The Editor, Sir:

The horrendous noises that are being made by the "jakes brake" apparatus that is attached to just about every large 18-wheeler truck travelling along the north coast and the mobile sound systems installed in many motor cars that literally shake everything as they pass, has the potential to eventually make every person in this nation of 2.7 million completely deaf, dumb and insane.

It is also apparent that those who have the responsibility to protect the decibel levels to which we are exposed may have already fallen victim, as the contest for who can make the loudest noise with a motor vehicle seems to be falling on deaf ears. This insanity must stop - that is if Jamaica is to have any hope of ever becoming a civililised or decent society. It is also quite possible that consistent exposure to this noise pestilence could be a significant contributing factor to the culture of violence in Jamaica.

The scientific community has sufficient evidence of the health hazards that are attributed to the exposure of various forms of pollution, including noise.

I am, etc.,

MICHAEL C. MOYSTON

Jahspeed@hotmail.com