The council is exploring the possibility of using acoustic cameras to catch excessively noisy cars and motorbikes on the city’s streets.
Brighton and Hove City Council says it seeking more information about the cameras, which are being used in Kensington and Chelsea to fine noisy motorists £100.
The cameras have caught 289 motorists driving at more than 100 decibels – well over the legal limit of 72dBs for cars registered since 2016, and 74dB from 2007-2016.
A council spokesperson said: “We have made preliminary enquiries to try to find out more about these noise cameras, and we are also aware of government trials.
“However, at this stage our interest is purely exploratory.
“If at a later stage it was felt to be an idea worth pursuing, officers would prepare a paper for councillors to consider with costings and information about the possible pros and cons of such a scheme.
“If people do suffer from vehicle noise due to anti-social driving they can contact the police about it”
The Sunday Times reported that Kensington and Chelsea now wants to increase the fines to £400 after expanding the scheme from a Knightsbridge pilot to cover the whole borough in November.
It said between June 2021 and February 2022, almost 10,000 vehicles were caught – with BMW drivers topping the list, followed by Lamborghini, Mercedes, Ferrari, Audi and Land Rover drivers.
Westminster has also started a similar scheme, and caught a motorist hitting 111.1dBs – just over the average human pain threshold, and similar to a helicopter taking off.
Emergency vehicles and those sounding their horn to avoid a collision are not fined.
In January, Westminster cameras filmed 100 cars performing doughnuts near to the Royal Albert Hall in the early hours, prompting a police investigation.
The Department for Transport recently conducted trials near a café popular with motorcyclists in Hampshire.
There is the odd vehicle/motorbike making excessive noise. Maybe the council should look into speeding vehicles, that would make the roads safer and also be a huge cash cow
You’d just get all the loony motorists complaining again. I’ve yet to see a coherent argument against them, as they’re a benefit to the local economy and target people who are breaking the law, but the drivers keep complaining.
Some Guy
You get the loony anti car brigade who offer nothing but a one sided view without thinking things through. The consideration that people other than motorists might have an opinion seems to fly above some peoples heads.
As a council tax payer, I would be asking if we as a City, have a real problem with noise. Personally I don’t think we do. There’s the odd noisy vehicle, so would the costs of installing and monitoring be justified.
Anything like this needs to pay for itself, I don’t think it would.
You must be deaf
Why not tackle both?
I’ve lived in Patcham for many years and what sounds like either a motorcycle hill climb up Mill Road, or motorbikes accelerating up the A23 at full blast, has been going on most nights for years at about 11pm. There’s also the cars with trumpet exhaust ends fitted. Like most things you get used to it and not many people seem bothered. In my younger days the aim was to get a car as quiet as possible if using it on public roads – if you could roll up behind someone without them noticing the engine was quiet enough. Having said that I did have cars with straight-through exhausts too.
Move to 7 dials and see if you get used to it there. It’s hellish.
Here’s a coherent argument. Unit cost for these things I have seen ranging between £7K – £11K. How many do we need? Who are we expecting to catch and fine? The multiple supercar owners of Brighton and Hove, or the odd Trev with his Fiesta XR2 and beer can exhaust who will end up paying at £2/week? These boy racers are easily spotted anyway, acoustic cameras are not required. More wasting of residents tax from this council hell bent on attacking motorists from every angle.
Maybe we should be aiming for vehicle seizure on first non-payment, which would solve the whole problem at a stroke.
I don’t really see how, Trev’s XR2 won’t fetch much at auction.
The problem isn’t the money, but the loud car. Un-louden it and auction it off, and let quiet reign!
The point you seem to be consistently missing is IS THERE A NEED FOR THESE CAMERA’S?
We don’t want to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds if the system won’t pay for itself.
I’d vote for that in an instant.
Decent motorists aren’t being attacked so you don’t have anything to worry about.
I do not undertand why even ordinary motor cycles are allowed to be far noisier than autombiles. Will these, too, become electric?
And what is a “boy racer” which is mentioned by another commenter.
Loud cars are not good for mindfulness. Folk need to be peaceful
Yes, they disturb my concentration on yogurt and muesli.
I have heard of selling doughnuts and eating doughnuts, but “performing doughnuts? What is that?”
Spinning your car around in a circle on flat tarmac, leaving circular tracks of tyre rubber (the actual “doughnut” referred to).
Why not spend the money on converting the decommissioned speed cameras into insurance checking cameras. Probably a better way to spend money than trying to catch the odd 1 in 10000000 driver who’s a bit of a chav.
Better still just build a park and ride.