BAMBERG, Germany (July 31, 2013) -- U.S. Army Garrison Bamberg has established a new policy to counteract loud music from privately owned vehicles. Violations can now be punished starting with a verbal warning for the first offense to a thirty-day on-post driving privilege suspension and two points assessed for the fourth offense. In addition, fines apply off-post.
"Excessive noise interferes with driver situational awareness creating the potential for a 'distracted driver'," according to the policy letter. This could result in personal injury, property damage, nuisance to others and unfavorable representation of U.S. personnel to the local national hosts.
Off-post regulations
"Stentorian music is not just a problem for the driver; it can pose a danger to all passengers' hearing," said Holger Dremel, Bamberg Police Department chief inspector. "Generally we have to differentiate between a disturbance from a driving or parking vehicle. While driving, the road traffic regulations apply. When the noise comes from a parked vehicle, the administrative offenses act comes into play."
Dremel points out that although drivers will not lose their license when stopped due to loud music off-post, fines can be much higher if a driver is involved in an accident while listening to loud music. In addition, car insurance companies base their damage adjustments upon the police report and may not cover all costs in accidents involving noise violations.
The new policy letter is in accordance with IAW AER 190-1, the driver and vehicle requirements and the installation traffic code for the U.S. Forces in Germany and AR 190-5, which regulates the motor vehicle traffic supervision. It can be viewed at the garrison's website, www.bamberg.army.mil, under the policies and SOPs section.
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