Parading fire apparatus should limit use of horns

Dear Editor, A recent article in The Daily Freeman noted the local use/ abuse of noise-generating fireworks during the weeks before and after the Fourth of July, and their resultant impact on pets, small children, and the like.

I would like to point out to the various authorities who run July 4th parades an equally egregious assault upon our auditory senses; one that can easily be corrected with a few rules for marchers.

The annual Saugerties parade, for one, provides a marching platform for a dozen or two fire departments from the area. In the course of marching — I sit on Washington Avenue, in the village — the large trucks are encouraged by various attendees to blow their horns. Some number of the truck drivers, so encouraged, blow their air horns. These horns emit a blast that has to be at least 130 dbA or so. They scare pets and small children. This level of noise is appropriate to clear the way, under emergency, in traffic, or on main roads. It is not appropriate for trucks sitting 20 or 30 feet from people. It is detrimental to one’s hearing.

A short run on the siren (as in, not enough to reach full volume) should be sufficient to satisfy the average parade attendee.

Agreements with fire departments to show vehicles in parades must include a sentence or two that makes it illegal in one way or another to blast the air horn. Let’s protect our ears, please.

Bob Dvorak Saugerties, N.Y.