These are the first three results produced when I google the term
do loud pipes really save lives?
Loud pipes save lives
This myth is originated in the very biking world and is has a lot of supporters among both riders and custom aftermarket exhaust pipes manufacturers. Basically, those who claim that loud pipes save lives assume that the louder the noise a motorcycle makes on the road, the more chances they have of being noticed by other road-colleagues and thus less likely the occurrence of an accident.
The truth behind such a claim disproves this myth on so many levels: simple, common physics, common sense or plain reason can bring in countless reasons because this is just a myth. Let's tread the path of physics a bit and analyze what's happening from a strictly mechanical point of view.
Motorcycle exhausts openings are facing towards the rear of the bike, and it's obviously to the back where the gases and all the noise are directed. Assuming that the noise a motorcycle makes travels in an omnidirectional manner is just wrong, because noise is air (or other gases, for what's worth) in movement. With the air/ gas jest directed towards the rear of the bike, it's there where all the noise goes. And if you don't believe this, just 'start your engine in the open and then check the noise levels when facing the bike and behind it, alternatively.
When riding at higher speeds, things are even worse, because you're not only remaining close to the place where all the exhaust gases start to make noise hitting the mass of air, but you're traveling further from that zone as you advance on the road.
Now, having established that pipes generate a lot more noise behind the bike than in front of it, claiming that loud(er) pipes would help getting you noticed by the man driving the car in front sounds just silly. A loud exhaust pipe could come in handy when splitting the lanes at low speed, letting the drivers in front of you know “something is approaching” and maybe preventing them from cutting you off or opening the doors. Analyzing the crash reports, statistics indicate that around 77% of the hazards come in front of the biker, and only 3% approach from behind. What's next, front-facing exhausts?
Having installed modified pipes on a bike may indeed make it sound a lot different, with a touch of more aggressive tone, and could, beyond any shadow of doubt, make the rider feel better about him/herself and his or her machinery. Cool pipes make any bike look better, there's too much truth in here to start a debate; but along with the mean looks come a lot of other things...
Common sense urges us to think about noise pollution: while a rider might believe that the new sound of the bike is the most beautiful music in the world, many others might (and will) strongly disagree. Throttling the bike at 11PM thundering down the alley will simply increase the prejudice most non-bikers have against us, the riders. For most people, this sound is as pleasant as a dumpster truck on a Sunday at 5 AM, after returning from a party and getting one hour of sleep.
Adding “it's my bike and I'll do with it as I see fit” is not helping; au contraire, it just makes a very lame excuse for making excessive noise. Owning a motorcycle does not come with the right to break the noise regulations, and even though a racing exhaust might receive clearance for installation on common bikes, this brings little comfort to the passers-by and traffic-fellows. It's just a matter of being polite and care for those around you.
Aftermarket exhausts will also increase the horsepower (both the loud and the properly muffled ones), but claiming this as the main reason for making excessive noise just doesn't cut it. With most of the motorcycles being manufactured these days already coming with more than sufficient power for pretty much any rider or road conditions, it's rather hard to believe that all that was missing was the 5 or 10 bhp increase granted by a hollow exhaust.
Finally, it's the simple fact that a louder pipe is by no means a proactive or primary safety measure, but a secondary one. Again, learning how to ride well (throttle, turn, brake and so on) and keeping a close eye to the traffic around you are essential to making it home safely.
The first rule of avoiding a crash is not placing yourself in a critical traffic situation, and this means riding carefully and being able to detect the potential hazards early. It's always easier to avoid a nasty situation than to find a safe exit from one.
Installing a better horn, wearing a bright color helmet or a high-visibility jacket/ vest are proven methods of making yourself noticed easier in traffic. Even more, these measures are most likely not to offend anyone, and the roads will be a bit safer having less annoyed, less aggressive drivers.
http://www.autoevolution.com/news/most-common-motorcycle-myths-debunked-part-1-45969.html
Challenging loud pipes theory
BY MARK HINCHLIFFEIN MOTORBIKE NEWS — 12 SEP, 2013
Do loud pipes really save lives?
I’m sure someone will give me an example of how they reckon a loud motorcycle exhaust saved their lives, but I just don’t understand how.
Let’s look at this very clinically.
Supporters of this contention say that loud pipes alert motorists that there is a bike somewhere about.
In a situation of impending collision, the bike is approaching the vehicle it is about to collide with, right? It’s not going in the opposite direction, is it?
They may be approaching from the side, from in front or from behind, but they are not riding away from the vehicle with which they are about to collide.
So the noise of the bike really needs to precede the bike to alert the impending collider, right?
But exhaust pipes don’t face forward. They face backward with the bulk of the noise trailing behind, not going out in front of them.
I’ve heard some pretty loud pipes, but no matter how loud they are they fail to alert motorists inside cars with the windows wound up, the airconditioner on and the radio playing.
I have been guilty of driving a car and having no idea that a motorcycle is coming up behind me and into my blind spot. Not until they are alongside or already past do I actually hear their exhaust pipe.
Just how loud would exhaust pipes have to be for people in front to hear them clearly and be a truly effective safety alert?
Rather than adding to the already cacophonous state of our urban traffic, wouldn’t it actually be better and safer for riders to alert traffic with a short blast on the horn?
If you are riding along a street and see a car sitting at an intersection and you are not sure they have seen or heard you, wouldn’t it be more effective to give a couple of quick taps on the horn to gain their attention?
A horn blast surely has more of an alert tone than the gradually increasing rumble of an exhaust pipe facing the wrong way.
There are other things you can do to get yourself noticed such as changing speed and moving around on the road.
All these proactive safety measures are much better than the ingrained and misguided trust in the safety values of a loud pipe. In fact, reliance on a loud pipe could be hindering your active safety avoidance measures and placing you in greater danger.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the sound of a baritone exhaust note. That rumbling sound is music to my ears and motivation to my soul.
But I detest those barking, angry pipes that give me a headache and only serve to upset most of the population.
In fact, noise (barking dogs, traffic, trains etc) is the most complained about issue in suburban life. Do we really need to attract more anger against bikes and bikers?
While loud pipes may not necessarily save any lives, they most assuredly are bad
PR for a minority group that gets enough bad press as it is.
Let’s be honest, the people who advocate loud pipes love the sound of the pipes and/or love people hearing them and being intimidated. And maybe they have small penises and need to compensate … watch this short video.
Like I said, I love the sound of a nice macho pipe, but nothing so loud it gives me a headache and nothing that will cause my neighbours grief every time I come home at night or head off early in the morning.
While I’ve never witnessed a loud pipe saving my life or anyone else’s I have witnessed loud pipes causing dogs to start barking and horses to run into barbed wire fences.
My favourite bike noise is actually the roar of the bike inhaling, rather than exhaling. The MV Agusta Brutale 1000 has an absolutely divine induction roar.
And best of all, it sounds like a Singer sewing machine when it goes past pedestrians, motorists, dogs and horses. That’s because the induction sound is cleverly pointed at the rider and not the passerby.
Motorcycle and car manufacturers have been spending millions of dollars on research into how to best channel these “good” sounds toward the rider/driver rather than at the passing scenery.
This has mainly been forced on them by increasingly stringent noise limitation laws, but the byproduct is that we get more entertaining motorcycles to ride and we cheese off fewer motorists, pedestrians, dogs and horses.
However, I am willing to be corrected if someone can give me categorical proof that a loud pipe saved their life. Just leave your comments in the box below.
Challenging loud pipes theory - Motorbike Writer