Car Stereo Etiquette

I won't belabor this one. I could talk about it all day.

But it just came to mind again 'cause last night someone dropped off my next door neighbor, and the dropper offer's stereo was booming as he approached. You could hear it a block away.

By the time he pulled into my neighbor's driveway, my windows were rattling. Then, to add insult to injury, he sat there in the car for a minute...with the stereo still cranked up. Maybe it was a good song that he wanted to hear the end of. I don't know. I've lingered in the car before to catch the end of a song.

Anyway, there are common sense rules to this music thing. I enjoy a good tune as much as the next person while driving. In fact, if you see me on the highway bobbing my head in my Jeep and flapping my gums, I'm probably not on a cellphone headset. I'm probably singing along to something.

But when you're driving into or through a residential neighborhood, turn it down. It ain't that complicated. Just ask yourself how you would react if you got rattled suddenly and things started vibrating their way off your coffee table because of a passing car. If you were on the phone and had to apologize to the other person and get up and walk into another room that was better sound insulated. If you were watching TV and missed that killer line of dialogue.

It's not the most serious violation in the world, but it is an annoyance. So, like I wrote a while back, consider that residential street like an airport runway. You know how the pilot says to put up your seat back and your tray upon final approach? Well, when you're on that final approach home turn down the volume. And when you "take off" again, or get outside the boundaries of the 'hood and onto a main thoroughfare turn it back up if you want. But that volume rule applies to outdoor commercial areas too. No one eating or drinking or shopping outside wants to hear your favorite song.