Acoustic cameras developed to fine noisy vehicles

Owners of cars with loud sports exhausts or motorcycles without silencers could soon face fines in the UK following a pioneering new trial of acoustic cameras.

Until now, like Australia, drivers of cars or riders of motorbikes in the UK that exceeded mandatory noise limits were subjectively judged at the side of the road by traffic cops on whether the excessive noise generated is anti-social.

That could soon change with the placement of acoustic cameras that feature directional microphones.

If the noise generated by the car or bike breaches legal limits it triggers the camera to take pictures of the offending vehicle, recording its plate. Automatic plate recognition tech then generates a fine that is sent to the vehicle's legal owner.

The seven-month trial, that's set to take place throughout the UK, is said to have already placed cameras in various locations and has already received backing from a motorcyclist group who has said bikes should "embrace" rather than fight the change.

Following the trial's announcement, the British transport secretary, Chris Grayling, said he hoped the new noise enforcement would combat so-called 'boy racers' who modified their car with loud sports exhausts.

"This technology could provide an alternative to make sure those communities are protected against excessive noise, that the people who are acting illegally are prosecuted... it's a simpler, easier way of doing it," he said.