Cars that are 'too loud' join cars that are 'too fast' and 'too polluting' in government's latest anti-car policy.
The Department for Transport has secretly launched a new assault on motorists, this time with 'noise cameras' that they are installing on roads all over Britain. The noise cameras are specifically designed to target 'nice' cars or those that have 'sports' exhausts.
A new report, from Atkins and Jacobs on behalf of the Department for Transport, claims that enforcement officers would benefit from using the technology in real time. Roadside trials of acoustic cameras took place from October 18, 2022, until February 1, 2023, to monitor how many vehicles had loud exhausts.
The trials took place in Keighley, Bristol, Great Yarmouth and Rubery, Birmingham and were, unsurprisingly, deemed a success.
The technology uses a video camera to film the road and a microphone to accurately excessively noisy vehicles as they pass by on the road. The camera takes a picture of a vehicle and records the noise level to create a digital package of evidence that can be used to fine offending drivers.
A report, Roadside Vehicle Noise Measurement Phase 3 Part C, concluded that the next step would be to allow enforcement officers to take part in live trials to give them practical experience of using the measures.
This would allow the evidence from cameras to be partnered with “back-office systems” to ensure that the technology is ready for a national rollout, if it is progressed that far.
It added: “It is recommended that this is undertaken alongside a public perception study that could influence the selection of deployment scenarios and enforcement action decisions.
“The development of a type approval procedure and data security standard for noise cameras is also a priority to ensure that all products achieve the required performance standards and data encryption protocols.”
Noise cameras were referenced in the Government’s Plan for Drivers as it outlined proposals to allow local councils to roll out noise cameras to target unacceptable vehicle modifications.
The Noise cameras are claimed to be needed to combat the 'modern scourge' or noisy car exhausts, and loud music. The microphones, which can detect anything above a whisper, will be set at 80 dbs. Upon hearing anything louder than that the camera will record an image of the vehicle, and its noise level, and automatically issue a fine set by the local Council.
In the trials 'repeat offender' fines were set at a maximum of £2,500.
According to the Department of Transport road noise can be linked to people suffering from health problems like heart attacks, strokes and dementia. However, the trial did not look at health outcomes and it is unclear how a momentary sound from a vehicle can have any health effects. Sound has never been proven to cause strokes, and there are no studies that prove a link between sound and dementia.
Despite its claims, under the Conservative government there has been a concerted effort by Whitehall to make owning and driving a car unacceptable. Every one of the laws that have been created have involved restrictions the motorist in some way or other. Many have been predicated under a false dichotomy, such as safety, or 'saving the planet'. These rules are then picked up by car-hating left-wing councils who vexatiously enforce them on motorists.
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