Loud Pipes don't Save Lives.
Where is the logic to that? Why then doesn't everything put out a thunderous roar, since no one wants to die?
Is it to help combat the threat presented by a collision with a larger vehicle? If so, then my ST should belt out a thunderous roar whenever I use the interstate system, as my ST would be turned into a tin can upon collision with one of the many interstate-traveling tractor trailers.
If loudness saved lives, by avoiding collisions, then no one would hit loud vehicles like garbage trucks, school buses, diesel trucks, trucks with loud exhaust...or harleys. Clearly harleys are still being hit, or we wouldn't have that catchy propaganda phrase, so loudness fails to stop collisions, and thus save lives.
With the windows up and the radio on, I could easily miss hearing a siren, and certainly a harley. Unless you want to be loud enough to overpower the radio and the muffling effect of glass, the loud pipes will have little to no effect on the majority of people who drive with their windows up.
If loud pipes REALLY saved motorcyclist lives, then why don't the asiatic bikes sport them? A kawasaki ninja sounds like an electric weedwhacker, and I have never seen any report that says that it gets in more collisions than a harley.
Finally, if loud pipes are really lifesavers for motorcyclists, then why does the state-sanctioned Basic Rider Course for the motorcycle license in the great State of Maryland use motorcycles that are not overly loud?