Motorcycle noise problems are again prominent.
Just the other day, a shocking incident occurred in which a man was struck with a stick while riding a motorcycle.
Two men, one in his 30s and the other in his 20s, were arrested on suspicion of assaulting a man on a motorcycle by hitting him in the head with a stick. The police said they attacked the man on the motorcycle because of the loud exhaust system noise. The two men conspired to strike a male office worker, 19, on his motorcycle with a wooden stick on a street in the city a little after 9 p.m. on May 20, inflicting minor injuries on him. A man attacked and injured a two-seater motorcycle on a nearby street with a stick on May 2, and the connection is being investigated.
Issues related to motorcycle noise have been brought up often since biker gangs were at their peak in the past, but they seem to have become more prominent again in recent years. In 2018, there was another disturbing incident in Nagoya, where a man stabbed some boys hanging out in a park with a survival knife because they were "too loud" for their motorcycles.
As a motorcyclist, it's embarrassing
I recently encountered a situation that bothered me as well.
When I happened to be out, I was walking in a quiet residential area. I saw a dou guys riding an old, large motorcycle passing by with a loud noise. They were wearing masks, but they were middle-aged men, not young men. They were riding slowly, obviously with illegally modified exhaust system and, of all things, agitating the accelerator. Many families with young children and elderly people enjoying a stroll were around, but I could see their eyes eventually turn into contempt and anger as they looked back in surprise at what was going on. Some of them were young mothers blocking their children's ears.
Every time I come across a scene like this, I feel very sorry and ashamed. I think he just likes to ride his bike and has no bad intentions. But there are people who are bothered by the act, and some people are driven to the point of anger. Is it a lack of initiative or a distorted manifestation of self-revealing? As a rider myself, I really wish this kind of shameful behavior would stop. It's a shame that people think "motorcyclists are only good for one thing" and it's sad to see a bad impression of motorcycle being spread. A lot of other normal riders will be annoyed as well.
Fear and disappointment in extreme comments
Once again, I took a quick look at the comments section on the web in response to the news of the aforementioned incident, and I can see how this one is viewed by those around me.
In summary, they don't think about the inconvenience to the people who live around them, calling the police will only drive them away and not lead to an arrest, how many times have you wanted to attack a guy riding around? or this is self-defense. Those who interfere with people living quietly need to be punished accordingly" and other radical opinions that defend the suspect.
The rider also said, "He's the only one taking pleasure in the sound of the explosion. Other people are annoyed by it. If you want to brag as a hobby, don't forget to be considerate of others. It's obviously problematic and illegal to resort to violence because it's too loud, but I feel great fear and disappointment that there are not a few opinions that seem to agree with it.
Asserting rights alone is not the answer.
Regardless of motorcycles, there is no shortage of incidents where noise problems by neighbors escalate to murders. That's how deep-rooted and frightening the noise problem is.
How a person perceives sound can vary greatly from person to person and even from the same person's psychological state. It's often for a louder tune to become annoying at times, and what is a pleasant exhaust note to the rider is just noise to the non-rider. Even if it's not an illegally modified exhaust system, there are many people out there who find the idling noise annoying.
Illegally modified exhaust system are out of the question, but just claiming the right to use "because it's a normal exhaust system" or "because it's compatible with vehicle inspection" will not solve anything. You should think seriously and be considerate. Don't do to others what you wouldn't want to be done to you. We should be proud to be a motorcyclist and act as a role model for society.
