Noisy neighbors are some of the worst folks around, as they seemingly have nothing better to do than to mess with you and your right to privacy. I mean, if I'm not hurting anyone, what business is it of yours what I do?
But the absolute worst of these people are those who move into a housing development right next to a race track, something they would've clearly been aware of before signing the mortgage, and then proceeding to complain and call the cops on the track because "The noise is ruining their peace and quiet." I'm sorry, but y'all knew what you were signing up for and can't complain after the fact. Yet, they do, and do so in such numbers, many race tracks now have onerous noise ordinances they must abide by—Laguna Seca comes to mind—or are straight-up closing down because they can't fight the lawyers these folks bring.
Luckily, a handful of states are now standing up for these local businesses that have been in their locales for a lot longer than these newcomers. And the latest victory for track owners and track rats alike is in the great state of South Carolina, where another "Right to Race" piece of legislation was just signed into law.
Right to Race, using the nomenclature of Right to Repair, follows a similar mantra as what it's borrowed from, i.e., the ability to race where you once did, just as you once could work on your own vehicles without needing approval by the manufacturer. But the bill, H. 4706, is designed, as like many others, to indemnify local race tracks from noise complaints brought on by new housing developments and their residents which get placed close to an existing track.
Basically, the idea is to codify the race track's right to existence into law before noise complaints are hurled in their direction by folks who didn't live near it just a few short years ago when these tracks were out in the middle of nowhere. And it's to preserve a place for people to go and race their machines as the world gets smaller and smaller.
According to the American Motorcycle Association, "H. 4706 states that pre-existing racing facilities cannot face any nuisance claims from surrounding property owners within a three-mile radius, as long as the developer of the racing facility obtained all necessary permits or established the development of the facility before the property owner purchased their land or began construction." Basically, it's common sense legislation in an era where common sense ain't common. Good job, South Carolina.
South Carolina is now the fourth state to enact such legislation, with Iowa, North Carolina, and Kansas being the other three. Three other states are looking to support such efforts, too, with them being Michigan, Ohio, and Oklahoma, according to AMA.
Local race tracks are often the lifeblood of grass-roots enthusiasm. They're the spots where everyone goes to hang out, talk shit, and show up to work when you want/need to go fast. They're the places where the greats start their careers and without them, we won't have any greats left.
