Since we pretty much all agreed that smokers are inconsiderate, I have another question:
What about people who intentionally make their cars/motorcycles louder? Are they inconsiderate a**holes too?
I recently was a witness to an episode where everyone in the cafe had to stop their conversations and wait until one such unit finished parking his thundering bike. Then he just strolled in with a smile and sat for a meal. You reckon he just doesn't give a damn about other people, or is he that oblivious how it affects everyone around him?
I know that there are legal limits to vehicle's noise, but police is clearly too busy to bother with it (at least here in Gold Coast), cause I see and hear them to often to be an exception. IIRC motorbike's allowed levels are even higher since "loud pipes save lives" or something, but then we all also heard the opposite: that there is no evidence to such claims and hi vis clothing would work better anyway.
So what do you think about such people?
It depends.
There are idiots who remove a muffler or put a different one on thinking that noise means power. It doesnt. Or the dirt bike being ridden on the road with off road exhausts.
As for loud pipes saving lives, as a rider I can tell you that its true, to an extent. Hi Vis does not help. It has been become too common and no longer stands out. Bikes have their lights on all the time to stand out, but once again this is becoming to common and people dont notice. Car drivers seem to be blind to bikes. I always ride as if every car is going to hit me, but even then cars do stupid things. Cruisers have DEEP sounding exhausts. People do hear them, and look. Once they look, they see. So it does work. Where it doesnt work is with sports bikes with high pitched engines. Different sound that doesnt seem to pierce the closed car.
Then you have some cars that are laod, like supercars. A Ferrari or Lambo will be loud. Its the engine, and they are basically race cars that are street legal. And some sports cars might be louder when moving compared to when they are idling.
Generaly, the omes that stand out are normal cars not done properly. An exhaust is designed to move gasses from the engine out of the car. A well designed exhaust will balance noise and efficency, and should help reduce green house gasses. People who just change a muffler without taking into account the rest of the system end up with none of the desired outcomes, just noise.