The sound level of 95dbA at 100 feet was mandated by the California Dept.
of Health in the mid'80s for all motorized events on state-owned property.
A lot of racing takes place on county fairgrounds and the state owns the
land at these facilities.
While it's nice to have a specific number objective to deal with,
it's also important to note the neighbors of various sites we use do not
have meters. They use their ears. Very subjective.
We have lost sites in the past because neighbors complain about
"the noise."
We lost the San Mateo County Fairgrounds on this issue.
We lost Golden Gate Fields about 1990 on this issue. NONE of the neighbors
had a meter.
I have a letter from the Alameda Naval Air Base Re-Use Authority
specifically pointing out we sporty car types are "too loud." What the
people at Alameda have is a perception. They certainly don't have a meter.
But if they did have a meter and they attended our most recent events they
would be well aware of the sound levels of a scant few of our cars. Their
ears and their meter would have told them that. Please understand we invite
a variety of land site officials to "Come see what we do" as a means of
persuading them to let us play on their large paved areas.
What the neighbors do have is a vote and every civic politician is well
aware of it. Thus if you are requested to quiet your car, please understand
what is at stake.
We were supposed to have our new sound meter at 3 Com Park this past Sunday
as a help in persuading our louder cars to quiet down. The Steering
Committee authorized its purchase. I hope it shows up on March 11.
What is at risk is our ability to continue our favorite game at
"in-town" sites. Some people may call that a "threat." I think it is. It's
a threat all of us will have to drive well out into the Central Valley to
play autocross if we can't get the louder cars to quiet down.
--John Kelly, SFR autocross scheduler
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