Amid the usual maelstrom of political activity that is the culmination of any legislative session, lots of stuff gets signed into law that stays under the radar for a good while. Well, here’s one you should be hearing about shortly — and coming to a traffic stop near you.
Thanks to a provision in a transportation package signed by Gov. Jeb Bush, in less than two weeks it will be illegal, essentially, for auto sound systems to out-decibel jet engines.
Technically, it means that police can start fining ($70) drivers if their sound systems are audible from 25 feet away – as opposed to the current ineffectual buffer of 100 feet.
The usual suspects – those who sell the pricey systems and those who impose them on the rest of us — are taking the usual, whiny, self-serving umbrage. They could care less that they create decibel hell for fellow motorists.
But it’s not just awful music played awfully loud; it’s also dangerous. Public safety takes a hit anytime motorists can’t hear the siren from an ambulance or a fire truck.
But mainly, it’s just really rude and ear-splittingly obnoxious. There ought to be a (viable) law. Now there is.