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Joe


Saint Louis Sound Law Could hurt 12 Volt! - woofers and amplifiers ILLEGAL!
I got this by email today from Ralph Randall from USACI.


Attached is a copy of an article about the new sound ordinance in Saint Louis. The new law will limit the number of speakers, size of speakers, and allow for impounding and large fines.

two ten inch subs - ILLEGAL
one 15 inch sub - ILLEGAL
amp larger than 300 watts - ILLEGAL
Installing any of the above - ILLEGAL

Store owners could be fined for selling these items.

The industry and the CEA must act in this most serious matter!

Read this

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/s ... enDocument

here's the story.....

City police would be able to seize cars blasting loud music under an ordinance passed Friday by the Board of Aldermen.

The ordinance, which would take effect once signed by Mayor Francis Slay, prohibits the use and even installation of some enhanced speakers.

Alderman Craig Schmid's proposal easily had enough votes to pass, but only after aldermen turned up the volume on their own concerns. Impounding a car for playing loud music is too severe, opponents said, and ripe for abuse.

"It's almost idiotic for us to take somebody's car for something like that," Alderman Stephen Conway said.

Schmid said he wanted to send a "strong message" to drivers who cruise through residential areas, jarring neighbors and rattling windows.

"I analogize it to auditory graffiti," Schmid said.

Other aldermen said loud music coming from cars is among their top complaints from constituents. The music gets so loud, said Alderman Dionne Flowers, that when "you're in bed, you fall out."

The bill would prohibit operating car that creates "louder volume than is necessary for convenient, normal hearing," which is the same language as the city's current anti-noise ordinance.

But the new measure would outlaw possessing or installing any car stereo with a speaker over a foot in diameter; having more than one speaker 10 inches in diameter; more than 10 speakers overall; more than two amplifiers; and any amplifier over 300 watts.

In addition to impounding the car, possible penalties include a minimum of $250 fine on the first offense and $500 on subsequent offenses within a year.

The city's push to quiet loud music is not new - the Board of Aldermen passed a bill targeting cars with loud music 10 years ago.

On Friday, some aldermen complained that the measure is heavy-handed. Stephen Gregali, who represents the 14th Ward, questioned whether police would get rulers to measure the length of speakers.

"It's like killing an ant with a howitzer," Alderman Charles Q. Troupe said of the measure.

Bob Pfeiffer, who has been installing custom car stereos for 23 years in St. Louis, said the ordinance could destroy his business.

"I might as well lock my doors now," said Pfeiffer, who operates Automotion Alarm and Car Stereo on North Broadway.

Not all "tricked out" stereos are used for cruising and thumping music, said Pfeiffer, whose his clients include jazz musicians.

"What a crock," Pfeiffer said. "It's really a bogus bill."

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If this sort of legislation is allowed to stand our industry is at serious risk. we can no longer sit by and allow this to happen.

I wonder if they will take into effect the Mark Levison system in the Lexus line since they have more than 300w and more than 10 speakers.

The new Volkswagen Passat has the Dynaudio system with 14 speakers and over 600watts. What do they do about that?

If it catches on, we could lose our livelyhood, our beloved hobby and our freedom to express ourselves.

It is pure bullshart!!!

Good grief,
Shouldn't these people have more important things to be looking after? I mean really, again all about revenue. If they can find a way to earn a buck for the department, they always seem to be on it. Yet when it comes to anything else, they just don't have the man power.

Call 1 (very similar to what happened to my family when we caught some guys in our garage.

"There is someone in my garage, I hear them in there. There is also a car parked in the alley.

Ya, we'll try and get someone over there to look into that. All our units are busy at the moment'

Call 2.

'ya, someone just drove by my house with their stereo too loud, it's really annoying'

'WHAT! ATTENTION ALL UNITS WE HAVE A CODE 1!! ALL UNITS, PLEASE RESPOND.'

And people wonder why there is becoming a distance between the public and the police.

It will be challenged and just like the Odessa, TX ordinance 4 years ago it will probably be defeated. The problem with the Odessa law was the decibel limit that was used. First police do not have calibrated ears, and second it was defeated because someone showed that garbage trucks violated that same ordinance.

But you have to ask, how much of this has our industry brought it on itself.

But this law IS WRONG, sure if a person is disturbing the peace, fine them, throw them in jail, impound thier car. If they are breaking the law deal with it. But don't make it illegal to own or buy this equipement.

Laws like this are made because the police are too lazy to go out and do thier jobs. God forbid, if a cop has to get out of his car and do his job. The Lord says that I cannot hate people (cops are people) but I can loathe them.

A couple of my customers are Abilene Cops and believe me when I say that I cannot think of a more worthless people

Must get off my soapbox

It's just to stupid...

Driving around with concealed weapons, ahhh thats fine..

Put a 12" sub in you're trunk and you're car will be in impound and $250.00 will be missing out of you're wallet.

Seriously, today is a sad day.

they just need to enforce the laws they already have in effect and stop making up new ones that affect everyone criminal and otherwise

Next thing you know they'll be an ordinance against breathing air.

smoker wrote:they just need to enforce the laws they already have in effect and stop making up new ones that affect everyone criminal and otherwise

You just said it all and got it right. From my personal observations, they need police that are willing to do their job. Its that simple

Ranger SVO wrote:You just said it all and got it right. From my personal observations, they need police that are willing to do their job. Its that simple

when i was younger, i had this lowrider toyota truck that had a pair of mtx blue thunder 12's in it.....all kenwood electronics, yamaha mids and tweets...anyway i worked late back then and never came in late at night with it cranked up or anything not just out of respect but out of fear of someone ripping me off.....i was washing the truck once and had the stereo playing while waxing it....it was kinda like this

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/videos/bigboycarwash.html


anyway someone called the cops and when he got there he was more interested in the truck than why he got sent over......

They cannot possibly pass a law as absurd as that. ESPECIALLY the one about the size of the subs and the power of the amp. Those can be proved with physics otherwise.