Motorcycle Rides- -Wouldn't it be Great!

This Sunday Oct 13 the annual Halloween Witch Ride will pass through Salem, with the proceeds benefiting a worthy cause, the MDA. As a downtown resident, non-biker, friend of bike-riders, I have learned to dread this event and others like it.

• Wouldn't it be great if motorcyclists concerned about their safety had a light-package option to alert cars to their presence instead of loud pipes (that aren't heard by highways drivers with windows up and music going)?
  
• Wouldn't it be great if the Salem Police Department alerted ride organizers in advance that a "sound-trap" will be in place on the route into Salem and actually set up such a "sound-stop" and ticket drivers with illegally loud pipes?
  
• Wouldn't it be great if Salem residents could hear their living room or restaurant conversations over the sound of the bikes going by and welcome the attention (and business) the event brings to our city?
• Wouldn't it be great if the ride organizers managed their participants the way bars manage rowdy patrons-- 3 strikes and you're out because you give the majority of responsible motorcyclists a bad name.
• Wouldn't it be great if motorcycle fans could continue to enjoy this event in the future without the specter of anti-ride protesters en route and petitioning the city to discontinue routing the event through Salem?