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Turn (Boom) that (Boom) down!
By ALEX LEARY
© St. Petersburg Times, CRYSTAL RIVER -- Anthony Altman, president of Rollin' Phat Car Club, just installed spoke rims on his Caprice Classic, a beefy surplus cop car with super suspension and a spotlight. But any teenager knows a ride isn't a ride without a booming stereo, a thumping, pumping bass cannon. "It completes the car," Altman's friend, Ryan Gerdes, explained between bites of pizza and drags on a Marlboro Menthol. Sitting outside Little Caesar's Wednesday night, Altman, 18, was quick to respond. He plans to install a pair of 12-inch subwoofers and a 1,100-watt amplifier. When he's done, he'll have spent $2,000. Brace yourself, the boom car scene is alive and rumbling. "Everybody is tired of Crystal River being a lame town," Gerdes said. If lame means quiet, then lame is good, says Jim Farley, the city's police chief and acting city manager. Fed up with loud stereos, he has proposed a noise ordinance that would carry fines up to $150. "People in their homes say when cars go by, the windows vibrate," Farley said. "Some swear their walls vibrate. They feel like they are being assaulted." If the City Council adopts the ordinance, it will be a violation to play music that is audible 100 feet or more from a car or is "louder than necessary for the convenient hearing by persons inside the vehicle in residential areas adjoining churches, schools or hospitals." The Police Department has been writing tickets -- about 100 per year -- under a state law, but the $52 fine is not effective, Sgt. Mack Ballard said. One particularly recalcitrant teen has been ticketed seven times. Under the proposed ordinance, the first offense carries a $50 fine; the second $100; and the third and subsequent $150. The city plans to keep records of who has been fined. Crystal River is not alone in its fight against boom cars. Cities nationwide have adopted similar ordinances. In Elgin, Ill., for example, people operating stereos that can be heard 75 feet away can be slapped with a $500 fine. "I've seen some speakers -- and I'm not exaggerating -- that are as big as a 16-inch tire," Ballard said. "You can hear them a half a mile away." "It's who's got the loudest, the biggest, the strongest," Ballard added, his voice rising. "But we're not going to tolerate it." The distraction can be a hazard for those inside and outside the car, Ballard said. Loud music can muffle emergency sirens and horns. Not to mention the potential sensory damage. Some car stereos can reach decibel levels above 150 -- louder than a jet taking off from Tampa International Airport. Elliott Berger, a scientist with Aearo Co., a maker of hearing protection products in Indianapolis, said there is little potential for hearing loss because people do not listen to stereos full blast for prolonged periods of time. "My guess is nobody would ever play them at above 115 or 120 decibels," said Berger, who is on the board of the National Hearing Conservation Association. But he agreed the noise could make people unaware of external noises, such as an ambulance. The appeal of the stereo is not lost on Berger. "Once you play music loud enough, you feel it as well as hear it, and that can be pleasureable. Sound is energy." Booming bass has aesthetic value, too. "It's just like an unmufflered motorcycle or a tattoo," Berger said. "It's a way of calling attention to yourself." Before speeding away in his Caprice Classic, Altman confessed that's exactly what he wants. As for the ordinance: "It's a law and you can't do anything about it. But it's going to keep on going."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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