Your quiet neighborhood and cars that go boom

[Sticks]

Last night, about 8:00 the house started vibrating. There was a car parked across the street and down a couple of houses with their radio just blasting away.

Upon closer examination of the car, I observed three occupants, and the car does not belong there. After 5 minuets of the house vibrating, I'd given up on their just coming by to pick someone up and was getting ready to go over and politely say "This is a quiet neighborhood, and we like it that way. Could you please turn your music down?"

Then I started running through scenarios of possible outcomes, first and foremost the driver tells me to get bent (edited to forum rules) and any number of ways to say "You gonna make me?"

In a situation like this, if they were to pile out of the car, or one of them pulls a gun or any other weapon, did I escalate the situation in the eyes of the public and courts by leaving my property, armed, to "confront" them?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[HowardCohodas]

If asking someone to be courteous is escalating a situation, call me frequently guilty. If we rail against the coarseness of society and do nothing about it then we deserve what we get. If, because I carry, I am at risk when I ask some to be courteous, so be it.

[Ram Rod]

Would sweeping the vehicle with a laser from your own property be out of the question? Sometimes actions do speak louder than words. No....I didn't imply that the laser was attached to anything. Most neighborhoods have ordinances pertaining to sound levels and calling your local PD's non-emergency number shouldn't be ruled out in this case. A personal confrontation will usually just get you 'sized up' for the next 'go-round' with punks.

[Sticks]

Would sweeping the vehicle with a laser from your own property be out of the question? Sometimes actions do speak louder than words. No....I didn't imply that the laser was attached to anything.

That would be illegal I believe, and invite the police to my door.

Most neighborhoods have ordinances pertaining to sound levels and calling your local PD's non-emergency number shouldn't be ruled out in this case. A personal confrontation will usually just get you 'sized up' for the next 'go-round' with punks.

My little incorporated square mile with it's 15 cruisers and 12 officers are more into revenue enhancement (catching speeders) and parking out of sight in abandoned parking lots with fellow officers to pass the time than patrolling and responding to "low priority calls". If there is little chance of making an arrest, don't plan on them showing up in anything resembling a timely manner.

Anyhow, say you now have the occupants piling out of said car wishing to make an issue. Obviously try to deescalate the situation, but disparity of force is now upon you, that you basically brought upon yourself.

[Ram Rod]

That would be illegal I believe, and invite the police to my door.

And who is going to invite the police to your door? The law-breakers with the boom-box car?

My little incorporated square mile with it's 15 cruisers and 12 officers are more into revenue enhancement (catching speeders) and parking out of sight in abandoned parking lots with fellow officers to pass the time than patrolling and responding to "low priority calls". If there is little chance of making an arrest, don't plan on them showing up in anything resembling a timely manner.

Anyhow, say you now have the occupants piling out of said car wishing to make an issue. Obviously try to deescalate the situation, but disparity of force is now upon you, that you basically brought upon yourself.

Again.....that personal confrontation wouldn't be advised to start with. Headlines might read: 19 year old shot to death over loud music. To make your call to the local constabulary a bit more serious than the normal, run-of-the-mill "low priority call", just simply state you thought you heard a young woman's screams and saw someone thrown out of the car to the ground.

[archer51]

Sticky problem. Leaving your property and going to their vehicle could be interpreted as initating the confrontation. Especially since it is several doors down. If anything was to happen you know what they are going to tell the cops, "We were minding our own business, when this guy with a gun comes out and started threatening us."

[Hopyard]

OP brings up a vexing problem. In our community we certainly have noise ordinances, but they are seldom ever enforced. Somewhere near where I live, I can't figure out where, we have folks who turn on the sub-woofer powered dance music around 10-11 P.M. and sometimes don't quit till dawn. I just feel the vibrations. I can't really say precisely that I hear anything, it is more like you feel it. And the crazy thing is that when I go outside of my house to try to locate the noise, I can hear nothing. I'm guessing that the shape of my patio and the specific configuration of my attic is somehow amplifying very distant noise. Why the neighbors "over there," (wherever over there is) don't get the thing shut down, I don't understand.

These sub-woofers are something of a menace. I have a small sub-woofer that came with my Dell computer. A week ago my wife was listening to some music while she read her e-mail; I was in a restroom 15 feet away on the other side of a wall. The volume in that restroom was horrific, yet it was very normal where she was. So, these sub-woofers have a way of projecting sound and low frequency vibration, in odd ways. They certainly hurt my ears and the noises from others disturb my sleep.

If enforcing quality of life laws is a good way to clean up a city (The NYC Mayor Guilliani approach), the police should be far more active in stopping the boom box nuisances.

Sensible people know not to play these things through the night. The others need a lesson.

And back to the OPs question, since the loud music is being generated by folks who by definition are not sensible, you are correct that you are taking a risk if you attempt to ask them to quiet down--especially if they are older teens or young adults.

Stay safe, call the authorities instead.

[retsupt99]

In my minds eye, I walk to the boom-box blaring car and politely ask the driver to turn down his music. He becomes an instant wise-guy and challenges me to make him. I politely say, if you insist...draw two Glocks (ambidextrous) and put a combination 22 rounds of .45 into his built-in expensive boom-box and his huge speakers. As the stunned occupants stare at me in disbelief, I calmly say, "I'm glad I could be of assistance...have a nice day." Then I carefully turn and walk away.

OK...rant off.

...back to reality, unless it were an everyday occurrence, I would ignore it, or call the cops (who probably can't get there in time anyway, so don't waste your time).

[aphophas]

That is a hard one. I guess it depends on the situation you had at the moment. I know the music is very annoying, but you don't deserve to have your house bombarded either. I have to agree with RamRod.

[HowardCohodas]

The world is a dangerous place not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.

---Albert Einstein

[CopperKnight]

To make your call to the local constabulary a bit more serious than the normal, run-of-the-mill "low priority call", just simply state you thought you heard a young woman's screams and saw someone thrown out of the car to the ground.

Which is also, generally, illegal.

[SIXTO]

Which is also, generally, illegal.

Yes it is. Let me catch you lying about such things risking my life and everyone else's as I respond priority because you're annoyed...

I hate the loud stereos too, I view it right up there with littering; cause thats what it is. I write them as often as I can, and never plea them out. I always ask for the max penalty allowed for the class of offense too.

[TheShadow]

Confront half the teenagers today and you may have to fight for your life! Hey I was a cocky when I was young but a lot of todays teenagers have that "gangster mentality" and that loud crap they call music is like pouring gasoline on a fire! You can be as nice as you can about telling them to "please turn it down" and In there mush for a brain they think your disrespecting them! Ignore it as long as you can... then call the man when you can't take it any longer.

[Puppy]

A little off topic but here is what I did twice when I lived in Illinois.

Once the neighbors across the street were having a noisy keg party. I walked over took a cup and poured myself a beer. I got a lot of funny looks from some guests, but when the tenant walked up I said I have two choices, either join the party or end it. He poured the next beer.

The second time is was the neighbor next door. I walked in the house and told them the same thing. The neighbor handed me a beer and said we are going for pizza, what kind do you want?

I knew the neighbors of course. I'm not totally insane.

Still, I would not suggest you go down the street and climb in the car with them.

[Vaquero 45]

To make your call to the local constabulary a bit more serious than the normal, run-of-the-mill "low priority call", just simply state you thought you heard a young woman's screams and saw someone thrown out of the car to the ground.

Why stop there? Why not say that there's an abduction of a child in progress, or a woman being raped in the street? I mean, if you're going to commit a crime and make a false crime report, you might as well do it right!