I look forward to the day this site includes then-obsolete city sounds of leaf blowers, car alarms, cars that honk the horn whenever getting in and out, ear-shattering truck backup beeps... :)
I’d like to add to that list: [gas/ICE] motorcycles, modified car exhausts, pretty much any small gas engine (power washers, snow blowers, generators).
Leaf blowers I’m afraid are here to stay, but the electric ones make a less annoying sound at least.
They'll get banned in the rich enclaves and immediately outlying wealthy suburbs and once those people are satisfied the movement will lose momentum because no other demographic has this problem high enough up on their list of problems to be actionable. And in 100yr when we all manipulate leaves in a different way because it's "just better" people will wonder where the obscure law came from.
The reason for a slow migration is because the vast majority of gardeners and gardening companies only have gas powered leaf blowers, electric still don’t have the ability to run all day without at least 10-20 batteries, and electric doesn’t move as much air. As time goes on the tech will get better, the richer areas banning gasoline will encourage gardening companies to move to electric (and at a pace that won’t bankrupt them), and gas ones will die out.
Yeah, for a lot of consumers battery-powered lawn tools like weed whackers have gotten pretty good. I know for me the reduced maintenance and fiddling is a overall win for something I don't use all that often even if it's not quite as powerful and I can't always run it for as long as I would without recharging. (Though I could get another battery if I really cared.) But for a yard crew that's on the clock and may be working most of the day, the tradeoffs are a lot different.
Oddly enough the wealthy suburbs are the ones where there are the most leaf blowing going on. Desire for manicured landscapes + money to pay for lanscaping services that normally service commercial properties = small armies of leafblowing workers deployed all over the place.
My neighborhood is a mix of income levels; those who do their own lawn use smaller equipment, and they use one at a time. The wealthy ones have a crew of 6-8 people with a loud mower, multiple weed whackers/trimmers and multiple leaf blowers all at the same time. On the noise level, I measured it to be as loud as a jet airplane taking off—except it lasts a whole hour.
And don't forget that these same demographics have a large hand in the economic and regulatory situation that makes only highly efficient and mechanized professional landscaping viable.
I'd respect these people a lot more if they'd acknowledge and accept the tradeoffs but it really rubs me the wrong way when people say we need nigher minimum wages and then turn around and complain that their landscaper is forced to go all in on mechanized efficiency.
It doesn't have to take off everywhere to solve the problem. When enough wealthy people don't want ICE leaf blowers, the market will change and they'll become more scarce.
Motorcycles have exposed engines, so there's nothing to muffle the sound, that's true. But Honda and BMW are somehow able to make fairly quiet engines, while Harley and Yamaha seem to revel in making the loudest contraptions possible.
I ride a Harley and have ridden a few other bikes and can tell you a little more about this.
First off, the exposed engine isn't what makes a vehicle loud, unless you count the valve train noise and primary chain noise which honestly is negligible compared to everything else. What makes a Harley loud is the fact that it doesn't have a resonator muffler but basically a pipe with a baffle. Example of a resonator muffler: https://www.quadratec.com/sites/default/files/knowledge_base.... Example of a motorcycle muffler: https://thekneeslider.com/images/hddynamicexhaust.jpg
Second, a modern stock Harley tops out at 79 dB which is below the EPA requirement of 80 dB. This is no louder than a modern car. In California specifically this is also enforced and you can't (to a first approximation) register a vehicle that exceeds this (CARB regulation).
Most Harley you hear that are loud use aftermarket muffler or full exhaust systems (larger diameter, no catalytic converter, etc.) which are labeled as "for closed course only" because they aren't street legal. Still, motorcycles by and large can outrun cop cars so nobody bothers pulling them over. Also, most police officers don't carry dB meters to be able to determine if after you registered the vehicle you swapped the exhaust system.
Now for the reason: yes it makes a huge difference in the feel of you on the bike. The sound is half the equation. And no that doesn't justify bothering all your neighbors, but it is a visceral feeling you can't get any other way. Some people want it and will break the law to get it.
The good news for you is that bikes are getting quieter and more efficient and most people are realizing the effects of hearing loss from long term exposure to loud exhausts. However you will never get everyone to stop: there will always be a small minority that wants a loud vehicle and people who don't participate in this activity will always have a hard time understanding why.
If you want to have an experience, take a week off, rent a muscle car, and ride it cross country on a road trip. It'll be life changing, I promise.
I was passed by particularly loud Harley just yesterday and was wondering this exact question (and had no idea where I could even post such a question). Thanks for the detailed explanation!
Happy to help and/or answer other questions. Also /r/motorcycles and /r/motorcycle are great resources on Reddit though you’ll certainly get some bias there.
It has nothing to do with the exposed engine. 99% of the sound comes from the exhaust, which is built do be quiet (destructive interference) or loud (constructive) of exit gases. There are 300 hp cars that are quieter than 50hp motorcycles because of that
I was really looking forward to not hearing ICE sounds everywhere. But alas, scary stories about "silent" cars means we'll have to live with that for a while longer.
That's funny, I havent heard a car alarm in over a decade - I just assumed that car manufacturers stopped rolling them out after consumers kept going to garages to dismantle them.
I am with you on leafblowers. I've heard they cause less damage to the ground than a rake, but the annoyance factor is high.
I'm still waiting for the deliverance of whisper quiet cargo trains, or cargo trains that blast some noise cancelling factor as they pass, or hell, a separate underground line just for cargo.
>or cargo trains that blast some noise cancelling factor as they pass
I do agree with the op's list, but i do find cargo trains particularly rhythmic, and very soothing. When out cycling and a railway barrier drops, everyone gets delayed. I forget I'm cycling. The longer the train, the better.
There's a guy with a 20-year-old Mitsubishi Galant with a car alarm that goes off constantly on my block. I've never worked up the courage to ask who he thinks would actually steal his POS.
NYC, for example, outlawed car alarms years ago, as it was a complete nuisance. Some are still grandfathered and some are probably illegally installed. I hear them sometimes, but it's pretty rare.
When I was younger and lived in Jamaica (Queens), there was this particular TALKING car alarm that was very touchy and drove me up the wall.
They may have banned after-market alarms, but factory-installed car alarms are standard on pretty much every new car in the past 10+ years anyway. I still hear those go off on occasion in NYC.
When I was living near San Jose, the mockingbirds all sang the song of the car alarm. Over time, as the original songbird was no longer everypresent, the song got corrupted. I'd love to hear what it's gotten to now. Although, not at 2 am, ugh.
