Yeah, loud pipes will eventually prevent most of us from dying in a motorcycle crash, since they give ammunition to the idiots who would like to ban bikes, altogether.
In some circumstances, not all, the sound of a loud pipe does alert cars to the presence of a bike. The problem is, as mentioned, the sound doesn't exactly always travel in the direction you need it to.
I live a block off of a main drag, and 2 good blocks from a busy intersection. (Maybe 2-300 yards from it, as the crow flies.)
I'm sure the loud pipe bunch riding down the main drag, and through that intersection feel much more secure knowing I can hear them in my apartment, and they are in no danger of me running over them with my SOFA!
Of course, I can't really tell which direction they're going from here.....
I've driven more miles than most, and am not convinced any benefit you'd derive from loud pipes, outweighs the amount of annoyance they create.
The pipes themselves aren't totally the problem. I'm convinced it's the idiots clamped to the throttle. It is possible to keep a loud bike 'quiet.
I guess the cruisers are terrified of being run over at stop signs and stop lights, since they seem to love to exercise the pipes while stopped at them.
If the 'loud' thing works, why don't you hear any other group associated with a means of transportation promoting loud exhausts?
Loud pipes on hearses save lives?
Loud pipes on trash trucks save lives?
Loud shoes on the horses pulling Amish buggies save lives?
