There’s a time and a place for noisy cars. More often than not, it isn’t in a crowded residential or urban area. Cops can’t be asked to pull over every noisy vehicle, and for that, cities such as New York have implemented more automated solutions.
Traffic cameras equipped with sound meters in the Big Apple gave out 71 tickets in 2022 for noisy exhausts. The city has not said where they are installed or how many there are, but more are coming. New York has some of the strictest noise pollution laws in the country, and now that local officials are seeing results, the program will only expand. New York’s noise threshold is based on speed and distance for most cars: at 35 mph the car can’t be audible from 150 feet away, or 200 feet for a motorcycle, according to the City of New York.
When the cameras detect a vehicle making noise above the legal limit, the offending machine is identified, and a ticket is issued based on its license plate. The fine is $800 for a first-time offense, although higher fines of up to $2,625 can be issued if three hearings concerning the violations are ignored, according to The Associated Press.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams has said that noise pollution “makes it hard to sleep and increases the risk of chronic disease,” although he is not the first mayor of the city to go after noise pollution. His predecessor Michael Bloomberg issued strict regulations concerning everything from jackhammers to dogs barking.
Some car enthusiasts will welcome these changes. Others with loud modified exhausts will not be happy about it. These systems will doubtlessly spread to other cities as efforts to curb noise pollution increase.
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