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
I'd like to add to what I wrote earlier this a.m.

Although having a talk w/this fellow seems like it could possibly work out, if it doesn't & there's subsequent enforcement, guess who he's going to remember as having a problem w/his truck? Unfortunately, one of the worst human traits is being vindictive, so since the cycle of complaints has already started, I would keep trying to use the system for now.

I owned my own truck for 10 yrs. & parked it right in my driveway w/o problems from my neighbors & wouldn't want an idling truck across the street from me either. If it doesn't have a reefer unit, I don't understand why this fellow lets his truck idle all the time, although I have a few ideas. Engine wear isn't a consideration, although if I were stopping for 10 minutes or so, I wouldn't shut the engine off.

Regardless of who owns the truck, it should have a name on it somewhere along with a DOT number, although some states don't require a US DOT number if the truck is only used for intrastate purposes. Even with that, there should be some kind of identifying # and if used for interstate travel, should have an IFTA sticker.

I'm mentioning all this because I know CA is very interested in collecting fuel tax money from every truck on the highway, so if it doesn't have the necessary permits, there are some state agencies who would be very interested in this truck.

Several yrs. ago I had some neighbors (actually I prefer to just say the people next door) who disrupted the tranquility of our area for an entire year. I, along with other neighbors, used "the system" and eventually were able to force the homeowner, who was renting, to sell his property. I came very close to doing something I'd still be paying for if I used alternative methods, although if it happened again, I'm not sure how I'd react.

Bottom line is you can prevail, although it may take some effort on your part.
Jay, are you still planning on moving? That sounds like the best relief yet. That, or headphones. Hope to see you soon!
Howard
Yes, 15 minutes is not a long time. But, I was the only house on the street and he had to pull up right in front of my house. In addition, he was blocking our driveway. He wasn't the first sub of the builder to do something like this. There was a drywall delivery truck who wanted to unload at 2am and a bulldozer that wanted to grade a lot in the middle of the night.

I would warn him then sign the compaint the next time he did it. He knows that his neighbors are ticked off at him because the Police have been there numerous times.
No doubt, Jay. Sorry to hear about the problem.

We've had one of another type...body shop across the alley. BAAAD paint fumes! Strange, all I ever feel like listening to anymore is the Grateful Dead. The combination definitely gives you that 'you are there' experience, though. :-)
Good luck with the move,
Howard