Do loud pipes really save lives?

Question

or do they just annoy people?

Answer 1

I think good riders don't need loud pipes.

1. Don't ride in another vehicles blind spot.
2. Properly use your horn to warn not scare people.
3. Stay visible with reflective clothing and proper lighting.

and just in case you do go down, proper safety gear.

Answer 2

My answer is one nobody likes. It's a "Yes, but..."
The real trick is to find the middle ground.
My pipes are not straights, but louder than stock.
I have not gotten one negative comment about how they sound, from other riders, cops, or neighbors. This is important as I ride it past these people every day.
They are louder for a reason. I didn't believe in "Loud Pipes Save Lives" before, but... there have been a number of times where being heard has preserved my right of way and prevented hazardous incidents. I normally ride solo, so the "ride staggered" comment does not apply. Headlights have been mandatory for many years. They are now commonplace and not noticed. Bright colors and flash? Didn't work a bit when I got it. "I didn't see him", she said.

Those who reference Doppler should go back to school, there is so much they don't know.

Do loud pipes save lives? Possibly.
Like anything else, there are those that will take things to the extreme. Louder can be better, but there is a limit. There is a large difference between protecting oneself and just being a jack.

Answer 3

the odds of actually saving a life are slim to none

if you like 'em, use 'em and dont look for a reason, just do it,
dont hide behind a phony excuse.

The loud pipes less rights I hadnt heard but in the dirt biking world we have a saying more sound = less ground.

same principle I think.

You're gonna annoy people and perhpas that is enough reason, but thats all youre gonna do, you wont live longer.

Answer 4

there's a saying now that is becoming more and more evident in more and more communities.......loud pipes, lose rights.
look at denver, co's new noise law and how it pertains to bikes. tho its being challenged at this time, it also calls for a very steep fine for loud pipes...500 bucks first offense.
in some areas where i live in ohio, the cops WILL pull u over and write u up for noise if u are bein squidly and crackin on the pipes just to rap on em. there's signs in very plain view on the road as u enter some towns that they have noise ordanences, and they do enforce them in my area quite heavily.

loud pipes wont: turn the cager's wheel for them, they wont put the brakes on for them either. some cagers will actually try to run a bike off the road on sight. loud pipes have caused some gated communities to ban ALL bikes from their properties; u cannot ride on their streets....and the gated communities have a legal right to do so.
loud piper's have zero stealth capability.......the cops can easily hear these idiots windin the chit out of these chainsaw sounding rice bikes, and they know instantly that they have a reckless speeding squid in the area, so they formulate a plan of ambush to take him out.
nothing will piss a homeowner off quicker than to have some yahoo rollin down the street at 2am deliberately in too low of gear just so they can have high db levels. havent u idiots noticed anything yet? the non-riders outnumber us big time. they're the ones screamin at city hall to add more noise ordanences, and they're not stopping there. dont think for a minute that they're not calling the state capital looking to have it turned into a state law. keep it up idiots....before too long, that nightmare will become true.
look at what's happened to trail riding areas.....idiots with loud pipes have caused them to shut the trails down cause of noise.

when are u idiots going to learn? if u want to live on cage infested streets to be able to ride another day, expect them NOT to see u, quit riding in their blind spots, and put the bike where they CAN see u. quit 'hiding' behind a bumper of a car before going thru an intersection.....if u cant see them, then dont expect them to see u. he cant see u, assumes lane is clear, turns left right in front of u. loud pipes wont help u here be sure.
if u havent figured it out by now, u never will.....cell phones+cager='s baaaad combination. these morons can barely see a semi much less a bike. dahhhhhhhhhhh.

have u ever been on a poker run behind a bike that has straight pipes? within 3 miles, i start falling back away from him. the noise is too distracting. distractions+bikes is a badddd combination. nothing sounds worse than a sport bike and extra loud pipes. they sound like an oversized shop vac. horrible. too loud of pipes suck.

Answer 5

I think D.Gunn is right. People in cars and bikes sometimes make snap decisions with just a quick glance in the mirror. If your in the blind spot, you could get crunched. This is the only time, I think anyway, that a loud pipe can save you. On the other hand I find them annoying as hell since I don't have them. But then again whats more annoying than getting knocked on the pavement? You decide.

Answer 6

Nope. Most of the noise when on the road is coming out the back of the bike. Think about it, when you are approaching a loud bike in a car, you really don't hear it very much until it passes.

I usually have the windows up and the radio on, further canceling out the outside noise.

Loud pipes also make it more difficult for the biker to hear what is going on around him.

The saying "Loud Pipes Save Lives" is more of an excuse than a fact.

But they sure are fun!

The headlight does more to attract attention than the noise.

Answer 7

Maybe. The extra noise might make people notice you when they're driving a car.

They definitely make people notice you when they can't have a conversation because your bike is so freaking loud that they can't hear themselves think. And they make people notice you when you go past their house and they can hear you through a closed window. And, if they notice you enough, maybe they'll decide to call their local politicians and ask that motorcycles be made illegal because of all the racket they make.

Which I guess would make us all nice and safe, right? If your loud pipes get motorcycles banned from your area, there's no way you'll be able to hurt yourself on one. So I guess loud pipes do save lives!

Answer 8

Motorcycle riders who want to be safe will:

* Wear real full face helmets with real DOT stickers and "snell rating."
* Wear brightly colored protective gear, to stand out.

This isn't the typical description of someone who has loud pipes on his bike, so I'm thinking that people with loud pipes aren't really interested in safety.

Answer 9

Yes, I truly believe that they do. I ride allot and I have seen several instances that prove this to me.

Many times in my commute to work I ride with other motorcyclists. People coming and going to work on freeways are many times distracted, they have the radio up, the cell phone going, or they are putting on makeup or eating. They are not watching out for bikes, my current bike has loud pipes .

I have witnessed smaller quieter bikes go unnoticed by drivers, even when they are doing nothing wrong. Drivers have pulled into their lane almost hitting them. The same drivers as I get next to them look over because they hear me. I don't care how they notice us as long as they notice that we are here and we share the road with them.

It is one more layer of protection to help riders; being seen, being heard, and riding defensively are key to a safe ride.

Answer 10

no, they do not, the reason for this is the doppler effect where sound waves are compressed ahead of a moving object therefore your "loud" pipe does not seem loud in front of you where whatever is going to hit you would be, the noise is not "loud" until you are going past the object or already beyond it