SARASOTA, Fla. — Sarasota drivers with loud noise coming from their cars will now have to quiet down while in the city, or face the consequences.
City commissioners voted for a new, stricter car noise ordinance that mirrors state law.
A vehicle excessively playing music or revving loudly goes by in downtown Sarasota at different intervals. Disturbing the peace and startling people working, dining in parklets, shopping at the local boutiques, folks just taking a stroll, or even trying to get some sleep.
Today's 5 to 0 commission vote is aimed at putting a lid on that type of behavior.
"It sounds like you're listening to a concert from within one-quarter mile and a half mile away. Like you're at a Taylor Swift concert and it's fully going on," Zac Engle from Mad Marks Stereo in Bradenton said.
Engle and his fellow technicians customize sound systems on several vehicles daily. They have been in this line of business for several decades now.
"We got four Tans and two horns back here. It's a pretty simple setup. It's very popular but it's extremely loud when it has the right amount of power on it and the type of sound that it carries is from very far away," Engle explained.
That kind of sound has stirred plenty of concern and complaints in the city of Sarasota.
"People with the loud boom, boom, boom, boom. Music that you definitely don't want your children listening to. I think that's very obnoxious and you always wonder how come somebody doesn't stop that," Sarasota resident Lisa Jones said.
Sarasota city commissioners have now done just that. By changing the city's car noise violation from 50 feet to 25 feet they are now in sync and mirroring Florida Statute Section 316.3045.
This means if police can hear car music or noise like intentional backfiring or revving from 25 feet away, the driver could get a ticket.
Police said this is about the safety of road users including those who are not commuting in cars.
"It's a domino effect. That noise may potentially affect the vehicle, which may affect the bicyclist in the bicycle lane, who could potentially run into the curb and fall into a pedestrian," Sarasota Police Officer Jason Frank said.
Officer Frank also said some of the backfiring of vehicles often causes panic because it can sound very similar to gunfire.
With the new ordinance, law enforcement would initially focus on education before they start to clamp down with fines and special magistrate court appearances.
"If somebody has been cited for the same thing on numerous occasions, clearly they're not learning. At the end of the day, when it comes to noise. whether it be exhaust or you know, music or volume from a vehicle, we think about our community," Officer Frank added.
For some of Engle's customers, this ordinance means dialing it down a notch or two when driving through Sarasota.
"My slogan is 'don't play it in your own neighborhood'. You know when you get into a residential area, keep it down and you won't have any problems," Engle said.
"I'm all for it," Jones said,
The city's attorney had been working on the ordinance since May after some discussion and a public hearing. It goes into effect immediately.