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I am in Amsterdam right now. Two things you notice quick when you are where Dutch people actually live (i.e. outside of Centraal): first, that it is remarkably quiet, and second, that cars are remarkably loud.

The loudest vehicles are the mopeds, though. It's almost like they don't have mufflers. I wonder if they are regulated differently?

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My maxi scooter has its OEM mufflers and it isn't too noisy.

Problem is many people mount noisy aftermarket ones. They mount back the original one when they have the scheduled inspection.

Having said that, outside of the amount of decibels there are engines that are more annoying. 2-strokes high pitch screamers and single and bi-cylinder with lots of low frequency / bass noise.

And there are models that are probably made to pass homologation but do higher noise outside of the rev range used during homologation/inspection. The Yamaha T-Max is one example. It should be prohibited and all its drivers euthanasied. I am obviously joking for the second part but I have never encountered a decent human being riding one, they only attracts the worse of humanity. Yamaha should be ashamed of that.

I did a brief stint in Hoogte Kadijk one summer a few years back , seriously I actually developed severe depression which I think was from lack of sleep due to the unusual heat , the mopeds going past and the Airbnb guests checking into our old building at all hours making so much noise.

I couldn’t wait to leave, which was sad because the winter and autumn was absolutely bliss. We had a great life there.

The mopeds were astoundingly loud though, I’ll never forget it, I had PTSD, I could hear them coming from a ways off and it would make my blood boil before they went past and fuel my insomnia.

What is funny is the mopeds are still plaguing me in a different part of the world now :) they should be banned altogether, they suck.

Completely agree, ban them altogether and mandate electric mopeds instead. Even better, tax them and subsidize the models.

When i was a kid, removing or significantly altering the muffler was the #1 mod to obtain more speed, and then of course there was the psychological effect of making noise to let everyone know you were around, which to me isn't that different to beasts growling loud to mark a wider territory. I guess that is normal for kids, not so much for grown ups.

Yes, 50cc scooters were subjectively as loud as 500cc grand prix bikes and made only 40 km/h. I hated them even when I was 14, the age when I could start driving one.

NJB has a video on the subject which is pretty astounding if you've never really considered it: https://youtu.be/CTV-wwszGw8

It also specifically calls out mopeds: https://youtu.be/CTV-wwszGw8?t=680

When I lived in Shanghai most people were using electric mopeds and it was great. Much quieter.

The gas mopeds (and lawn equipment) can’t get crushed into cubes and replaced with electrics fast enough.

It even makes a lot more sense than electric cars, since they can get away with small swappable batteries.

I live in Amsterdam and beg to differ. You are probably only referring to Jordaan, indeed it's pretty quiet for a simple reason: most streets aren't accessible by car (or if they are, they are a huge pain to drive around on). Have you been to de Pijp? Or the Oud Zuid? They're much more accessible by car and they're also incredibly noisy. I have lived in all 3 and can tell you that the difference is noticeable to say the least.

Gemeente Amsterdam publish a handy noise map (along with some other great public data). Check it out: https://maps.amsterdam.nl/geluid/

The Dutch word "Bromfiets" literally means "Buzzing Bike" where "Brom" is an onomatopoeia for BRRRRRRRRRROOOOOMMMM!!!!!!

https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bromfiets

The equivalent English translation would be "Pthththththbike".

Similarly, a Bumblebee in Danish is known as the “Brumbasse” ( "buzzing bear" or "humming bear")

And also in Holland they barred right from the start using a mobile phone in restaurants which I love. I remember walking around the cobblestones one evening wearing dress shoes with a solid wood heal and got a lot of dirty looks for the clops. Not surprised at all this innovation is Dutch.

I thought all shoes in Holland were made of wood. :-)

Quick note, centraal is an adjective, typically used in the name of the main train station in a city. I think you mean centrum.

First line of the article: "Amsterdam has started the fight against noisy motorcycles and cars."

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