A desire for a loud car with a modified muffler is predicted by
June 27, 2024 3:26 AM Subscribe
I was walking through Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood recently (which for the unfamiliar is an extremely affluent area of town made up of narrow, often one-way streets often choked with bumper to bumper traffic, perfect conditions for assholes who want to rev their loud toys), and some asshole revved his loud toy so loudly that a woman walking towards me flinched so severely she almost dropped her coffee and then looked like she wanted to cry. Of course guys who do this are psychopaths and sadists, there’s no other reason to offer than to inflict suffering on other people.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:51 AM on June 27 [39 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:51 AM on June 27 [39 favorites]
How I feel about people who set of fireworks every night for a week surrounding July 4th. Sparklers are approved.
posted by Czjewel at 3:59 AM on June 27 [21 favorites]
posted by Czjewel at 3:59 AM on June 27 [21 favorites]
Christ, what a bunch of assholes.
posted by wenestvedt at 4:07 AM on June 27 [10 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 4:07 AM on June 27 [10 favorites]
A desire for a loud car with a modified muffler is predicted by being a man and higher scores on psychopathy and sadism.
So, every teenage boy in my neighborhood with a clapped-out Civic or Golf? That tracks.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:07 AM on June 27 [5 favorites]
So, every teenage boy in my neighborhood with a clapped-out Civic or Golf? That tracks.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:07 AM on June 27 [5 favorites]
it was not examined whether individuals choose to listen to loud music while driving
was wondering about this. seems like there wouldn't be strong correlation, given sound interference
posted by HearHere at 4:08 AM on June 27 [1 favorite]
was wondering about this. seems like there wouldn't be strong correlation, given sound interference
posted by HearHere at 4:08 AM on June 27 [1 favorite]
Without taking too much issue with the basic findings, but this was a study done on undergraduate Business majors, likely first-year students, which feels like it’s an important feature.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:10 AM on June 27 [29 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:10 AM on June 27 [29 favorites]
A sample of 529 (52% men) undergraduate business students…
It seems like they might be pre-selecting for psychopathy in their sample.
posted by TedW at 4:11 AM on June 27 [105 favorites]
It seems like they might be pre-selecting for psychopathy in their sample.
posted by TedW at 4:11 AM on June 27 [105 favorites]
See also Seattle's "Belltown Hellcat" saga, in which an influencer famous for having a loud car is also revealed to be a sex pest with multiple domestic violence accusations.
posted by peeedro at 4:14 AM on June 27 [16 favorites]
posted by peeedro at 4:14 AM on June 27 [16 favorites]
I was taught to NEVER get in a loud car or be in the car with someone who liked to speed, etc. My parents sucked in a lot of ways, but I'm not fishtailing in a Mustang driven by a killer...so.
posted by lextex at 4:38 AM on June 27 [7 favorites]
posted by lextex at 4:38 AM on June 27 [7 favorites]
Can I just say, very quietly, "duh"?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:38 AM on June 27 [13 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:38 AM on June 27 [13 favorites]
There’s also my current favorite driving gripe: weaponized headlights.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 4:40 AM on June 27 [29 favorites]
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 4:40 AM on June 27 [29 favorites]
The audio version of man-spreading.
posted by Ayn Marx at 4:45 AM on June 27 [14 favorites]
posted by Ayn Marx at 4:45 AM on June 27 [14 favorites]
This article was discussed on the CBC a few months ago, got crossposted to my local subreddit, and immediately people started getting up in their feels.
posted by Kitteh at 4:45 AM on June 27 [2 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 4:45 AM on June 27 [2 favorites]
The presence of such vehicles also shows a significant increase in the fast:furious ratio.
posted by dr_dank at 5:11 AM on June 27 [5 favorites]
posted by dr_dank at 5:11 AM on June 27 [5 favorites]
See also - motorcycles
posted by briank at 5:35 AM on June 27 [3 favorites]
posted by briank at 5:35 AM on June 27 [3 favorites]
My dad was a car guy, so his cars were often loud, but he didn’t mess with the mufflers (rather he liked big block Chevies).
Whenever he heard one of the cars with the ridiculous muffler mods, he said:
If you can’t be fast, sound fast!
But he was also very proud of his intentionally loud (and trademark loud) Harley.
posted by teece303 at 5:38 AM on June 27 [3 favorites]
Whenever he heard one of the cars with the ridiculous muffler mods, he said:
If you can’t be fast, sound fast!
But he was also very proud of his intentionally loud (and trademark loud) Harley.
posted by teece303 at 5:38 AM on June 27 [3 favorites]
I live next to a McDonalds drive-through and can only repeat, duh... I assume the same is true also with people who install those overpowered subwoofers purely for the purpose of literally shaking my building while waiting for their so-called burgers. I'm anarchist-leaning and therefore not a particular fan of authority and law & order type thinking but I'm starting to believe there should be laws against this kind of thing. Also people walking around blaring music from phones and bluetooth speakers - unless there's some generational thing preventing people from using headphones then I assume this is just deliberate assholery.
Have also noticed that the volume of any given car's sound system seems to correlate in direct (if not exponential) proportion to the crassness and/or tastelessness of the music being weaponised.
posted by remembrancer at 5:41 AM on June 27 [8 favorites]
Have also noticed that the volume of any given car's sound system seems to correlate in direct (if not exponential) proportion to the crassness and/or tastelessness of the music being weaponised.
posted by remembrancer at 5:41 AM on June 27 [8 favorites]
All this seems to prove is that undergraduate business majors who think they would want a loud car have these traits. I would be curious to follow up in ten years and see which among the middle managers actually has a loud car and how many of these guys still want one, and whether their dark triad traits are stable. (and whether they are expressed in management-appropriate ways)
I think this type of research isn't very illuminating unless it also starts to unpick subcultural stuff and gender. To what degree is this about feeling the need to prove masculinity, and about our culture's construction of masculinity as "taking up a lot of space and being aggressive"? Who feels more pressured to perform masculinity correctly? How does this relate to car subcultures? Do any of these test subjects participate in car-mod subcultures that value noisy cars?
~~
I will say that among cyclists, whenever you're just biking along listening to birdsong or the wind on the city bike path and someone comes along blaring their special-wecial music from a bluetooth speaker attached to their bike, it is virtually certain to be someone who looks like a cis dude. In the years since this has become a thing, I have noticed two woman-appearing people doing it and innumerable men, and I really think that it's mostly about the way men perform masculinity by aggression and taking up space and how this is expressed among bicyclists. There's a slightly larger percentage of women spandex bikers who expect you to get out of their way as they speed along in your lane, but that too is mostly a guy thing. If I had a grant, I'd do a study...no, I'd get a huge cowcatcher for the front of my bike and sweep them out of my lane.
posted by Frowner at 5:49 AM on June 27 [19 favorites]
I think this type of research isn't very illuminating unless it also starts to unpick subcultural stuff and gender. To what degree is this about feeling the need to prove masculinity, and about our culture's construction of masculinity as "taking up a lot of space and being aggressive"? Who feels more pressured to perform masculinity correctly? How does this relate to car subcultures? Do any of these test subjects participate in car-mod subcultures that value noisy cars?
~~
I will say that among cyclists, whenever you're just biking along listening to birdsong or the wind on the city bike path and someone comes along blaring their special-wecial music from a bluetooth speaker attached to their bike, it is virtually certain to be someone who looks like a cis dude. In the years since this has become a thing, I have noticed two woman-appearing people doing it and innumerable men, and I really think that it's mostly about the way men perform masculinity by aggression and taking up space and how this is expressed among bicyclists. There's a slightly larger percentage of women spandex bikers who expect you to get out of their way as they speed along in your lane, but that too is mostly a guy thing. If I had a grant, I'd do a study...no, I'd get a huge cowcatcher for the front of my bike and sweep them out of my lane.
posted by Frowner at 5:49 AM on June 27 [19 favorites]
Also people walking around blaring music from phones and bluetooth speakers - unless there's some generational thing preventing people from using headphones then I assume this is just deliberate assholery.
Honestly, one of the things I would do if I win the lottery is to buy up about a hundred headphone sets and just carry a couple with me everywhere, and if I run into someone doing that, I'd give them a pair with a friendly "oh, hey, you must have just forgotten to bring your own" smile.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:51 AM on June 27 [3 favorites]
Honestly, one of the things I would do if I win the lottery is to buy up about a hundred headphone sets and just carry a couple with me everywhere, and if I run into someone doing that, I'd give them a pair with a friendly "oh, hey, you must have just forgotten to bring your own" smile.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:51 AM on June 27 [3 favorites]
Oh stop jeez. Everyone I know with a loud vehicle is poor, both male and female, and the desire to be loud is the desire to be seen and heard in the world, as a result of never ever being seen or heard in the world.
There’s all kinds of ways to not matter and not get needs met, and just because you’re in B school doesn't mean you weren’t born a sensitive kid that got squashed into this fucked up fascist capitalist system. Like the DSM is real or something and not just a way to capitalistically pathologize human responses to fascism.
posted by toodleydoodley at 6:01 AM on June 27 [12 favorites]
There’s all kinds of ways to not matter and not get needs met, and just because you’re in B school doesn't mean you weren’t born a sensitive kid that got squashed into this fucked up fascist capitalist system. Like the DSM is real or something and not just a way to capitalistically pathologize human responses to fascism.
posted by toodleydoodley at 6:01 AM on June 27 [12 favorites]
I'll cop to playing music on my phone speaker when I'm riding home at night. In my defense I only do this at night when there's usually no one on the bike path and for the part of my commute that goes through a ravine I hope it alerts the coyotes to my presence so that they don't get startled by me when I get close.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 6:01 AM on June 27 [4 favorites]
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 6:01 AM on June 27 [4 favorites]
higher scores on psychopathy and sadism.
I understand the former, but the latter is a bit of a surprise. Probably shouldn't be, though.
posted by tommasz at 6:07 AM on June 27
I understand the former, but the latter is a bit of a surprise. Probably shouldn't be, though.
posted by tommasz at 6:07 AM on June 27
In Astoria, Queens we call these fartcars.
posted by Captaintripps at 6:14 AM on June 27 [8 favorites]
posted by Captaintripps at 6:14 AM on June 27 [8 favorites]
I'm starting to believe there should be laws against this kind of thing.
New York City is rolling out automated cameras that will issue violations to vehicles that exceed a noise limit. It's not ideal (e.g. cars that obscure their plate numbers), and performance car owners are already whining that unmodified cars can exceed the limit (boo hoo), but it's a good start.
posted by JoeZydeco at 6:20 AM on June 27 [2 favorites]
New York City is rolling out automated cameras that will issue violations to vehicles that exceed a noise limit. It's not ideal (e.g. cars that obscure their plate numbers), and performance car owners are already whining that unmodified cars can exceed the limit (boo hoo), but it's a good start.
posted by JoeZydeco at 6:20 AM on June 27 [2 favorites]
Chicago had a proposed ordinance last year to set up noise cameras to automatically ticket loud mufflers. It would've been a pilot program on just a few blocks downtown, but it's a start. I can't find any reports on whether it passed or not.
posted by hydrophonic at 6:21 AM on June 27 [1 favorite]
posted by hydrophonic at 6:21 AM on June 27 [1 favorite]
The axiom I rely on is: one's age is inverse to the desire to have a loud car muffler (Chrysler Hellcat Edition)
This does not apply to motorcycles or proper racing (on a controlled track not the straight bit of road next to my home)
posted by djseafood at 6:22 AM on June 27 [2 favorites]
This does not apply to motorcycles or proper racing (on a controlled track not the straight bit of road next to my home)
posted by djseafood at 6:22 AM on June 27 [2 favorites]
High school late 60’s. Sitting at the front of the school at the end of the school day. As the few students who drive a car to school are pulling out from the school onto the street. Almost every driver stops, revs their loud engine a couple times, then pulls away. My thoughts… they’re like lions roaring trying to impress the females. Not impressed.
posted by njohnson23 at 6:27 AM on June 27 [3 favorites]
posted by njohnson23 at 6:27 AM on June 27 [3 favorites]
Timely since my drive into work today was cursed by one of these cars. As I've gotten older, the noise they make just crawls right under my skin and makes me antsy and irritable.
posted by PussKillian at 6:35 AM on June 27
posted by PussKillian at 6:35 AM on June 27
As someone who neither has a loud muffler nor blares a Bluetooth speaker when I'm cycling, but have given some positive consideration to both --
* aftermarket mufflers that increase airflow (generally making them louder) can improve fuel economy in the 5% range. I once had a job waaaay out in the country that I had a 45 minute rural commute each way to get to. I thought seriously about a louder muffler, because it wouldn't be bothering anyone except the cows and it would be an environmental plus. I was too lazy to actually do it. Plus the job was awful so I quit it.
* it's really nice to listen to music while you exercise, but it is emphatically NOT SAFE to have headphones on while you are riding a bike. When I encounter cyclists that have Bluetooth speakers going, I don't generally think of it as them trying to forcefully take up space, but rather just to listen to some tunes while being able to hear traffic sounds. It's not like I'm stuck in a car with them -- the music comes and goes within seconds.
posted by bgribble at 6:39 AM on June 27 [7 favorites]
* aftermarket mufflers that increase airflow (generally making them louder) can improve fuel economy in the 5% range. I once had a job waaaay out in the country that I had a 45 minute rural commute each way to get to. I thought seriously about a louder muffler, because it wouldn't be bothering anyone except the cows and it would be an environmental plus. I was too lazy to actually do it. Plus the job was awful so I quit it.
* it's really nice to listen to music while you exercise, but it is emphatically NOT SAFE to have headphones on while you are riding a bike. When I encounter cyclists that have Bluetooth speakers going, I don't generally think of it as them trying to forcefully take up space, but rather just to listen to some tunes while being able to hear traffic sounds. It's not like I'm stuck in a car with them -- the music comes and goes within seconds.
posted by bgribble at 6:39 AM on June 27 [7 favorites]
New York City is rolling out automated cameras that will issue violations to vehicles that exceed a noise limit.
One of these was piloted near an auto shop in Astoria that specializes in fartcar technology. They removed it once the word got around to flatulence aficionados for fear of vandalism.
There’s not a lot of accountability in NYC anymore.
posted by Captaintripps at 6:49 AM on June 27 [5 favorites]
One of these was piloted near an auto shop in Astoria that specializes in fartcar technology. They removed it once the word got around to flatulence aficionados for fear of vandalism.
There’s not a lot of accountability in NYC anymore.
posted by Captaintripps at 6:49 AM on June 27 [5 favorites]
Friendly reminder that the proper way to consume academic research is to critique the study on its merits, not critique the study by saying they shouldn’t ask the question they’re asking and then saying they should have asked the question you want them to.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 6:49 AM on June 27 [14 favorites]
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 6:49 AM on June 27 [14 favorites]
one's age is inverse to the desire to have a loud car muffler
It’s true, my 13-month old refuses to do anything about her muffler’s ear-splitting sound.
posted by star gentle uterus at 7:14 AM on June 27 [9 favorites]
It’s true, my 13-month old refuses to do anything about her muffler’s ear-splitting sound.
posted by star gentle uterus at 7:14 AM on June 27 [9 favorites]
I bet childbirth was interesting.
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:27 AM on June 27 [4 favorites]
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:27 AM on June 27 [4 favorites]
Loud mufflers (and subwoofers) have always grated on me, but I've never lived anywhere where they were a constant problem. I can see why people who do would want to do something about it.
As a birder, I'm baffled and occasionally frustrated by people who go into parks and run or cycle on trails blaring music from their phone or bluetooth speakers. I understand the safety aspect of not wearing headphones, but listening to music or podcasts without them in a park impinges on other people's enjoyment of the park. I don't go to a park to listen to other people's music, and I wouldn't impose my music on other people in the same setting.
posted by mollweide at 7:28 AM on June 27 [14 favorites]
As a birder, I'm baffled and occasionally frustrated by people who go into parks and run or cycle on trails blaring music from their phone or bluetooth speakers. I understand the safety aspect of not wearing headphones, but listening to music or podcasts without them in a park impinges on other people's enjoyment of the park. I don't go to a park to listen to other people's music, and I wouldn't impose my music on other people in the same setting.
posted by mollweide at 7:28 AM on June 27 [14 favorites]
Modern cars have audio systems piping in the (often fake) sound of the engine into the cabin. People who like cars like the sound of the engine.
Is this empathy or legally approved psychopathy?
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:30 AM on June 27 [3 favorites]
Is this empathy or legally approved psychopathy?
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:30 AM on June 27 [3 favorites]
Listening to Peter, Paul and Mary lately. Check out Paul's standup routine on "Mr. Businessman and The Kid," drag racing in a show of machismo.
posted by Melismata at 7:32 AM on June 27
posted by Melismata at 7:32 AM on June 27
Now do rolling coal.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:36 AM on June 27 [7 favorites]
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 7:36 AM on June 27 [7 favorites]
No results were obtained for rolling coal practitioners; the researchers were all found missing, but several empty bottles of Chianti and cans of fava beans were found nearby.
posted by credulous at 7:39 AM on June 27
posted by credulous at 7:39 AM on June 27
When I encounter cyclists that have Bluetooth speakers going, I don't generally think of it as them trying to forcefully take up space, but rather just to listen to some tunes while being able to hear traffic sounds. It's not like I'm stuck in a car with them -- the music comes and goes within seconds.
If you happen to be another cyclist going the same direction and you're both going roughly similar speeds, you kind of are stuck with it for awhile though. Or even worse is people who do it while hiking on popular trails where it's extra disruptive and you can really be stuck listening for awhile. It's not really a huge deal in more noisy urban locations imo and way less annoying than loud startling vrooms, but it is still annoying, just like someone blaring loud music from their open car windows (also gone in seconds, unless stopped at a light). It shows such total disregard for everyone around, who certainly don't all appreciate being forced to listen, even if some don't mind.
posted by randomnity at 7:47 AM on June 27 [6 favorites]
If you happen to be another cyclist going the same direction and you're both going roughly similar speeds, you kind of are stuck with it for awhile though. Or even worse is people who do it while hiking on popular trails where it's extra disruptive and you can really be stuck listening for awhile. It's not really a huge deal in more noisy urban locations imo and way less annoying than loud startling vrooms, but it is still annoying, just like someone blaring loud music from their open car windows (also gone in seconds, unless stopped at a light). It shows such total disregard for everyone around, who certainly don't all appreciate being forced to listen, even if some don't mind.
posted by randomnity at 7:47 AM on June 27 [6 favorites]
> Or even worse is people who do it while hiking on popular trails where it's extra disruptive and you can really be stuck listening for awhile.
100% agree there is no excuse for audible music while hiking. That's just wrong.
posted by bgribble at 7:52 AM on June 27 [6 favorites]
100% agree there is no excuse for audible music while hiking. That's just wrong.
posted by bgribble at 7:52 AM on June 27 [6 favorites]
Metafilter: I'm anarchist-leaning and therefore not a particular fan of authority and law & order type thinking but I'm starting to believe there should be laws against this kind of thing
posted by not just everyday big moggies at 7:52 AM on June 27 [17 favorites]
posted by not just everyday big moggies at 7:52 AM on June 27 [17 favorites]
> A sample of 529 (52% men) undergraduate business students [...]
Well there's your problem... In all seriousness though this is a continuation in a long line of psychology studies whose sample is entirely "undergraduates the professor ran into in the quad" which is not necessarily a representative sample. To be honest I generally assume guys with loud cars and modified mufflers did not make it to college.
posted by dis_integration at 7:54 AM on June 27 [1 favorite]
Well there's your problem... In all seriousness though this is a continuation in a long line of psychology studies whose sample is entirely "undergraduates the professor ran into in the quad" which is not necessarily a representative sample. To be honest I generally assume guys with loud cars and modified mufflers did not make it to college.
posted by dis_integration at 7:54 AM on June 27 [1 favorite]
Now do cigars
posted by gottabefunky at 8:09 AM on June 27 [1 favorite]
posted by gottabefunky at 8:09 AM on June 27 [1 favorite]
Sometimes a loud car is just a loud car
posted by chavenet at 8:15 AM on June 27 [7 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 8:15 AM on June 27 [7 favorites]
The assumptions about class and car loudness in this thread are very strange. The assholes who street race around my city tend to be rich white kids from the suburbs. (At least, the ones who get caught do.) There is definitely diversity within the subculture, but “optimizing” you car in antisocial ways costs a lot of money. It’s the same with taggers: a mix, but mostly teenagers from wealthy families.
posted by Just the one swan, actually at 8:17 AM on June 27 [9 favorites]
posted by Just the one swan, actually at 8:17 AM on June 27 [9 favorites]
Related: America’s best-selling cars and trucks are built on lies: The rise of fake engine noise
posted by chavenet at 8:18 AM on June 27 [1 favorite]
posted by chavenet at 8:18 AM on June 27 [1 favorite]
So - a question. Why are we assuming that the person who raised the Bluetooth Speaker issue was speaking strictly about bikers?
Because my own experience with people using Bluetooth Speakers is that they are fellow public transit riders. And honestly the MTA sucks enough without my having to listen to a nonstop Combichrist concert on top of everything else.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:21 AM on June 27 [3 favorites]
Because my own experience with people using Bluetooth Speakers is that they are fellow public transit riders. And honestly the MTA sucks enough without my having to listen to a nonstop Combichrist concert on top of everything else.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:21 AM on June 27 [3 favorites]
All the moral equivalent to those who fart loudly and noxiously in elevators.
posted by njohnson23 at 8:28 AM on June 27
posted by njohnson23 at 8:28 AM on June 27
Also a self-report measure of the dark tetrad was completed.
Now I want to write a scientific paper that includes that sentence!
"The Dark Tetrad" isn't a term of art in my field, but I won't let that stop me.
posted by gurple at 8:36 AM on June 27 [3 favorites]
Now I want to write a scientific paper that includes that sentence!
"The Dark Tetrad" isn't a term of art in my field, but I won't let that stop me.
posted by gurple at 8:36 AM on June 27 [3 favorites]
(TFA) As muffler/exhaust system modifications are typically illegal
Although I'm sure that some mods are illegal, I can't imagine that most are. This, however, is a USian opinion and it looks like our psychopathic undergraduate business students were Canadian (or at least were studying at The University of Western Ontario) so maybe laws are different.
posted by achrise at 8:40 AM on June 27 [2 favorites]
Although I'm sure that some mods are illegal, I can't imagine that most are. This, however, is a USian opinion and it looks like our psychopathic undergraduate business students were Canadian (or at least were studying at The University of Western Ontario) so maybe laws are different.
posted by achrise at 8:40 AM on June 27 [2 favorites]
Based on my experiences sitting on my balcony in the evening after the Eye of Hell has gone behind the horizon, I can assure you that ALL cars, motorcycles, and scooters are loud. Yes, even your EV, because it still has tires. I'll take a bike party playing music and laughing anytime.
(People on Harleys are the worst, and though)
posted by McBearclaw at 8:43 AM on June 27 [1 favorite]
(People on Harleys are the worst, and though)
posted by McBearclaw at 8:43 AM on June 27 [1 favorite]
Modifications to increase the sound output are indeed illegal in Ontario. However, it's not clear to me how much that's enforced, if at all, because we certainly still hear them frequently. Much like many other driving-related laws.
posted by randomnity at 8:43 AM on June 27
posted by randomnity at 8:43 AM on June 27
Living on Venice Blvd in LA there is a group of motorcyclists that every weekend gather at the beach and then drive inland on Venice revving their loud ass bikes constantly as they go. Oh how I loathe them. Every single weekend. Like 30 of them at least. Just a traveling mass of awful.
posted by downtohisturtles at 8:50 AM on June 27 [2 favorites]
posted by downtohisturtles at 8:50 AM on June 27 [2 favorites]
Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's neither poverty nor late-stage capitalism that causes people to loudly rev their engines before speeding off outside my window at 3 A.M.
posted by Crane Shot at 8:52 AM on June 27 [17 favorites]
posted by Crane Shot at 8:52 AM on June 27 [17 favorites]
The reason for music when hiking and biking is bears. I don't know that it works, but it's what they tell you to do-- sing or bring a boombox of you're in bear country.
posted by blnkfrnk at 8:54 AM on June 27
posted by blnkfrnk at 8:54 AM on June 27
The reason for music when hiking and biking is bears. I don't know that it works, but it's what they tell you to do-- sing or bring a boombox of you're in bear country.
A reason, certainly. I've mainly encountered this behavior on high-traffic sections of trail, just a mile or two from trailheads. Places where, due to the sheer number of people constantly passing through, bear encounters are vanishingly unlikely.
posted by gurple at 9:11 AM on June 27
A reason, certainly. I've mainly encountered this behavior on high-traffic sections of trail, just a mile or two from trailheads. Places where, due to the sheer number of people constantly passing through, bear encounters are vanishingly unlikely.
posted by gurple at 9:11 AM on June 27
The assumptions about class and car loudness in this thread are very strange. The assholes who street race around my city tend to be rich white kids from the suburbs.
Are we reading the same thread? There’s one comment that says this is a phenomenon of the poor. All the others that touch on class echo what you just said.
At the flatulence aficionado auto shop I mentioned up-thread, most of customers are not rich white kids from the suburbs and appear to reflect the distribution of ethnic backgrounds in Queens.
posted by Captaintripps at 9:12 AM on June 27 [1 favorite]
Are we reading the same thread? There’s one comment that says this is a phenomenon of the poor. All the others that touch on class echo what you just said.
At the flatulence aficionado auto shop I mentioned up-thread, most of customers are not rich white kids from the suburbs and appear to reflect the distribution of ethnic backgrounds in Queens.
posted by Captaintripps at 9:12 AM on June 27 [1 favorite]
they’re like lions roaring trying to impress the females
There's no mating for losers
posted by flabdablet at 9:20 AM on June 27 [1 favorite]
There's no mating for losers
posted by flabdablet at 9:20 AM on June 27 [1 favorite]
1) This absolutely does not surprise me.
2) The biz school thing seems to match up with this one guy I worked with who was going to biz school (young 20 something) : He played drums in a country band, thought Lars was the greatest drummer ever, and thought it was "funny" when the UW Coach's son cooked a parrot in a microwave. I am pretty sure the dude probably drove a loud truck, or would like to. Yes I equate thinking Lars is the greatest drummer as part of the diagnostic for "psychopathy". But especially the parrot part.
3) At my place there is a loud truck and a motorcycle. The moto has finally toned it down a little. I don't think she was a psychopath but it's annoyingly loud (though not nearly as loud as some "loud pipes save lives" cycles I've heard). But this truck, every night at 11 it gets home from work, and I absolutely wanna go out with a 12-gauge and powpowpow (not literally).
4) "There’s also my current favorite driving gripe: weaponized headlights." posted by Insert Clever Name Here
I like small cars, I absolutely HATE the modern BRIGHT BLUEWHITE LIGHTS RIGHT IN YOUR REAR.
For years I have fantasized about floodlights in the back of my car, and an "engage" switch that pops them right back up when one of these fuckers comes blasting their lights in my face. I hate having to fucking try to move rearview and even side mirrors just to get the light out of my eyes. Like FUCK YOU. You don't need it to be day brightness in your monster truck that won't see a ding even if if it hit a fucking moose.
Meanwhile I just cower in my house with dreams of revenge, but praise god for the sin of sloth.
posted by symbioid at 9:26 AM on June 27 [3 favorites]
2) The biz school thing seems to match up with this one guy I worked with who was going to biz school (young 20 something) : He played drums in a country band, thought Lars was the greatest drummer ever, and thought it was "funny" when the UW Coach's son cooked a parrot in a microwave. I am pretty sure the dude probably drove a loud truck, or would like to. Yes I equate thinking Lars is the greatest drummer as part of the diagnostic for "psychopathy". But especially the parrot part.
3) At my place there is a loud truck and a motorcycle. The moto has finally toned it down a little. I don't think she was a psychopath but it's annoyingly loud (though not nearly as loud as some "loud pipes save lives" cycles I've heard). But this truck, every night at 11 it gets home from work, and I absolutely wanna go out with a 12-gauge and powpowpow (not literally).
4) "There’s also my current favorite driving gripe: weaponized headlights." posted by Insert Clever Name Here
I like small cars, I absolutely HATE the modern BRIGHT BLUEWHITE LIGHTS RIGHT IN YOUR REAR.
For years I have fantasized about floodlights in the back of my car, and an "engage" switch that pops them right back up when one of these fuckers comes blasting their lights in my face. I hate having to fucking try to move rearview and even side mirrors just to get the light out of my eyes. Like FUCK YOU. You don't need it to be day brightness in your monster truck that won't see a ding even if if it hit a fucking moose.
Meanwhile I just cower in my house with dreams of revenge, but praise god for the sin of sloth.
posted by symbioid at 9:26 AM on June 27 [3 favorites]
The biz school thing seems to match up with this one guy
The sample is business school students, which including things like accounting. But the main finding is the correlation between these traits and desiring a loud car, and the study can't say anything about the relative rate of desiring a loud car for business vs non-business students.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 9:50 AM on June 27 [1 favorite]
The sample is business school students, which including things like accounting. But the main finding is the correlation between these traits and desiring a loud car, and the study can't say anything about the relative rate of desiring a loud car for business vs non-business students.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 9:50 AM on June 27 [1 favorite]
I absolutely despise the loud mufflers. Multiple times, that shit has been loud enough to set off people's car alarms, so it's just noise pollution on top of noise pollution. Awful.
posted by yasaman at 9:54 AM on June 27
posted by yasaman at 9:54 AM on June 27
An anecdote to lower our collective blood pressure: I have many times been blinded by bright headlights and once encountered a truck driver with lights unfortunately positioned due to differing vehicle heights to fire directly through my rear window. I wound up putting up my hand to stop the glare because even shifting my mirror was not enough to save me. A minute later, the driver dropped to using running lights until conditions changed and we were no longer stuck in a single lane. I realized that the driver knew about their truck lights, saw someone in a small vehicle distressed by them, and inconvenienced themselves rather than continue. I think about that exchange from time to time. There are many actively hostile vehicle owners out there and many many more who are simply oblivious. And then there's a random person who chooses to be thoughtful.
That said, I am slowly developing an unhealthy level of fury, previously reserved for gas-powered leaf blowers, for the people with the souped-up muffler-amplified engines who like to drag race past my bedroom window between midnight and 3am.
posted by Karmakaze at 9:59 AM on June 27 [7 favorites]
That said, I am slowly developing an unhealthy level of fury, previously reserved for gas-powered leaf blowers, for the people with the souped-up muffler-amplified engines who like to drag race past my bedroom window between midnight and 3am.
posted by Karmakaze at 9:59 AM on June 27 [7 favorites]
There's one type of muffler mod that makes the car backfire loudly, several times over a few seconds. It sounds like a series of gunshots, basically like a drive-by shooting. I don't need a survey to tell me there's a psychopath behind the wheel.
posted by abraxasaxarba at 10:26 AM on June 27 [2 favorites]
posted by abraxasaxarba at 10:26 AM on June 27 [2 favorites]
" Barlow and Tinny-Peete arrived at the concrete highway where the psychist's car was parked in a safety bay.
"What—a—boat!" gasped the man from the past.
"Boat? No, that's my car."
Barlow surveyed it with awe. Swept-back lines, deep-drawn compound curves, kilograms of chrome. He ran his hands futilely over the door—or was it the door?—in a futile search for a handle, and asked respectfully, "How fast does it go?"
The psychist gave him a keen look and said slowly, "Two hundred and fifty. You can tell by the speedometer."
"Wow! My old Chevvy could hit a hundred on a straightaway, but you're out of my class, mister!"
Tinny-Peete somehow got a huge, low door open and Barlow descended three steps into immense cushions, floundering over to the right. He was too fascinated to pay serious attention to his flayed dermis. The dashboard was a lovely wilderness of dials, plugs, indicators, lights, scales and switches.
The psychist climbed down into the driver's seat and did something with his feet. The motor started like lighting a blowtorch as big as a silo. Wallowing around in the cushions, Barlow saw through a rear-view mirror a tremendous exhaust filled with brilliant white sparkles.
"Do you like it?" yelled the psychist.
"It's terrific!" Barlow yelled back. "It's—"
He was shut up as the car pulled out from the bay into the road with a great voo-ooo-ooom! A gale roared past Barlow's head, though the windows seemed to be closed; the impression of speed was terrific. He located the speedometer on the dashboard and saw it climb past 90, 100, 150, 200. "
- The Marching Morons, by C. M. Kornbluth, 1951
Trigger Warning: story contains racist/eugenicist tropes typical of the time
posted by CynicalKnight at 10:48 AM on June 27 [3 favorites]
"What—a—boat!" gasped the man from the past.
"Boat? No, that's my car."
Barlow surveyed it with awe. Swept-back lines, deep-drawn compound curves, kilograms of chrome. He ran his hands futilely over the door—or was it the door?—in a futile search for a handle, and asked respectfully, "How fast does it go?"
The psychist gave him a keen look and said slowly, "Two hundred and fifty. You can tell by the speedometer."
"Wow! My old Chevvy could hit a hundred on a straightaway, but you're out of my class, mister!"
Tinny-Peete somehow got a huge, low door open and Barlow descended three steps into immense cushions, floundering over to the right. He was too fascinated to pay serious attention to his flayed dermis. The dashboard was a lovely wilderness of dials, plugs, indicators, lights, scales and switches.
The psychist climbed down into the driver's seat and did something with his feet. The motor started like lighting a blowtorch as big as a silo. Wallowing around in the cushions, Barlow saw through a rear-view mirror a tremendous exhaust filled with brilliant white sparkles.
"Do you like it?" yelled the psychist.
"It's terrific!" Barlow yelled back. "It's—"
He was shut up as the car pulled out from the bay into the road with a great voo-ooo-ooom! A gale roared past Barlow's head, though the windows seemed to be closed; the impression of speed was terrific. He located the speedometer on the dashboard and saw it climb past 90, 100, 150, 200. "
- The Marching Morons, by C. M. Kornbluth, 1951
Trigger Warning: story contains racist/eugenicist tropes typical of the time
posted by CynicalKnight at 10:48 AM on June 27 [3 favorites]
Such a good story, which today's world makes me think of often, and much easier to take than the similarly-themed "Idiocracy."
Like symbiod's #4 I too have fantasized about installing headlights in my rear window, activated by a handy dash push-botton. But unlike most I have taken direct action, legendary among my friends at the time but I'm a little (just) ashamed of it now, over 40 years later...
posted by Rash at 1:12 PM on June 27
Like symbiod's #4 I too have fantasized about installing headlights in my rear window, activated by a handy dash push-botton. But unlike most I have taken direct action, legendary among my friends at the time but I'm a little (just) ashamed of it now, over 40 years later...
posted by Rash at 1:12 PM on June 27
Whenever I hear that sound I think of it as the Angry Young Man scream. A version of hurt people hurt people.
posted by zardoz at 1:36 PM on June 27 [1 favorite]
posted by zardoz at 1:36 PM on June 27 [1 favorite]
* it's really nice to listen to music while you exercise, but it is emphatically NOT SAFE to have headphones on while you are riding a bike. When I encounter cyclists that have Bluetooth speakers going, I don't generally think of it as them trying to forcefully take up space, but rather just to listen to some tunes while being able to hear traffic sounds. It's not like I'm stuck in a car with them -- the music comes and goes within seconds.
I don't buy this at all. I've been commuting in city traffic for 15 years or more. Since the advent of headphones with ambient noise passthrough (like airpods, but not limited to them) it is now safer to cycle with headphones than without:
1. you don't get startled or hearing damage from the loud exhausts we're tall talking about here - good headphones will cap the maximum volume of ambient noise
2. at any reasonable speed the whistling of wind between your ears and (if you care at all about safety) your helmet straps makes hearing impossible. In ear headphones either change the airflow or filter the noise out some other way, so that you can actually hear other traffic.
Cycling around with a bluetooth speaker is the same has having one at the beach, or in the park or hiking - inconsiderate and selfish.
posted by claudius at 1:38 PM on June 27 [5 favorites]
I don't buy this at all. I've been commuting in city traffic for 15 years or more. Since the advent of headphones with ambient noise passthrough (like airpods, but not limited to them) it is now safer to cycle with headphones than without:
1. you don't get startled or hearing damage from the loud exhausts we're tall talking about here - good headphones will cap the maximum volume of ambient noise
2. at any reasonable speed the whistling of wind between your ears and (if you care at all about safety) your helmet straps makes hearing impossible. In ear headphones either change the airflow or filter the noise out some other way, so that you can actually hear other traffic.
Cycling around with a bluetooth speaker is the same has having one at the beach, or in the park or hiking - inconsiderate and selfish.
posted by claudius at 1:38 PM on June 27 [5 favorites]
Was rudely woken up last weekend by several hundred geniuses on dirtbikes. No that is not an exaggeration, it was at least 300-400, it took a good 15 mins for them to all go by. FFS I just want to sleep.
Used to have the same thing happen when we lived in the US as well, except it was Fast-and-Furious wannabees doing mass doughnuts with their modded, unmufflered Hondas at the shopping center down the street at 1am, over and over.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's neither poverty nor late-stage capitalism that causes people to loudly rev their engines before speeding off outside my window at 3 A.M.
Yeah agreed, that take is just ridiculous. I live in a country with $8/gal petrol and astonishingly expensive vehicles, the kids revving their engines every weekend are not poor and repressed. I also don't exactly live in the posh parts of town, if these are poor and repressed people shouldn't they be revving their engines somewhere that actually makes an impact, like the rich old people's neighborhood?
And, in the many many encounters I've had with these geniuses, literally every single one is male and between 15 and late 20s. I think this is less "we're poor and repressed" and more yet another manifestation of toxic masculinity.
posted by photo guy at 2:12 PM on June 27 [2 favorites]
Used to have the same thing happen when we lived in the US as well, except it was Fast-and-Furious wannabees doing mass doughnuts with their modded, unmufflered Hondas at the shopping center down the street at 1am, over and over.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's neither poverty nor late-stage capitalism that causes people to loudly rev their engines before speeding off outside my window at 3 A.M.
Yeah agreed, that take is just ridiculous. I live in a country with $8/gal petrol and astonishingly expensive vehicles, the kids revving their engines every weekend are not poor and repressed. I also don't exactly live in the posh parts of town, if these are poor and repressed people shouldn't they be revving their engines somewhere that actually makes an impact, like the rich old people's neighborhood?
And, in the many many encounters I've had with these geniuses, literally every single one is male and between 15 and late 20s. I think this is less "we're poor and repressed" and more yet another manifestation of toxic masculinity.
posted by photo guy at 2:12 PM on June 27 [2 favorites]
> Whenever I hear that sound I think of it as the Angry Young Man scream. A version of hurt people hurt people.
yep. in my completely flat and urban area neighborhood it's groups of black boys with illegal, often stolen, dirtbikes and atvs completely ignoring traffic signs/lights.
that said, minus the traffic safety and sound problems, it is kinda neat to see them pop wheelies on a good long block. i can see a harmless fun part somewhere buried under the deliberately obnoxious part.
posted by Clowder of bats at 2:43 PM on June 27 [2 favorites]
yep. in my completely flat and urban area neighborhood it's groups of black boys with illegal, often stolen, dirtbikes and atvs completely ignoring traffic signs/lights.
that said, minus the traffic safety and sound problems, it is kinda neat to see them pop wheelies on a good long block. i can see a harmless fun part somewhere buried under the deliberately obnoxious part.
posted by Clowder of bats at 2:43 PM on June 27 [2 favorites]
symbioid: For years I have fantasized about floodlights in the back of my car, and an "engage" switch that pops them right back up when one of these fuckers comes blasting their lights in my face.
I lived that dream. My teenage brother mounted a headlight facing backwards on his '72 Pinto (yes, the exploding kind), and I got it when he moved on to a '67 Mustang (not exploding, but missing a floor). I'm sure he did it for some noxious reason, but I found it handy when backing up in the dark. I guess I'm not a psychopath.
posted by acrasis at 3:25 PM on June 27
I lived that dream. My teenage brother mounted a headlight facing backwards on his '72 Pinto (yes, the exploding kind), and I got it when he moved on to a '67 Mustang (not exploding, but missing a floor). I'm sure he did it for some noxious reason, but I found it handy when backing up in the dark. I guess I'm not a psychopath.
posted by acrasis at 3:25 PM on June 27
There are morons who cannot tell if they're alive if they are not making a shitton of noise. Loud trucks, loud harleys, fireworks, guns, stupid loud music, "woo hoo"-ing everywhere, every conversation is shouted, etc. etc. When I'm dictator they will be...dealt with. Quietly.
posted by maxwelton at 5:28 PM on June 27 [2 favorites]
posted by maxwelton at 5:28 PM on June 27 [2 favorites]
There's no valid reason to have loud mufflers. I rode a motorcycle for seven years and loud pipes don't save squat. And when I bicycle, I leave one ear bud in and one out, which solves the safety issue and lets me be aware of my surroundings. It is an utterly practical way to listen to podcasts or music at low volume while cycling in urban areas.
What's with the excuse making? I grew up poor and was bullied, can I strap a strobe light and air horn to the top of my helmet?
I think this is less "we're poor and repressed" and more yet another manifestation of toxic masculinity.
Bingo.
posted by AlSweigart at 10:07 PM on June 27 [3 favorites]
What's with the excuse making? I grew up poor and was bullied, can I strap a strobe light and air horn to the top of my helmet?
I think this is less "we're poor and repressed" and more yet another manifestation of toxic masculinity.
Bingo.
posted by AlSweigart at 10:07 PM on June 27 [3 favorites]
There are loud motorcycle and car dickheads in Japan, too. Bike gangs are called bosozoku and will pick a time in the middle of the night, like 2 a.m., and just raise absolute hell. There's a highway they ride on that's a good half a mile away but I can still hear them. Japanese cops hate the fuckers. They'll give chase and try to stop and arrest them. If they can't, I've seen on a news program that they simply got the license numbers of the bikes. The next day the cops go around to all the homes in their records, find the bikes in the parking lots, and impound them on the spot--done and done. They have to pay huuuge fines to get their bikes back.
posted by zardoz at 12:27 AM on June 28 [2 favorites]
posted by zardoz at 12:27 AM on June 28 [2 favorites]
I'm starting to ride my bike more, because I just got new handlebars. I like to listen to music because it gives my adhd brain something to chew on. Usually from my mobile in my pocket.
Interested in recommendations for headphones that work well with helmet + glasses + biking.
posted by rebent at 1:11 AM on June 28
Interested in recommendations for headphones that work well with helmet + glasses + biking.
posted by rebent at 1:11 AM on June 28
Hey rebent that’s exactly why I like to listen to music. The best ones I’ve found are apple AirPods Pro - they are snug in the ear and don’t fall out, and have really lifelike audio pass through. The other less sport oriented airpods are also good, though more likely to fall out or get ruined by sweat. I’ve also used Jabra headphones in the past but didn’t really like them because they blocked out too much noise.
I also spent years riding with poorly fitting wired headphones that allowed sound to leak in which were fine.
posted by claudius at 4:45 AM on June 28
I also spent years riding with poorly fitting wired headphones that allowed sound to leak in which were fine.
posted by claudius at 4:45 AM on June 28
Interested in recommendations for headphones that work well with helmet + glasses + biking.
I have glasses and ride a bike on the road regularly, often with kids so I need to hear them too - the Shokz bone conduction headphones have been great for this. I can still hear traffic noise and speech, and they for comfortably with my helmet and glasses. I have the OpenRunPro ones which are the most flexible, but they’re all good.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 10:47 AM on June 28
I have glasses and ride a bike on the road regularly, often with kids so I need to hear them too - the Shokz bone conduction headphones have been great for this. I can still hear traffic noise and speech, and they for comfortably with my helmet and glasses. I have the OpenRunPro ones which are the most flexible, but they’re all good.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 10:47 AM on June 28
Yeah agreed, that take is just ridiculous. I live in a country with $8/gal petrol and astonishingly expensive vehicles, the kids revving their engines every weekend are not poor and repressed. I also don't exactly live in the posh parts of town, if these are poor and repressed people shouldn't they be revving their engines somewhere that actually makes an impact, like the rich old people's neighborhood?
If you’ve never tried it, I’ll tell you. Cops patrol posh areas specifically to keep poor people out of them. I can’t believe you’ve never noticed this before.
And, in the many many encounters I've had with these geniuses, literally every single one is male and between 15 and late 20s. I think this is less "we're poor and repressed" and more yet another manifestation of toxic masculinity.
Ok see this is exactly what I mean. Toxic masculinity is a textbook manifestation of repression. Take a perfectly good baby with all the settings enabled and then acculturate him so that his only acceptable emotional expressions are rage and lust, his only appropriate choices for clothing are square cut in the colors black, red, blue, or grey, and only acceptable outlets of interest are STEM (but nothing too nerdy) and sports.
posted by toodleydoodley at 11:47 AM on June 28 [2 favorites]
If you’ve never tried it, I’ll tell you. Cops patrol posh areas specifically to keep poor people out of them. I can’t believe you’ve never noticed this before.
And, in the many many encounters I've had with these geniuses, literally every single one is male and between 15 and late 20s. I think this is less "we're poor and repressed" and more yet another manifestation of toxic masculinity.
Ok see this is exactly what I mean. Toxic masculinity is a textbook manifestation of repression. Take a perfectly good baby with all the settings enabled and then acculturate him so that his only acceptable emotional expressions are rage and lust, his only appropriate choices for clothing are square cut in the colors black, red, blue, or grey, and only acceptable outlets of interest are STEM (but nothing too nerdy) and sports.
posted by toodleydoodley at 11:47 AM on June 28 [2 favorites]
We have a guy in town who revs his motorcycle as loud as he can and drives all over town like a maniac even in burb-y streets. One night a guy and I were outside of the pizza parlor and the guy drove by. The guy yelled, "NICE COMPENSATION!" which is the sort of thing I'm always thinking myself. (Followed by "I would totally bang you, were I not so hideous!")
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:33 PM on June 29
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:33 PM on June 29
I would feel emotionally safer if I had a loud car go vroom vroom.
go vroom vroom all the way to the chapel and be married together forever
posted by sagc at 1:37 PM on June 29
go vroom vroom all the way to the chapel and be married together forever
posted by sagc at 1:37 PM on June 29
Not surprising. When I hear one of them I always assume they're compensating for certain shortcomings.
posted by mike3k at 4:24 PM on June 29
posted by mike3k at 4:24 PM on June 29
« Older ‘One in twenty people have walked out of a... | i met Dante Newer »
posted by kinnakeet at 3:45 AM on June 27 [24 favorites]