New ‘noise cameras’ in successful first trial

So-called ‘noise cameras’ could be one step closer to going live after the government reported a successful initial trial in four locations across the UK.

The £300,000 trial saw noise cameras installed in four locations – Keighley, Bristol, Great Yarmouth and Rubery, Birmingham. It ran from October 2022 to February 2023.

An independent report produced for the Department for Transport (DfT) concluded that the noise cameras  operate effectively at roadside environments.

The next step for the project is to progress to a live enforcement date.

The actual enforcement noise threshold is expected to be much higher than the maximum noise a car can make when new, which is 72dB for those registered since 2016, and 74dB after 2007 up to 2016.

The proposed enforcement threshold is 95dB at a distance of 7.5 metres, on roads with a speed limit of 50mph or less.

This is still a lot less than the 105dB noise limit that is commonplace at many track days. But it would still cover many unacceptable vehicle modifications.

What’s more, if the noise camera experiment moves forward to the next stage of trials, a lower 85dB limit is suggested, to gather data and help refine the proposed enforcement threshold.

Penalties could include fines of £100, driving licence points and vehicle seizures. These could all be covered under the Police Reform Act 2002, section 52, under the offence 'vehicles used in a manner causing alarm, distress or annoyance.'

How did the noise camera trial work?

The noise camera used in the trial is the MicrodB ‘dBFlash’ camera. It uses a microphone array and includes an ANPR camera. During the trial, it operated in ‘dummy enforcement’ mode, so didn’t issue fines.

1777 activations were recorded across the trial period. Of these, 4% were attributable to excessively noisy vehicles.

False positives, such as emergency vehicles, were identified and excluded by adjusting the noise camera settings.

Interestingly, the cameras were shown to cause a deterrent effect, "where drivers changed their behaviour at the trial sites to emit less noise, or use an alternate route to avoid the noise camera."

This was good for those living by the noise camera – but further work is needed to ensure the problem isn’t transferred elsewhere, say experts.

Just two genuine noise camera activations per day would result in a cost-neutral system, concluded the experts. What’s more, mobile noise cameras would provide an even more cost-effective solution, particularly on local roads.