Motorcycles get restricted in Trois-Rivieres thanks to loud pipes

By
CMG Staff
-

Edit: Since publication, we received this comment—

Latest news … the city revoked the restriction. Motorcycles are now allowed to ride on this portion of the road, as before. I guess social media does make a difference.

http://www.lapresse.ca/le-nouvelliste/vie-regionale/trois-rivieres/201705/01/01-5093798-motos-trois-rivieres-fait-marche-arriere.php?utm_categorieinterne=trafficdrivers&utm_contenuinterne=cyberpresse_B13b_actualites_442_section_POS1
It’s spring time, so that means we’re about to see another group of Canadian cities take up the fight against loud pipes. This year, Trois-Rivieres is the first we’ve heard of.

According to TVA Nouvelles, Trois-Rivieres has restricted motorcycle access on its rue des Forges. Ride in the wrong area, and you’ll receive a $169 fine (bikes were already banned from the city’s tunnel). The article says police already handed out 15 tickets last week, with many motorcyclists apparently not aware of the crackdown.

Why is another city in Quebec jumping on the discrimination bandwagon? According to a city spokesperson, the idea is to reduce vehicle flow, and noise, and that downtown residents had complained about noise and were happy with the change. But since four-wheeled vehicles aren’t banned, it doesn’t seem “reducing vehicle flow” is really the whole point of the new rules. Once again, it appears loud pipes have earned motorcycles more restrictions.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

23 COMMENTS

    • Excellent!! Now what about the motorcyclists who went on-line to pay their ticket the day they got it? Will Trois-Rivières be reimbursing them and cancelling any infractions on the riders drivers record with the SAAQ?
      Hope so!!

  2. Thank you to all the assholes with loud pipes! Keep up your self-centered, ego stroking behavior and we will see more and more motorcycle restricted places crop up. Nice going, you god damn fools. Why don’t you turn up your pipes so that they blast right into your own ears. Your freedom stops where another person’s freedom starts, and one of those rights would be the right to some peace and quiet.

  3. “Motorcycles get restricted in Trois-Rivieres…”
    Huh. Now (I wonder) can they do anything about Lakeshore Boulevard West?
    Because the noise is REALLY bad.

  4. Quelle surprise! And this in a city which has hosted a street car race for decades. For those of you who say the cops should enforce noise bylaws I have a few questions – How many cops would it take, how much time, and how many court cases would be generated to enforce a specific noise bylaw? The city has taken the simpler route…ban all motorcycles on this stretch of road. They can do it and they did it. Read Steve Maxwell’s post about the “leather clad clowns” if you’re wondering why.

    • “Read Steve Maxwell’s post about the “leather clad clowns” if you’re wondering why.”

      They’re not clowns they’re pirates, and everyone knows hat defending yourself from pirates is a very noble profession.

  5. About time in ALL city,s and areas,to BAN ALL BIKES WITH LOUD PIPES.(NOT all bikes and bikers,just ALL loud bikes.)
    I have two idiots in my normally very quiet subdivision who want to proof a point with strait pipe HD. going up and down our hilly sections and open it up.And that to just about any time of day and night.
    I love MC but this assholes going on my nerves.

  6. I was in Trois-Rivières April 14, beautiful sunny day. I walked down Des Forges St towards the St-Laurence and saw that there was a sign posted prohibiting motorcycles from travelling southbound for the last block or (150m or so) of Des Forges St. At the end of the street is a parking lot where one can park and walk around the waterfront. At the entrance to the parking lot is a Police officer on foot and two sport bikes parked blocking the parking lot entrance, the officer is handing both riders tickets. Did I mention neither bike was equipped with an aftermarket muffler. While the officer is talking to both riders a third bike, looks like a Ninja 300, safely filters southbound on the prohibited to motorcycles only portion of Des Forges and stops at the red light to make a right turn. There’s a line up of cars 100m long waiting to turn left. The Ninja 300 rider while stopped turns to his passenger and asks her if everything is ok and is she having fun? Looks like about a 9-10 year old girl on the back, like a little father daughter first ride of the season kind of deal. As the rider is speaking loudly through the helmet to his daughter the police officer, who hadn’t seen the bike arrive, not heard the bike as it’s as quiet as the two he already had pulled over, takes notice of the bike. He walks out into the middle of the intersection and loudly calls out to the Ninja 300 rider and directs him into the parking lot. The officer sends the previous 2 ticket recipients on their way and promptly explains to the Ninja rider that motorcycles are prohibited on that stretch of Des Forges. The officer goes to his car and comes back ticket in hand and gives it to the Ninja rider. Curious as I am as a former police officer, I walk back up that Des Forges 150m or so to the traffic light to re-check exactly what the sign is, sure enough MC’s prohibited S/B from the light, no noise prohibition, no idling/revving prohibition just MC’s as a category in general. As I’m there observing the sign, two leather clad clowns that had been sharing a pitcher of beer at the corner bar patio when I walked by 15 minutes ago put their money on the table and walk over to their bikes, choppers, hop on and fire them up. They proceed to rev’em up multiple times because they’ve spent a fortune on loud pipes and they want to blast all the other bar patrons and passersby while they slip their beanie helmets on no unbuckling of the chin straps required. They pull ahead to the light rev’em to hell and back as they wait for the green, to turn left and ride out first gear for a few hundred metres. Surely around the corner down the street our officer and the rest of the waterfront patrons heard all the commotion but they turned left so no tickets for them! Meanwhile our Ninja 300 rider and his little girl are now merrily on their way home with their traffic ticket.

    Excellent sample of laws helping citizens sort out civic annoyances isn’t it?!

    Respectfully submitted Trois-Rivières – SORT YOURSELVES OUT!

    Steven Maxwell.

  7. Latest news is that the tickets were cancelled since the ban had not been approved by the city council. The problem has to do with the crowd that have modified exhausts and make a point of showing off by needlessly revving their motors. Unfortunately, the silent majority suffer because of the rambunctious minority. The cops should do their job and ticket those who have illegal exhausts.

    http://www.lapresse.ca/le-nouvelliste/actualites/201704/26/01-5092052-motos-au-centre-ville-de-trois-rivieres-les-constats-seront-annules.php?utm_categorieinterne=trafficdrivers&utm_contenuinterne=cyberpresse_vous_suggere_5091791_article_POS1

  8. This is a fake news. Very bad journalism. This rule is not even effective right now and anyway, it was only for a 140 meters stretch of road.

      • First of all this new rule was only for a 140 meters stretch of road… Not for the entire city as it apears when reading this article… Second, this rule was not approved by the city yet so all tickets were cancelled and the rule is not effective right now. So this article is wrong.

        • Moreover, even if this rule is aprroved later on, this (very) short stretch of road is almost always restricted for pedestrian only on summer time and it doesn’t affect at all the accesibility to the city with motorcycles (it is almost a dead-end anyway). This article needs correction and research, it is very misleading IMO.

  9. I can understand the city’s frustration with the morons that parade while revving their straight pipes on such a popular street.

    But the answer should not be to ban motorcycles, just enforce noise regulations for all vehicles.

  10. Passing around the problem if you ask me ! By baning all motorcycles user in the only street with a bit of life in a small town! The city should ask the police to do their work instead and punish “loud user”… This is not a good news for a city who’s complaning about visibility and lake of tourrism activity! shameless!

    • Unfortunately, poorly written laws and good lawyering seem to make any sort of objective noise standard nearly impossible to enforce. I mean, do you want the standard for a noise violation to be a copy testifying “it seemed too loud to me”? We could enforce the use of only unmodified EPA-certified mufflers, although that becomes another tough to enforce equipment law – guys would just tear the baffles out of their stock mufflers (as some do now).

  11. I’ve said it before, loud pipes do save lives- cause people get sick of hearing the hey look at me crowd and just ban all bikes, good job children.

Join the conversation!