Many people don't realize that loud noise is illegal, or that it's a health hazard

Contributed By:Dorothy Nevils maslivend@sbcglobal.net

I was never so glad to see a cop! It wasn’t late at night on a dark, infrequently traveled road, like Clark Road south of 80/94. It was well-lit, per post-60s Steel City standards, Grant, to be exact.

Yet, the sight of a white car with the spotlight turned toward the ground was a welcomed sight: I was within the speed limit; my headlights were on, as always, day and night, sunshine or rain, so that every eye can see the so-not-a- Buick, and therefore not be caught unaware; and I was obeying the directives given to me some 50+ years ago by a driving instructor who taught drivers training like it was a science, a truth I discovered was closer to truth than many behind the steering wheel ever realize.

I had been ahead of the car for several blocks as it switched from lane to lane and ducked behind driver after driver who seemed to be going a butterfly wing’s flap faster than the other. Yet, at each traffic signal he had progressed little further in the queue than when I checked my mirror the first time. He moved and squirmed like an impatient kindergartener waiting snack time.

Part of me wanted him to hit a wide-open space, to put some distance between me and his noise. The other part relished the frustration he wasexperiencing, for he had been jockeying for position for over ten blocks, and I had been no more than two cars ahead or behind him in all that time. I could hear his radio blasting that same repetitive sound, like bloated elephants trying to belch their way to relief!

Such makes me want to morph into James Brown: “Take me to the bridge…” (and here I add my own version, under my breath)…“and drive off it!”

The noise demon, who had moved impatiently from one lane to another, only to see the same thing – cars – in the lane he had left, finally got to an empty spot, the left turn lane. My scowl turned into a grin. That white car that folks don’t want to see unless they’re needing, rather than speeding, pulled up right next to him.

Were I still in the classroom, I thought, this would be a perfect example for poetic justice! It couldn’t be any better were it scripted: A speeder with no regard for others, cited for breaking two rules, speeding and the noise ordinance!

Many people don’t realize that loud noise is illegal, or that it’s a health hazard. Loud noise actually causes vibration, or shaking, in the brain. People who have attended loud concerts have experienced bleeding, a sure sign of injury. Many people don’t associate noise with brain damage, but just as football is scrutinized in sports competition, consideration of the danger of noise must be given serious attention. Having undergone brain surgery, I know the discomfort of loud noise, and discomfort is the body’s danger signal.

We, all of us, are at the mercy of ignorant people, and the one thing that is key to everything is of little import to the ones who know not, and know not, that they know not. The power is usurped by those who seemingly lack a brain… who assign no value to the boss of the whole body.

Oh... the cop? Perhaps it was a “take-home” deal and he was off-duty. Had it been me, though, I’d have called it in, followed him home, and ensured he got a ticket, just like Grammar Patrol!

Story Posted:05/26/2018