Adrenaline junkie boy racers with excessively loud motors are the target of a new hi-tech road camera that measures noise rather than speed.
Great Yarmouth’s seafront, popular with gathering of car enthusiasts, is one of four sites where noise cameras will be trialled to catch cars with loud exhaust popping, excessive revving and loud music.
Large or big bore exhausts, which increase engine noise, are illegal for use on public roads but are an increasing nuisance.
At the moment, the legal noise limit for road cars is 74 decibels - the equivalent noise of a hoover at top blast.
Non-compliance can lead to a £50 on-the-spot fine. Persistent offenders in extreme cases could have their vehicle seized.
However the rules are difficult to enforce with police making a subjective judgement that an exhaust system is not standard and is noisier than a normal exhaust.
The new camera solves this by using technology to determine whether the legal limit has been breached by taking into account the class and speed of the vehicle relative to the location of the noise camera.
How do noise cameras work?
The new technology uses a video camera and several microphones which can accurately pinpoint excessively noisy vehicles as they pass by.
When the camera hears a vehicle making a noise of 80db, it takes a picture and records the noise level to create a digital package of evidence.
This will then be used to issue a fine — much like a regular traffic camera would for a speeding ticket.
An earlier trial in Chelsea in London - a magnet for supercars - saw more than 130 drivers fall foul of it in the first 11 days.
The record was set by a Lamborghini at 112.9db, louder than acceptable noise levels set by Motorsport UK for racing vehicles.
The cameras can be tuned to ignore emergency vehicles and lorries which are assessed to different noise standards than cars.
Why is it being trialled in Great Yarmouth?
The camera system will be used on the seafront in Yarmouth before Christmas.
The resort has long attracted unauthorised car and motorcycle gatherings.
The council put in place a public spaces protection order (PSPO) in 2016 to combat the increase in wheel spins, engine popping, loud music and racing.
It is currently holding a public consultation on extending it until 2026.
The PSPO conditions allows both police and enforcement to issue £80 fixed penalty notices or prosecute those flouting the rules, which could lead to a fine of up to £1,000 and a possible driving ban.
Paul Wells, chairman of the environment committee, said: "This PSPO helps to tackle the anti-social behaviour of a minority of car enthusiasts and their passengers, who act in a way that is completely unacceptable, inconsiderate and often dangerous to themselves and others."
Why are noisy cars an issue?
The problem is not limited to Great Yarmouth. In Norwich people living near a city centre car park where car 'adrenaline junkies' gather complained of it making their lives hell with loud music and even louder cars.
While a pressure group against noise and speed in Lowestoft has admitted its "disappointment" the town has not been chosen to trial the cameras.
Road noise is a major cause of sleep disturbance and is known to contribute to health problems, such as heart attacks, strokes and dementia
Gloria Elliott, of the Noise Abatement Society, said: “Excessively noisy vehicles and anti-social driving causes disturbance, stress, anxiety and pain to many.
“It is unsafe and disrupts the environment and people’s peaceful enjoyment of their homes and public places.”
Will the trial lead to more noise cameras on Norfolk roads?
Noise cameras are already in use in Canada, Singapore, Australia and the United Arab Emirates, but they are new to Britain.
The system was installed in Bradford this week, before travelling to South Gloucestershire and Birmingham, as well as Great Yarmouth, as part of the £300,000 trial.
The locations for these roadside trials were based on the impact to local residents of illegal noisy vehicles, after MPs applied for the camera to be set up in their local area.
If successful, the cameras could be rolled out nationwide.
Andrew Pearce, practice director of Atkins-Jacobs Joint Venture, who acting as a technical consultants, said: “We are fully expecting the trial in these four chosen locations to confirm what we have seen in testing, which is a highly targeted use of technology to ensure only those motorists making excessive noise will be subject to enforcement.”
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