Can a loud and painful noise cause you to have an accident? What are your rights when a busker is bothering you?

A busker playing a saxophone on the street corner has no right to blast out The Entertainer in your face. Not only can it be loud and painful, it can also cause you to have an accident. Some people think that the busker is annoying but that’s just tough. If a busker is bothering you, call the police.

It may sound like a joke but it’s not. Police in Britain are taking action against buskers who play louder than is reasonable and officers were recently told to take into account ‘the annoyance of others’ when determining whether a busker should be prosecuted.

The law has now been clarified after a case involving Julian Charles, 39, who was arrested while playing saxophone on a bridge above the River Thames in London. Mr Charles was convicted of breaching his licence under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 by playing too loudly. He had previously been warned about playing too loudly and was cautioned by police who then arrested him when he refused to stop playing.

Mr Charles went to court to try to overturn his conviction but lost and has now lodged an appeal with the High Court which has granted him permission to challenge his conviction on grounds of freedom of expression and whether police had misinterpreted the 1847 Act.

Police are

A very loud, but very good guitarist is currently playing across the road in my back yard. He is so loud that I cannot hear the television, and therefore wants to take out a noise complaint. Do I have any rights?

Yes. You have the right to expect that your neighbours will not make loud noises unreasonably early in the morning or late at night. If you can prove that you are being disturbed for a sustained period of time, that would be considered unreasonable.

The City of Sydney’s website has this to say:

A person must not use, or permit to be used, an amplifying device (whether or not it is placed on a vehicle) unless the device is used between 8am and 10pm on any day (other than on a Sunday) or between 9am and 10pm on a Sunday.

However, if you have been woken up by a busker at 7am on a Sunday morning, and then again at 8am on Monday morning, then you may be able to prove that their use of an amplification device was unreasonable under the City of Sydney’s local laws and regulations.

You should also bear in mind that any legal action against your neighbours may result in bad feeling, so before taking serious action think carefully about

The busker was dressed as a statue, so I assumed he was deaf and dumb. But then he moved and started playing his guitar.

I thought this is going to be annoying and loud, but it’s not too bad. Then he took out the violin. It was terrible.

He stood right outside my open window and played and played, so loud I couldn’t concentrate on anything I was doing inside.

I asked him to stop because of the noise, but he just stared at me while he kept on playing and smiling.

I called the police, but they said buskers have a right to play in public places and there is nothing they can do about it.

Is that true?

The busker in question is a lifesize statue of a man wearing green robes and a broad brimmed hat. It stands without moving, with a hat at its feet for people to throw money into.

The statue was standing on the pavement right next to the zebra crossing just before our junction. Not only did it appear to be an obstruction (which would have been enough for me), but as we approached it suddenly started playing loud music from some hidden speaker system. I gave the horn a short blast as we passed but she didn’t react so I had to brake quite sharply and turn my steering wheel away from her. We had an accident and she was injured.

She wants compensation for her injuries, but I say that she caused the accident in the first place by obstructing the road and making a noise to distract me, so she should pay for my damaged car instead. If there hadn’t been a statue standing right next to the zebra crossing as I was turning right then this wouldn’t have happened.

You’re a busker. You play the ukulele outside of a museum, hoping tourists will throw coins into your guitar case.

Now, imagine you see an old lady heading toward you. What do you do?

Do you:

Continue to play your ukelele, and hope she goes away?

Continue playing, but lower the volume?

Put your ukelele down, and hope she’ll give you money anyway?

You probably chose option 2 or 3. Playing loudly at an old lady seems mean, and might make her fall over with fright. But if she does fall over from fright, are you liable for her injuries? Is it different from making her trip over your guitar case?

A busker in the centre of town has set up his business right by my window. All day he plays the trumpet as loudly as he can, disturbing me, my family and my neighbours. He has a licence to busk for six hours at a time, but sometimes he stays longer and even comes back at night to play. I have complained to the council but they have not helped. What can I do?

You cannot force the council to remove him from that spot, but there are ways you can mitigate the situation yourself.

Firstly, you could contact your local councillor and explain how this is affecting your quality of life; it would be best if a few other residents did this too. If enough people complain about the same issue, councils should take notice and help resolve it.

Secondly, you could buy some earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones if you do not already own any. If these don’t work, try moving your bedroom away from where you think the sound is coming into your flat, or into another room altogether.

Thirdly, check if your window is draughty: if it is then when closed it is likely to vibrate in sympathy with loud noises outside – so ensure it fits properly and seal the gaps with silicone

I am a busker in Wellington, New Zealand. I play loud music on the street in the central city for about five hours each day, four days per week. My stage is a small suitcase with a sign that says “Statue Busker”. The sign also has a picture of me dressed as a statue, so people know that I am not actually a statue, but rather someone who dresses up as one to entertain them.

When I perform, I dress as a life-size statue and stand completely still. Every now and then, I move and make some noise to surprise people and get their attention. Then I go back to standing still.

Sometimes, people come up to me and start talking to me while my sign clearly states that I am performing and not to talk to me (although I will answer you if you ask for directions). They do this because they think it is funny that I am wearing dark glasses and earplugs so they cannot see or hear me react to them.

I have had many other buskers try to intimidate me into giving up my “spot” so they can perform there instead. Some of them have even tried to destroy my equipment because they do not like my style of performance.

I am very upset about this behaviour

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