Do We Need This New Law in Texas?
We have all heard them. The cars that go boom. It can be annoying, especially for people who live in downtown areas in communities where many new upscale apartments are locating.
So how would you feel about this new law going into effect in Florida on July 1st. This new law will allow law enforcement officers to ticket drivers who are playing their music loud enough to be heard 25 feet from the vehicle.
25 feet? To me, that seems a little extreme. Since the average vehicle is just 18 feet long, that means even if you're just in the next car in traffic and you're music is spilling out, you can face a $114 fine. Laws like this can simply be another "probable cause" to harass people who match certain profiles. Are we to believe that people who like loud music are more likely to be criminals?
Now, don't get me wrong. I have been awakened by loudly booming bass in a vehicle going by late at night. It truly can be annoying, but I guess my issue is the whole 25 foot thing. There are cases where the music is as loud as a jet engine. Medical researchers say booming bass at extremely loud volume can even interrupt a heart beat. Now that SHOULD be illegal.
Really loud music in a school, hospital or church zone is truly disruptive an annoying. Law enforcement sources even tell me that the loud music can be a safety hazard. Follow along: when music is played extremely loudly, the driver might not be able to hear an ambulance, police car, fire truck, or other emergency vehicle trying to get through an intersection.
So do we need Florida's law here in Texas? Is this just another attack on our freedoms, or another patent attempt to get the AARP vote? Or, do we really need some sort of law to quell the booming cars that can annoy us all and pose a safety hazard for emergency vehicles?
It is a conversation worth having, provided a vehicle with a loud booming stereo system doesn't happen to drive by while you're trying to have it.