best way to document a noisy "extreme bass" driver in the neighborhood?

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

For the past 3 weeks or so, someone has been driving back into our housing development and BLASTING their bass, tremendously. I put up with it for a week, then 2, thinking that maybe this person was just visiting, and it might be temporarily. However, now it appears that it is more longer term.

The level of the bass is so loud that even with my doors and windows closed, it comes in and overwhelms whatever I am listening to inside of my own house. It puts me in a really bad mood. I finally glanced outside earlier this week, and saw the vehicle that it is coming from. I've noticed that this person drives through the neighborhood, windows down, blasting this stuff as early as 6am, and as late as 11:50 pm. It seems quite random, and maybe as little as 4 times a day to 8 or 10 times a day. It doesn't seem to just be a person leaving to go to work and coming back, but instead is just random, like they are just driving around 'sharing' their music.

At this point, I realize that it isn't going to stop, and I feel like I need to document it somehow, to show that they are being unreasonable. I'd like to file a complaint with the city if it continues, but instead of just saying they are "loud", I'd like to either document exactly "how loud", or else document how often is is happening over several days.

I was wondering if anyone can recommend either something I could put on an old Android cell phone (app), or perhaps a program that I could put on a basic Linux Mint computer, then run a microphone out to constantly take readings for a day? I'm open to other suggestions, bit figured that just saying they "were being too loud" would be hard to document, so I should be more quantitative, and less qualitative.

Thanks!

 

[Torn Mind]

Legal complaints require sufficient authentication for the evidence to be useful.

So you need to capture enough details about the vehicle and sound. So, make, model, tags, etc. dB readings of sound.

In addition, municipalities may or may not bother....that's up to the discretion of the enforcer(the attorneys of the place are the ones who give the final yay or nay).

 

[Captante]

For the past 3 weeks or so, someone has been driving back into our housing development and BLASTING their bass

 

[MrSquished]

These days in America it seems just shooting them is the way to go. Pull into a wrong driveway - get shot. Ring a doorbell - get shot. Get into the wrong car then leave - get shot in your own car. Basically it's a third-world country in regards to gun violence.

 

[waffleironhead]

You could always just call it in as a suspicious vehicle. Give description/plate. You dont even need to mention the noise complaint part.

 

[brianmanahan]

the same way you'd document extreme treble

take it to the news and complain to city hall

 

[Red Squirrel]

Cities love to deal with petty complains about stuff like this. I'd just report it to the city and they'll surely find them and give them some kind of fine. There's probably a bylaw somewhere they can dig up.

I had a guy that used to blast bass non stop all hours of the day in my neighbourhood and as much as I hate to be THAT guy I did end up calling it in and it stopped for a while. I was trying to sleep and it was vibrating my walls. It did eventually start again, then stopped, then started again. I suspect I was not the only one calling it in. Ever since I built my shed it has not been an issue though as it blocks the sound. I honestly did not think it would work, but it was partially why I chose the location.

 

[IronWing]

Find out if your town has a noise ordinance and read it. If your town doesn’t have one, stop, no point in wasting your time. If it does, read it and understand what constitutes a violation. Plan your complaint to match the criteria of the ordinance. Are there time and place criteria? Make sure your complaint applies. If sound levels are specified by decibels, try this app:

NIOSH Sound Level Meter App - Noise and Occupational Hearing Loss | NIOSH | CDC

The NIOSH Sound Level Meter app combines the best features of professional sound levels meters and noise dosimeters into a simple, easy-to-use package

www.cdc.gov

It’s a government provided app so might stand up better.

 

[Torn Mind]

Cities love to deal with petty complains about stuff like this. I'd just report it to the city and they'll surely find them and give them some kind of fine. There's probably a bylaw somewhere they can dig up.

I had a guy that used to blast bass non stop all hours of the day in my neighbourhood and as much as I hate to be THAT guy I did end up calling it in and it stopped for a while. I was trying to sleep and it was vibrating my walls. It did eventually start again, then stopped, then started again. I suspect I was not the only one calling it in. Ever since I built my shed it has not been an issue though as it blocks the sound. I honestly did not think it would work, but it was partially why I chose the location.

Still need witnesses and a name because procedural due process in the Anglosphere.

 

[NutBucket]

 

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

Cities love to deal with petty complains about stuff like this. I'd just report it to the city and they'll surely find them and give them some kind of fine. There's probably a bylaw somewhere they can dig up.

I had a guy that used to blast bass non stop all hours of the day in my neighbourhood and as much as I hate to be THAT guy I did end up calling it in and it stopped for a while. I was trying to sleep and it was vibrating my walls. It did eventually start again, then stopped, then started again. I suspect I was not the only one calling it in. Ever since I built my shed it has not been an issue though as it blocks the sound. I honestly did not think it would work, but it was partially why I chose the location.

Oh, you're not kidding. When we purchased our first house, (a duplex) someone had a junk car on the parking slab out back. The people who were renting on the other side claimed they knew nothing about it, but all of the neighbors said he had been selling parts out of it for months. One neighbor suggested that I call the city and ask them to tow it off, so I did. The next day, a city inspector came out and gave ME a citation for having a non driveable car on the property. I found out it would have been better to push it out into the alley, and then it would have gotten taken care of....

Regarding the extreme music/bass, for the past 3 weeks, I've been having to get up at 4:45 in the morning with my youngest son, because he broke his right leg. Long story short, school district initially said they couldn't get a lift bus out to us, but eventually they did. So we have to get up at 4:45 in order to get him out to the bus by 6am. Because of this, I'm a bit more sensitive to sound after 9pm than maybe I would usually be. Truly, it puts me in a bad mood whenever they drive by with it, though, because I was taught that you try not to bother other people, and to be considerate.

We have exactly one house between us and the main street that goes back into our housing development, so we are maybe 100 feet from it? I think I finally understand those people who move out into the boonies and live off of the grid.....

 

[Torn Mind]

§ 1. Definition of nuisance, generally
Topic Summary | Correlation Table | References
West's Key Number Digest

• West's Key Number Digest, Nuisance
  
  1, 2, 3(1), 3(2), 4 to 8, 59, 61

A.L.R. Library

• Validity, Construction, and Application of Right-to-Farm Acts, 8 A.L.R.6th 465

Trial Strategy

• Common-Law Action for Noise Nuisance on Neighboring Land, 41 Am. Jur. Proof of Facts 3d 391

Forms

• Am. Jur. Pleading and Practice Forms, Nuisances § 54 (Instruction to jury—What is a "nuisance")

Nuisance defies any exact or comprehensive definition, although the hallmark of a nuisance claim is some invasion of a person's interest in land.1 The term "nuisance" signifies in law such a use of property or such a course of conduct irrespective of actual trespass against others, or of malicious or actual criminal intent, which transgresses the just restrictions upon use or conduct which the proximity of other persons or property imposes.2 Nuisance is a class of wrongs which arises from an unreasonable, unwarranted, or unlawful use by a person or entity of property lawfully possessed, but which works an obstruction or injury to the right of another.3 Nuisance has also variously been defined as—

• ​

  — the unreasonable, unwarrantable, or unlawful use by a person of their own property producing such material annoyance, inconvenience, discomfort, or hurt that the law will presume a consequent damage.4

• ​

  — the unreasonable, unusual, or unnatural use of one's property so that it substantially impairs the right of another to peacefully enjoy their property.5

• ​

  — a substantial and unreasonable interference with the use or enjoyment of real property.6

Nuisance concerns itself with activity on one's property that in some way constitutes an invasion of the property of another.7 The typical and familiar nuisance claim involves an activity or condition which causes damage or other interference with the enjoyment of adjoining or neighboring land.8 Nuisance is based upon the maxim that a person shall not use their property so as to harm another; nuisance traditionally required that, after a balancing of risk-utility consideration, the gravity of the harm to a plaintiff be found to outweigh the social usefulness of a defendant's activity.9
Observation:
Courts will broadly construe an occupant's right to the use and enjoyment of land, and in the nuisance context,10 the phrase "use and enjoyment of land" contemplates the pleasure and comfort that one normally derives from the occupancy of land11 and the freedom from annoyance.12
Although nuisance may be defined broadly by statute as anything that causes hurt, inconvenience, or damage to another, that hurt or damage must arise from acts which affect the land itself.13
The interest protected by nuisance actions is frequently that of the free use or enjoyment of one's property.14 However, the law of nuisance recognizes two conflicting rights: property owners have a right to control their land and use it to benefit their best interests, and the public and neighboring landowners have a right to prevent unreasonable use that substantially impairs the peaceful use and enjoyment of other land.15

 

[Captante]

I was taught that you try not to bother other people, and to be considerate

How quaint...

Seriously I don't think the majority of today's parents still teach that lesson!

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Somebody in my neighborhood has a subwoofer that rattles my windows pretty good, but I haven't figured out who - they work annoyingly late, though.

At some point if I ever figure out who it is, I might leave a passive aggressive note. But I'm not calling the cops on somebody. Screw those guys.

 

[RPD]

Just get some spike strips.

 

[Muse]

Cities love to deal with petty complains about stuff like this. I'd just report it to the city and they'll surely find them and give them some kind of fine. There's probably a bylaw somewhere they can dig up.

I had a guy that used to blast bass non stop all hours of the day in my neighbourhood and as much as I hate to be THAT guy I did end up calling it in and it stopped for a while. I was trying to sleep and it was vibrating my walls. It did eventually start again, then stopped, then started again. I suspect I was not the only one calling it in. Ever since I built my shed it has not been an issue though as it blocks the sound. I honestly did not think it would work, but it was partially why I chose the location.

In my town I think it helps if more than one party complains. I imagine you can share your grief with neighbors. If a bunch complain the city is apt to take it more seriously than if it's just you. I did this with a neighbor who lived between us who had a dog that barked loudly for 1/2 the day, driving us up the walls. The city sent the guy a letter which he took seriously and got his dog a bark-induced shocking collar, which pretty much resolved the problem.

 

[Muse]

Somebody in my neighborhood has a subwoofer that rattles my windows pretty good, but I haven't figured out who - they work annoyingly late, though.

At some point if I ever figure out who it is, I might leave a passive aggressive note. But I'm not calling the cops on somebody. Screw those guys.

I'm pretty much that way but not always. I had a neighbor who had their TV on and loud pretty much 24 hours a day. I did call the cops one day. It didn't seem to help but I think it got the message across to the woman. Before I called the cops I knocked on her door and her response was "is it too loud?" Duh.

 

[snoopy7548]

You could try sleeping with their wife.

 

[nOOky]

Try and call when they are driving by and give them the license number etc. Cops always love pulling sketchy people over, it gives them an opportunity to look for something else.