When it comes to the motherland across the pond, pipe projection is a big peeve; it’s such a sore spot, in fact, that 58% of the country’s cheerful chums are keen on installing noise cameras and enforcing quieter motorcycle exhausts with hefty levies.
The news comes from a recent RAC study, where nearly 6 in 10 locals wanted their local ‘burbs to be fitted with the tattling contraptions – all thanks to 51% saying they “occasionally heard one or more offending pipes” when out and about.
“Only a fifth (22%) were against the idea, with a similar proportion (20%) unsure,” states the RAC study itself. “A third (34%) of those who took part in the RAC study said they regularly hear loud revving engines or excessively loud exhausts. This rose to nearly half of drivers in London (47%) and to 40% in Wales and Scotland.”
Of the included regions, Londoners were the harshest in their penalty ideologies; a stunning 67% of The Big Smoke’s inhabitants thought a £50 fine (the current levy) wasn’t enough and that the amount should, in fact, be raised to £200.
Why is the UK being so harsh towards the “braap” of a quality pipe?
Apparently, the country’s grudges stem from the rough £10 quid sterling spent on “the annual social cost of urban road noise, including lost productivity from sleep disturbance and health problems,” including the following:
- Heart attacks
- Strokes
- Dementia
Currently, there is no requirement for MOT testers to use decibel meters to check exhaust noise levels.