WITNESSED BY NOT ONLY PEOPLE ATTEND ING THE ACCIDENT BUT BY TWO OTHER POLICE OFFICERS ARRIVING IN ANOTHER CAR WHO IMMEDIATELY GAVE CHASE.
WITH SITUATIONS LIKE THIS IT IS HARDLY SURPRISING THAT THE POLICE WILL NOT PUT THEMSELVES AT RISK FOR LOW CATAGORY OFFENCES.
Noise and pollution is the responsibility of local councils, but most are not interested.
I had a case of pollution and noise from a neighbour, BUT………….. the Council said they could make reasonable noise between 7 am and 11pm. No mention of pollution from exhaust fumes.
How can music affect? What more silly fines we get? Very soon we can’t leave our house without getting fine. Look at all crime around and do something about .
The Police and councils have looked at the real crime around and found that there is very little they can or are willing to do given the budget they have, so in order to make your Police and Council tax appear to look value for money they target the softer options.
After all it’s easier catching a motorist than say major fraud, drugs or even a Child abuse ring.
New laws are easy to write, but far harder to act upon.
If it used as a last resort who refuse to follow the readonable requests of a Police Officer preventing a breach of the peace fine, it is an attempt to extend the nanny state then awful idea. Do we ban marching bands in parades as loud or is that different? Do we ban blood donor vehicles offering coffee and tea in a car park or is that different. Looks too European for my taste.
Look up the (very well established) legal definition of “a breach of the peace”, it has nothing to do causing offence or hurting someones feelings. It relates to causing or about to cause harm or damage to people or property. Police often misuse threats of arrest for a breach of the peace against non-crimes.
Who is going to prosecute. It’s alright making these new laws, there have been numerous new laws passed in the past, but without police being on the ground, they are useless.
The police are all being removed from the streets in order to sit in a nice warm office policing the internet for words aimed at minority groups that may be deemed as hurtful. FFS no wonder there is an epidemic or serious crime on the streets. We grew up being told ‘Sticks and stones may break our bones but words they cannot hurt me’. We shrugged off stupid comments and got on with our lives. Today kids are brought up with no discipline and have no respect for authority but go running to it when they want protection and a safe space from ‘hurty’ words. It’s laughable. Savid Javid needs to remove all these new internet police and put them back on the streets to do proper policing. All snowflakes will soon realise that they are not important and they’ll need to grow up fast and move on!
The more power we give these busy-bodies the more subjugated we become. This act may be well intentioned but the measure of good law is not how it will be used but how it can be used. RIPA was introduced in 2000 with the sole aim of protecting us from terrorism but how it can be used. Instead of tracking terrorists RIPA is now primarily used to see if pupils live in school encatchment areas and for identifying those who don’t clean up after their dogs. This proposed law will be mis-used by the little hitlers who abuse their authority.
Personal judgment especially inusyc is directed at the Asian Bhangra music. It’s out culture and it’s loud. Better than the squeeching & opera type music we get annoyed when we here. Besides I live near Heathrow so drowning out the aircraft noise is perfectly balanced out.
Luckily for you, if you don’t like ‘opera type’ music and prefer ‘Asian Bhangra’ there’s an airport close by – so you can do something about that very easily.
I would suggest that the noisy radio part would only work with any degree of fairness if the vehicles with sound systems were also required to be fitted with a sound level meter which permanently recorded the maximum sound as perhaps a percentage of the sound level since having been last switched on. It would also give the operator (usually the driver) visual information as to what the sound level is running at.
There are phone apps that can do this. The problem is, the sound level would change depending on the distance of the device from the speakers. Also, the perceived volume outside the car would be totally different and probably different between different models of car and how far you have the window open, etc.
you always get an anorak with some techy knowledge throwing cold water on someone’s comment
Doggie,
The real problem is that the person who fills his car boot with a massive amplifier and back seat with huge speakers is a tech anorak (or knows someone who is tech savvy), so bypassing any noise reduction technology won’t be a problem.
Even those who only use a car’s inbuilt HiFi have friends who will know how to get around anything we build into the music system.
I’m a senior technology consultant, and believe you me, no technology will ever stop the idiot’s ability to get a workaround.
Apologies, Zoggie, my phone’s spelling checker changed your name. 🤬. Flipping smart-a**e phones.
Paul, you right, I used to drive a truck that the speakers were rubbish, they were fit in the doors, the trouble was the door skin turned into a massive speaker, so it was louder outside than in! My new one now is much better but that’s 18 years improvement for ya! Still, don’t get people crying about some ones music, they only hear it as they pass, get a life you sad ba#tards. As for not hearing a car horn, my wife is deaf and she drives perfectly fine.
I guess if the majority of people in Bradford want this then who am I to complain? Time will tell if it makes any difference and if it doesn’t, it will likely be scrapped and never used again, in Bradford or anywhere else.
Personally, I don’t think it will make any difference as there aren’t enough officers on the street to enforce to the laws we already have, never mind new ones! Oh, but don’t worry, 900 metropolitan officers are working hard at their desks to keep you safe on FaceTwit.
1984.
Good. The morons who drive round with their windows wide open inflicting ‘music’ on pedestrians are revelling in being anti social. I’d like to crush their cars, so £100 is getting off lightly!
I would like to CRUSH your face for this comment….
PMSL
Playing loud music when not moving and in built up city as always been illegal
Tell my neighbours
Yes Cliff Richard got prosecuted for booming music in town from his mini, I recall
Seems it was a Cliff Richard fan, not Cliff himself. She got £1,000 in fines /costs and had all of her music equipment confiscated from her home. Not a car, but a good result nevertheless 😁.
Nice one, Alan 👍.
Bring back the death penalty! Hang the wasters, would solve a lot of problems in one go.
In this 24 / 7 country, the : Shift workers, Elderly, Sick and Children are trying to sleep at some point in the Day / Evening / Night. They are constantly been woken by excessive unnecessary noise from cars, by the : Entitled, I’ve got rights, selfish individuals who drive around upsetting entire housing estates, no one will say anything because their : Too polite or frightened of the consequences. One car with excessive bass music can upset entire streets. Warnings and then take out the stereos ?
Taking out the stereos will simply mean that they are replaced – with even louder ones ! Taking away the cars, however, ………..
Visiting my parents over the last 10 Christmases, it wasn’t worth going to bed because, come 00:30-01:30 every single night, a young yob would drive up, revving his engine (which was also fitted with an illegal boom-box exhaust), with music blaring out. He was only dropping people off, but left his doors open (to ensure the whole street could fully appreciate his taste in music) while he and my parent’s rabble neighbour continued to party in the street for another half hour.
Click, you’re absolutely right. These people were intentionally creating a noise disturbance over a 10 year period because they knew they could.
As I do not bombard others with my choice of music. I don’t see why I should have to suffer listening to theirs. The problem today is that far too many people are so selfish and self centred that a little more appreciation, community spirit and respect for others would go a long way. Bradford Council “Good for you”.
Loud music in cars is ridiculous, the driver may not hear a horn if there is a problem and its annoying for others also
But who decides what is too loud, that’s my issue with laws like this.
If the councils get the authority to issue fines for drivers playing loud music be rest assured Traffic Wardens and Parking Attendants will revel in their new found power to issue fines. What is more concerning is what volume level of music being played constitutes a finable offence. You can just imagine a Traffic Warden suffering from a Hangover making that decision especially if their on a bonus scheme
Have some pity for the hard of hearing please, it’s the only way I can actually hear the music. I do try to have some consideration for others though, I keep all my windows closed to try to minimise the impact on others.
I’m in favour of restricting people causing a lot of noise when people are being disturbed by loud noise, but this sounds very 1984, almost as if it’s the slippery slope. What next: not being allowed to listen to right-of-centre radio stations or presenters because they aren’t woke enough? Beeping your horn at certain demographics of driver to warn them they are doing something potentially dangerous?
Its about time, don’t limit it to Bradford. It needs to become law across the UK, I don’t need to listen to someone’s rubbish music going bang bang bang along the road. Hope they end up deaf by the time they’re 21
Just what we need!…Yet another law?! aaarrgghh!
Who is going to enforce this as using the phone and middle lane driving isn’t being controlled now so how can another action be monitored.
What idiot thought this one up ?
Who is going to police it ?
Its for those that normally abide by the law and have lost their way, the others that don’t give a dam are the ones that are aggressive anyway will not bother to abide by them because they are total A——— S
Looks like the whole world is becoming a snowflake….I play my music very loud but respect built up areas but when driving it’s turned up and loud..
Yes, Terry,
I used to hear considerate drivers like you, every night, when you thought you weren’t disturbing anyone.
They thought they were on the open motorway, because a large soundproofing wall has been built between the Lightwater housing estate and the M3, so drivers wouldn’t be aware of the thousand or so households they were disturbing, all night, every night. And, don’t forget, sounds carry a long way at night.
So, Terry (and others), while you may be trying to behave responsibly, if your speakers are turned up so much that you need to turn them down when driving through a town or village, it’s guaranteed you are also disturbing people when you’re on the motorway. It’s not just engine noise that people who live near motorways complain about, you can get used to that, but it’s the occasional noises of you driving past booming Meat Loaf’s “Bat out of Hell” that really disturb.
So, while I thank you for your efforts to be considerate, Terry, you might want to take a look at Google Earth to see if anyone lives in those supposedly unpopulated areas you’re driving through. Agricultural workers, for example, are up early and need their night’s sleep.
No offence intended, but this country is highly populated and there’s nowhere where someone doesn’t live. And, in fact, you’re less likely to disturb townies (who are habitualised to continuous background noise, than those who live in more rural areas. (Hope you like Meat Loaf 😂?)
Utterly ridiculous. When will the list of persecutions end?
When people think of others, then there would be no need for laws like this.
Blasting loud music is not a big problem but selfish drivers who forget to use their indicators at junctions and roundabouts are. This includes drivers who only indicate at the very last second – kinda defeats the whole purpose of indicating doesn’t it?
Not indicating at junctions and roundabouts makes a collision far more likely – with other vehicles, or even pedestrians! I’ve been misled on more than one occasion while trying to cross a busy road – only to find that a car was going to turn into the junction but did not bother to indicate! This is a very bad driving practice and there should be laws enforced against it like it is in the United states
Woman the other day on dual carriageway with two straight on lanes turned right without warning from left lane round roundabout at my side. Just saw her in time turning her wheel. I had to go round the roundabout of course. I was indicating and she wasn’t.
You mean BMW drivers!
well said, though add in Mercedes & Audi too, the 3 car manufacturers vehicles with the worst drivers in them, BMW, Audi & Mercs are mostly driven by idiots who think it is fine to flout the rules of the road like tailgating, swerving between lanes, about time insurance fees were based on the brand of car, not on just how long you have been driving for
My dad ran a garage. He got about 50% of his crash repairs business from trusting people who believed in indicators 😉.
As my dad drummed into me when I was learning to drive ALWAYS assume that other drivers will do anything and everything and NEVER believe what an indicator is/isn’t saying.
Yes it’s annoying when other drivers haven’t got the courtesy to indicate, Ojelade, but you may have noticed that common “courtesy” and consideration for other road users has gone out of fashion.
My dad’s advice was to always “drive defensively”. Then you’d avoid paying his garage’s large bill and inconvenience getting your car repaired. Apparently, the most common comment from aggrieved victims was, “But he/she was/wasn’t indicating”…
Most vehicles broadcasting loud music are not stationary for long – so If the occupants want to damage their hearing, LET THEM!!
I wondered when I was going to find a comment about hearing damage, as that’s the first thing I thought about when I read the above article. Listening to really loud music is the best way to induce deafness, but I suspect the people blasting their music out don’t realise they’ll need hearing aids well before they reach old age.
This law already exists BUT the police will have a 2 month purje and then like usual it will be put to bed once again Sorry but we have no real laws in this country anymore we used to be GREAT BRITAIN but not now
I too hate music blaring from car windows with large base units in the boot boomimg so loud you feel the sounds.
My only concern with fining drivers for loud music is that what will be classed as loud.
Will the enforcers just decide or will they carry decibel meters and a maximum decibel level be used to decide if the driver is playing music too loud, and how do drivers know when they are playing music too loud.
To check if they are speeding they have speed limit signs and a speedometer.
How about a fine & points?
I can relate to this as i luv to listen to music whilst driving and my tastes are generally dance and trance etc.. I do admit to having my music louder then most ppl but then that’s the best way to listen to those genres.
What would legally be classed as loud and fine able?
I think this is going over the top.
As stated in your article some will see the music I play to be c**p and so would take offence to it and consequently I could potentiality be fined. That’s totally wrong and discriminating.
I would think the police and I suppose the local council officers that walk our streets these days would have better things to do then going around stopping drivers just for loud music.
Another point is how can such a law truly be policed?
In regards loud music from homes I know from experience when I had police knock my door in the early hrs of the morning and said they could file a legal notice called a “noise abatement order” but wuldn’t as long as I kept my music down after I explained that I work in a night club so when my friends and I got back to my place the music went on and we were just chilling out. Because we had been in a club we couldn’t really tell if the music was loud due to being in an environment which blasts the music out. I agreed to turn the music down and they left it as that. Why the person who called the police couldn’t have just knocked my door and asked me to turn the music down I just can’t comprehend.
The reason for adding this is because with the police was a council officer who had a little device with him and before they knocked my door (which I heard straight away) they used this device to measure what they called background noise. They do this because the law stated that as long as the nuisance noise is no more then 10db above the background noise its classed as legally acceptable and my music was just on the button as it were so I was technically fine.
Regarding loud music whilst driving what will be the guidelines and seen as acceptable?
More and more these days it seems we as a people are being restricted in so many ways for no real reason other than we are different. This is just another in the long list of things we are not allowed to do and I for one find it totally unacceptable and if given the chance I shall fight this law a best I can as I am sure many others will.
Its always been my view that as long as what you are doing isn’t harming anyone they why is it wrong.
“It’s your life so live it your way” No one has the right to dictate how you live your life not even governments.
I accept there must be laws but laws against those who would harm others either physically or mentally but a law restricting drivers like me form listening to my music loud is totally ridiculous.
JJ
The person who caled the police was probably worried as to what your reaction might be. So many people these days, would respond agressively, even if that were just an aggressive verbal response. “Live it your way” : exactly, why should I have to suffer whilst others blast their music at me? Why should YOU be able to dictate what I listen to, at what volune, regardless of my wishes? And as to who decides how loud it is…well, courts “judge”. I think the police too are well able to “judge” whether music be overly loud. Think about, and then spare the rest of us.
At 67, I am totally opposed to the inclusion of loud music in this order. The definition of loud cannot be precisely given or adhered to and is therefore open to abuse. I like some of my music loud !
I like certain music very loud too, but never while driving on the public highway. It’s not possible to give your driving the required amount of attention with loud music on in the car. I rarely have the radio on while driving these days, to avoid being distracted.
I can only hope that unlike most large urban areas Bolton don’t have to spend time fighting knife crime or they wouldn’t have money for this sort of c**p .
There seems to be a trend, in this area, for these musical drivers to wind their windows down, thus ensuring that we have to “enjoy” their choice of music. sadly I have yet to find an open window driver whose taste corresponds even remotely with my own.
As usual the CASH COW get’s hit first. Typical government / council… Let’s fix the problem by making already hard up people even more hard up for listening to music IN THEIR OWN VEHICLE. If you don’t like loud music it’s pretty much tough titties and all those moaning about it… GROW A BACKBONE YOU SNOWFLAKE
If I want to listen to music, I’ll listen to my own. Not second hand.
About blooming time. There’s nothing worse than some arm hole in a backward facing base ball cap wearing a flimsy vest and sunglasses, with their arm hanging out of the window, even though it’s minus 10, blasting theirs and your ear drums out with some c****y thump thump music, that vibrates through your car at makes you think you’ve got some kind of mechanical breakdown looming.
We need to prepare ourselves for the return of the window and beard tax as there seems to be nothing this government isn’t prepared to screw uso for.
All of our laws are a waste of time so long as the courts ‘punish’ criminals with a slap-on-the-wrist and release prisoners long before they’ve completed their sentences.
The real concern about loud music in vehicles is its distraction and removal of situational awareness to the driver, and the law already has a ‘slapped wrist’ so-called ‘punishment’ available for this.
My own concern about these people is that they don’t give a f*** about anyone else : whether by noise pollution or following the rules of the road, or anything else. What’s needed is to restore traditional values of behaviour. Parents and schools are no-longer allowed to punish badly behaved children. They’re expected to correct bad behaviour by encouraging toddlers and school children (and, later, ‘naughty’ drivers) with a friendly chat.
Ye gods, we see the result with screaming out-of-control kids running around our supermarkets. Drunken aircraft passengers, dressed as thought they’re on a building site or are exposing themselves like hookers. And drivers with their music at max, intentiinally sticking two fingers up, a clear message, look at me, I don’t give a f*** about you.
Decent ordinary folks need to take back control and re-establish standards of common decency and respect for others.
Rick
How are they going to police it they can’t just go up to the person and say you are playing your music too loud and give you a ticket and say hear is a £100 fine they have got to prove it how are they going to do that.
Is this before or after they get the mobile phone users?
I live in Bradford and am glad these orders exist. There are often people overly revving motorbikes, constantly before flying off down the road. We have speed bumps on the road but bikes can slip through causing a danger to children playing in the street. We also have an issue with jeep and jeep like cars trying to drive up a muddy grass land which throws a lot of mud back onto the road causing problems for other drivers. Weather drinking or drug use takes place in parked cars I cannot say but the same grassland seems to sprout litter overnight sometimes bagged sometimes loose next to where cars with occupants were parked for a few hours the night before. These are the kind of things these orders are designed to prevent so I have full support for these steps. I will admit that this could lead to a more “big brother” situation but the question comes down to, are there any better ways to stop this kind of behaviour which risks health and safety.
HAve to say not before time but should be mandatory, primarily it is a safety issue. Driving requires awareness and concentration and using entertainment systems is no different to using a mobile phone.
Although I live just outside of Huddersfield I rarely visit or drive through Bradford, partly because I have little need, but also because of the reputation of that city for dubious driving standards. Presumably, it’s not for no reason that Bradford is dubbed the ‘crash capital of the UK’ and a few years ago there were substantial protests from residents who had moved into newly developed residences which are geographically in Leeds but have been post coded Bradford (BD). The complaints were and still are that law-abiding Bradfordians are being heavily penalised with motor insurance premiums which, because of the abysmal driving standards in many BD areas, are commonly substantially higher than those for close-by neighbours with the good misfortune to have LS (Leeds) post codes.
However, it’s not just simply because of a post code lottery that Bradfordians are having to pay heavily loaded premiums. It’s because of the dreadful driving records of that city where (anecdotally perhaps?) it is stated that around 50% of cars are driven with no MOT, nor Vehicle Excise Duty, nor motor insurance having been paid and, it is said, some 50% of drivers are unlikely to even have a valid driving licence. For sure, I know of those who will drive through Bradford only out of absolute necessity and prefer to add mileage and time to their journeys rather that have to run gauntlet of the Russian Roulette risks of driving in that city.
As for what is, or is not, antisocial behaviour when driving, that is indeed a highly subjective issue. Suffice to say that driving at excessive speeds and deliberately making unnecessary noise with high revs and deep booming and thumping woofers does seem to be especially prevalent in and around the West Yorkshire towns and Bradford centre does seem to be one of if not THE worst offending area for those deplorable behavioural patterns. Indeed, one could simply assume there is a prevalence of inherent young male arrogance which believes it can simply ignore and flaunt any rule in the book, particularly with use of hand held mobile phones whilst on the move.
The bottom line is that we may think of many driving rules as being a bit petty and big brother-ish, but the simple answer is to make every endeavour to abide by the rules and then there can be no cause for complaint. Nobody can be 100% perfect whilst driving, but at least one can aim for that.
Are there any police left to enforce this?
Perhaps they should focus more on car crime as Bradford (and Birmingham) are the UKs car crime capitals. What about freedom of expression?
I suppose it would be too difficult for stereo manufactures to limit the radio sound output to a lower decibels level.
Perhaps Eastleigh Borough Council and Hampshire Police could do something about the silly little t**s that race around in cars and on motorcycles with modified exhausts and missing baffles, which are making everyone’s lives a misery. Well done to Bradford for making a start and cracking down on unwanted noise!
About bloody time too, would love to see that in Burnham on sea, problem is to see a copper round here is like waiting for the next train to stop at the sea front
What’s a copper?
I see sting the driver easy target to make money
It’s about time this was implemented. How about extending the fine to include loud car and motorcycle exhausts?
I’m a pensioner and listen to radio 3 and Classic fm in my car. I have been known to turn up the volume for some pieces of music when on my own … how do I find out what is the limit a) if the windows are closed and b) if I have the slide roof open.
Seems we have the usual unanswerable question. The people making the excessive noise know they are doing it and some do it deliberately because they can regardless of anybody else.
I like loud music sometimes when I’m driving but do try to tone it down when in congested areas, stopped at lights or caught up in heavy slow moving congestion. I don’t want to listen to other peoples sounds, good as some of them may be, but appreciate that others may feel the same about my choices. We can all do that if we want surely!
The problems will arise getting a universal standard where one of that small band of inflexable ‘enforcers’ can’t just pursues their own agenda and I’m sure there will be some out there just waiting to pounce.
I think the problems is found at all levels of society from the moneys no object end to those folk that appear to have nothing or very little except maybe something with a huge speaker.
Finally who is going to enforce it, is £100.00 going be enough to cover the cost of policing the rule, and will it actually deter anyone? Pocket money for the wealthy and unplayable by those with little or no money. I would venture to suggest that perhaps this is the two ends of the scale where the ‘I don’t care’ attitude is most at home. It should go without saying that this is just a generality, and is not suggesting that it is restricted to council house, residents, travellers or those living in palatial housing. There are just small selfies people dotted about everywhere.