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Radio News: Florida legislation controls volume knob on car radios
Inside Radio reports that the latest wacky legislation from Florida goes into effect July 1. Drivers must lower the volume of any car device so that it is not heard at a distance beyond 25 feet. Florida House Bill 1435 was created to stop unsanctioned “pop-up” events organized on social media according to Republican sponsor Tom Leek, who said the events were “invasions” that shut down coastal communities. The new law says that a person “operating or occupying a motor vehicle on a street or highway may not operate or amplify the sound produced by a radio, tape player, compact disc player, portable music or video player, cellular telephone, tablet computer, laptop computer, stereo, television, musical instrument, or other mechanical or electronic sound making device or instrument, which sound emanates from the motor vehicle, so that the sound is: “(a) Plainly audible at a distance of 25 feet or more from the motor vehicle; or “(b) Louder than necessary for the convenient hearing by persons inside the vehicle in areas adjoining private residences, churches, schools, or hospitals.” How loud is a radio one can hear from 25 feet away? “I feel like they’re targeting people,” Jacksonville resident Dwohn Leonard said to News 4 Jacksonville. “When they say plainly audible, that’s basically an excuse to pull anyone over because if you have your windows down and your music up even half way, plainly audible would be even somebody on the street being able to hear your music.”