LETTER: Car show says noise was controlled

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June 16, 2023

Benoni City Times 1 minute read

Jessie Farmery, Benoni, writes:

Well, all those who attended the classic car rally at Benoni Northerns had a wonderful time. However, organisers, when did it become acceptable to scare animals with what sounded like fireworks or gunshots in a built-up area?

It was, in fact, a**holes who think it is great to make their exhausts backfire. Shame on Benoni Notherns for allowing it. It has been referred by a councillor who was at our home and was also disgusted by it.

Editor’s note: Koos de Wet, from the East Rand Motor Show, responded: “The East Rand Motor Show are animal lovers, and almost every show of ours was in aid of an animal-related charity in one way or another. I was busy in the front and only noticed a classic car with issues backfiring near me (cars regularly backfire).
“The other noises I heard were softer and are called ‘pops’ and ‘bangs’, a popular modification on certain cars that regularly drive around Northmead Square and most residential areas.
“I am not even sure they came from the event because they happen everywhere nowadays. Also, we had a safety officer on site to ensure things would be under control. On the roads, there is no safety officer, and people do what they want, unlike at an event where we can ask them to stop or leave if they do not follow the rules.
“I suggest the OP join the event next time, have fun seeing the beautiful classic cars and see what it is all about, the joy of father and son enjoying their common love for cars, old toppies like myself having lekker chats for hours about our cars and the ones we owned, and most of all, see that there is less noise coming from the event than your regular Friday night illegal drag races. Thank you to all those who came to support the event, appreciating the beautiful cars and supporting our hard-working vendors.”