Official campaign against loud motorcycles goes from 1 area to 81 areas in Germany

Back in July last year, a campaign against excessive motorcycle noise was started in Baden-Wurttemberg in Germany. And now another 80 areas of the country have decided to crack down on loud bikes, too.

Called the ‘Motorcycle Noise Initiative’ the original plan to enforce a drop in noise levels came from a joint plan by the state government’s noise protection office and local councilors in Baden-Wurttenberg. The idea behind the scheme was to make every rider take responsibility for how loud their motorcycle was when being used, and if that meant a change in the bike or rolling off to a slower speed in built-up areas then the biker was expected to make that change or face punitive measures.

In addition to sound metres being sited on popular motorcycle routes , a catalogue of demands has now been submitted in a bid to cap motorcycle noise. It calls for an amendment to the approval regulations which would mean that motorcycles won’t be able to run with loud aftermarket exhaust and could go as far as lowering the current noise levels of original exhausts on motorbikes too.

The proposal also wants more severe penalties for removing the baffles from an exhaust, it calls for a motorcycle-wide switch to sustainable and low-noise mobility (to promote electric motorcycles) and increased police traffic monitoring and even traffic bans on weekends and public holidays for reasons of ‘noise protection’.

The initiative also wants to encourage motorcyclists to ride slower so that less noise is made from their bikes.

The 81 members of the initiative include 74 cities and municipalities plus seven counties in Germany.

Transport Minister Winfried Hermann said that this was a clear wake-up call, saying that the federal government and the EU should now take measures to reduce motorcycle noise. A corresponding application will soon follow in the Federal Council.