A83 blighted by bikers

Sir,

Communities on the A83 are blighted by the noise of bikers, many with illegal exhausts.

Inveraray is the gathering point for motorcyclists and on a recent Saturday during lockdown around 40 were gathered, not two metre social distancing, and failing to adhere to the maximum eight in a group guidance.

This has become the norm throughout the summer, and it seems lockdown guidance does not apply to bikers as they have been a constant feature on the roads, even in phase one.

The unofficial Argyll TT goes past our homes most weekends over the spring and summer months.

I have a bike licence and understand the feeling of freedom, but three-figure speeds past residential entrances, many of them hidden, is completely unacceptable.

As a resident you begin to dread the weekend and sunny days. The noise is constant and intrusive for 12-15 hours in a day, the decibel level in excess of 100 dB where sounds above 85 dB are harmful to hearing.

This is a serious issue for residents who cannot open their doors and windows, cannot use their gardens, pets are terrified, it is often impossible to have a conversation, or a phonecall. The noise from hundreds of bikes is explosive and destructive.

The speeds are terrifying, they travel in intimidating packs, the noise is threatening and the bikers have no respect for the communities they are speeding through. They pass multiple residential entrances with limited sight lines with no care for risk. The offensive noise seems to come from two actions; modifying motorbike exhausts and extreme acceleration in legal bikes.

If a car made a similar noise, spewed out the same polluting omissions, or did the same ridiculous speeds they would be pulled over by the police, but bikers appear to be above the law.

As technology reduces the noise pollution of cars, planes and other forms of transport, it seems motorbikes are exempt. Bikers claim ‘loud pipes save lives’ but is safety really the motivation for deliberately creating excessive noise?

Noise counts as a statutory nuisance (covered by Part III of the Environmental Protection Act 1990) if it either unreasonably and substantially interferes with the user or enjoyment of a home or other premises; or is likely to injure health.

The problem on A83 is known to all the statutory agencies, but nothing is done.

If this is a national problem, what action needs to be taken?

Concerned Loch Fyne-side resident