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News-Sentinel.com Your Town. Your Voice.
Opening Arguments

Blessed silence

Now these are some enlightened officials:

DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich., June 9 (UPI) -- City officials in Dearborn Heights, Mich., say they may ban ice cream truck drivers from playing music because residents think it's too loud.

The city council is preparing to pass an ordinance Tuesday, permitting drivers to sound bells only as they are making an ice cream sale, The Detroit News reported.

Not just loud. Annoying, too. When the truck stops in the middle of my block, and the kids all come up, and that music plays over and over and over again, it's enough to make my head explode.

Posted in: All about me

Comments

Harl Delos
Wed, 06/11/2008 - 10:41am

I don't have any problems with the volume from ice cream trucks.

We live about a block from a motorcycle gang headquarters - no, not a club, there's a difference, this is a gang - and they come flying up the street in the middle of the night making more noise than a jackhammer.

And requiring that they play the music only when making a sale is like telling fishermen that they aren't allowed to use bait except when they are actually reeling in a catch. The whole point of the music is to attract potential victims uh, er, customers.

I wouldn't mind ordinances against boom cars, except that, you know, when it's great out, and I'm going somewhere, and the right song comes on the radio, I want to crank it up, and sing along. And you'd much rather the music was playing loud, if it drowns out my singing. Even the dog complains.

But it would work just as well if ice cream trucks simply had better quality music. It seems to be on a rotating tape that's stretched somewhat, and they try to push too much power through a speaker that isn't up to the task, so the music sounds really bad.

At a carnival, they use loud music to attract people to the carousel. Better quality music, so there are relatively few complaints, even from the ladies in the donut tent right next to it, that have to spend 8 hours listening to "Stars & Stripes Forever" over and over and over and over....

gadfly
Wed, 06/11/2008 - 11:39am

I am all for the Dearborn Heights folks. The fool driving the ice cream truck in my neighborhood has not made a sale on my block in two years.

His truck is about to rot out from under him but the stupid "pied piper" music continues to play loudly. The guy is driving me nuts.

Maybe I could send him to see the guys in Harl's 'hood or give him a google map with directions to Dearbornistan.

Bob G.
Wed, 06/11/2008 - 2:13pm

Yeah...the ICE CREAM truck is something people will piss, bitch and moan about....while all these thugs in BOOMCARS playing music with the *N* word and *F* something every OTHER word are still heard DAILY in every increasing numbers, especially in areas like mine.
When asked what the #1 problem is in cities...invariably people answer: THE NOISE.

I don't need to hear MY music THREE blocks away (or even 30 feet away - it's called COURTESY), and I damn well don't need to hear anyone ELSE'S music by the same token (and at the same distances).
If the Bunny-truck has to keep HIS "song" quiet, then by God, someone needs to make boomcar drivers JUST as accountable.
No exceptions.
And for God's sake...make the laws ENFORCEABLE, unlike in Ft. Wayne!
Dearborn Heights "Gets It".

B.G.

Sue
Wed, 06/11/2008 - 2:39pm

Remember when the ice cream man was a kid on a bike with the front half being the cooler with all the goodies inside? It had a little row of bells that only tinkled when the thing was moving--didn't use up all that $4 gas either.

Bob G.
Thu, 06/12/2008 - 10:03am

Sue:
That was the only "backwards" bike I remember...TWO wheels in front, one behind.
A "reverse" tricycle".
Those were the best!

B.G.

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