Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Noise pollution is unwanted human-created sound that has the effect of being annoying, distracting, painful, or physically harmful. The word noise comes from the Latin word nausea meaning seasickness.
Millions of people are exposed to noise pollution that adversely affects their lives.
There are families who cannot sleep at night or live in their own homes because of noise. Sometimes the problem is bad enough that they are forced to move or lacking the financial means, live with the problem in pain.
Yes, exposure to daily levels of noise pollution causes hearing loss, stress, hypertension, increased blood pressure and headaches. High frequency noise can cause permanent hearing damage; low frequency noise produce pressure waves that can cause nausea and heart palpitations.
In a 2001 US Census survey, 11.8 million households said street or traffic noise was bothersome. An additional 4.5 million residents said it was so bad they wanted to move.
Noise pollution and its harmful effects are recognized by the World Health Organization, United Nations, Environmental Protection Agency, and National Institutes of Health (NIH). According to NIH, more than 10 million people in the United States suffer permanent, noise-induced hearing loss.
Some people say, "if it's too loud, you're too old". The stereotype that young people love noise and old people hate noise is perpetuated by consumer marketing. Advertisers pander to the youth culture because they are the most affluent and impressionable demographic. Noise pollution is harmful to people of all age groups.
Our supporters are diverse representing different political views, cultural backgrounds, careers, religious beliefs, races, ethnic groups, sexual orientation, ages and economic classes. We have supporters from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, France, Greece, Germany, Russia, China, India, and other countries.
Noise pollution is pervasive. People move to other communities to escape the noise, but all it takes is one noisy neighbor to ruin a neighborhood.
No. Some of our supporters ride motorcycles.
In 1972, the U.S. Congress enacted the Noise Control Act. It declared that the policy of the United States is to promote an environment for all Americans to be free from noise that jeopardizes their health or welfare. The Office of Noise Abatement and Control (ONAC), was created by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to oversee the impact of noise on the general public.
In 1982, funding to ONAC was eliminated, depriving citizens of federal protection against noise and its deleterious effects. Noise pollution legislation and enforcement is left to local governments.
Some people feel that they have an inalienable right to make all the noise they want in public and on their own property.
Households are not equally represented on environmental issues. If someone lives in a quiet area, they might question why other people complain so much about noise.
Some industries claim that noise mitigation and abatement can negatively impact their business. They argue that noise is a sign of prosperity and attempt to marginalize others who are critical of their policies.
No. Freedom of speech does not include the right to make others a captive audience with noise.
United States Constitution Bill of Rights - First Amendment
Amendment I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Property owners do not have absolute rights to do anything they want on their property. Each municipality sets standards for acceptable use. We all share a common environment and we have limited rights to ensure a mutual quality of life.
For instance, your neighbor does not have the right to pollute the air or the ground water because it might adversely affect you and the community.
We hope so. Raising public awareness is an important first step. It is up to concerned people to advocate for change. A community that enacts better noise code legislation and enforcement encourages other communities to do the same.
There are no grounds for a class action. However, there is the potential to sue one manufacturer for one device used once or multiple times against one individual or a group of individuals. The proof is that there was damage resulting from said use, along with other issues, such as merchantability, suitability for the use intended, improper use, knowledge of the damage, illegality, end effects on the part of the manufacturer.
We are not aware of any device on the market that can disable a car alarm or a boom car.
