DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) — Dearborn police say they are cracking down on loud drivers, warning people not to modify their mufflers and rev their engines.
The loud exhausts could result in a ticket, and neighbors say it’s about time.
“They’re racing up and down the streets and it’s not safe,” lifelong Dearborn resident Gina Polanski said.
Polanski says the speeding and neighborhood noise is worse than it’s ever been. She says cars are revving their engines as they race through residential streets.
"They do modify the mufflers, so they’re extra loud,” Polanski said. "It's a nuisance. You want to sleep."
A few miles away, Dearborn resident Rabab Alzergani says it’s happening on her street too. Also at all times of day, even at night.
“Sometimes people want to race, sometimes people just want to show off their cars,” Alzergani said. "It really, really is loud. Sometimes we wake up in the middle of the night and my siblings are scared because of how loud it is.”
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“These are a quality of life concern, quality of life issues,” said Cpl. Dan Bartok of the Dearborn Police Department. “Our community has expressed great concern to our police department and city administration regarding traffic issues in the neighborhood.”
Bartok says the noise has been a major complaint from citizens and now police will be cracking down. They're warning that they will be out writing tickets for excessive noise from loud mufflers and engine revving.
"If it’s generally causing a nuisance, if it’s waking people up, if it’s disturbing the peace of the neighborhood, that fits into our ordinance,” Bartok said. “We don’t want to give out tickets. We want people to not modify their mufflers, we want people not to rev their engines, we want people not to race up and down our side streets and our city streets.”
Residents like Polanski say the issue is getting out of control. She's hopeful the police cracking down will bring it to an end.
“I fear for the kids more so than anything because (drivers) race up and down the streets like it’s a racetrack,” Polanski said. "We’ve been asking for it (increased enforcement) for a while, but until they do something, you’re just kind of stuck with it.”
Dearborn police are asking people to report these incidents when they happen. You can do so on the city's website or by calling the department.
