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Help: my neighbor is killing my music....

I have a truck driver neighbor that has a tendency to leave his diesel truck idling for hours and hours and hours. One time it idled for nearly 20 hours, no kidding. He parks his rig across the street from where I live and sometimes the low frequencies are in-escapable in my home. Forget about listening to music. On ocassion, depending on where exactly he parks, my bedroom sounds like a running refrigerator.

An idling engine is illegal in a residential area in the state of California. I know, I checked. I have called the police several times and they have shown up several times. The idling stops and then starts up again. Whatever fine he is getting from the police does not seem to bother my neighbor very much. Either he pays it or ignores it. Whatever he gets fined must be worth leaving his engine idle for hours.

I am posting this note now as my neighbor's truck won't let me get to sleep. I am at my wit's end. Calling the police doesn't do any good as the idling is still goes on. I don't want to comfront this guy face to face and start some kind of hassle. I just want him to park his rig in a truck stop where it is supposed to be parked.

I need my sleep.

I want to be able to hear my music, again.

Any ideas?
matchstikman
bigjoe's avatar
bigjoe
693 posts
 
i know you said you dont want a face to face confrontation with this guy but at this point it should be obvious that he has no intention of shutting his truck off.

here's what ya do,the next time this inconsiderate slob leaves his truck running go straight to your garage,dig out your lawnmower,remove the muffler,start that puppy up & park it with the exhaust pointing directly at his house & dont shut it off till he shuts his truck off.

you must realize that he spends so much time in his truck with it running while he sleeps that the sound of a deisel engine running is like a lullaby to him & if you dont do somthing about it then it will never stop.

mike.
david_berry
211 posts
 
Completely agree with Driver and Fatparrot.
If you do decide to talk to him, have a frame of mind that this WILL NOT BE A CONFRONTATION, but a friendly request/discussion. If he starts to get miserable, just politely thank him for his time and walk away. At that point in time, fully implement Driver's and Fatparrot's suggestions.
It is unfortunate that there are some people who are truly inconsiderate in the fullest sense of the word.
hbarrel's avatar
hbarrel
342 posts
 
Unless you live in the sticks surely your community has noise ordinances.
Plus as stated earlier most communities have ordinances regarding the parking of commercial vehicles in residential neighborhoods.

Inconsiderate SOB's are the bane of mankind.
It will be your fault that's there is a problem. He'll not have a clue as to the grief he is causing you, plus some others who live nearby that feel as you.

Call your local assembly person/council person even if it's three o'clock in the morning and voice your complaint. If there are not noise/commercial vehicle ordinances on the books then there should.

Now this kills me, the local police won't hesitate to issue tickets for speeding and the like but have violations of civil ordinances they drive around totally ignoring the issue. A person has to call in and formally complain which puts the bad guy moniker on the complaintant rather than on the cop.

Personally I like the lawn mower idea.
nsgarch's avatar
nsgarch
2,524 posts
 
And get some of your neighbors to join you. You can't be the only one that's being disturbed.
matchstikman OP
205 posts
 
Thanks for all the ideas. My truck driver neighbor finally left last night around midnight. It is so nice this morning. It is quiet.

I actually have the ordinance number of the law that states that engines cannot idle in a residential area unless they are performing some kind of work like road repair, etc. The police dispatcher was very sympathetic to my problem. But, after calling the police more than a few times and nothing really happening, calling the police again seems to be a waste of time.

This guy is an independent because you don't see the same truck all the time.

I will follow up and keep you posted if you want. Thanks.
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