You have all heard it many times. The latest generation of muscle cars (think Mustangs, Camaros, Chargers, Challenger SRT Hellcats, etc) seem to come stock with the ability to stomp on the gas and rattle windows for a couple of blocks. Back in the day it took aftermarket "glass packs" to get high volume, look-at-me noise. But these days it seems to be stock. The WSJ has a piece on the idea of "noise cameras" generating tickets for said noise:
NEWPORT, R.I.—As the crimson Mustang GT rumbled toward winding Ocean Avenue on the rocky Atlantic coast, a roadside noise camera was listening. The device measured the Ford’s throaty engine and exhaust at 85 decibels, two over Newport’s limit, city records show. A camera snapped its license plate.
The likely cost of that late July ride through this upscale tourist town? A $250 ticket for violating the municipal noise ordinance.
Noise cameras are the new frontier in automated traffic enforcement. Growing numbers of agencies across the U.S., from New York to Hawaii, see them as a way to combat revving engines, blaring stereos, honking horns and earsplitting mufflers—some illegally altered.
New York City reigns as the U.S. noise-camera epicenter. It operates 10 in partnership with U.K.-based Intelligent Instruments, whose SoundVue cameras film and pinpoint the offending vehicle even with others present.
After the Walk with Wine event, I was dining al fresco on the Avenue and two ridiculously loud, look-at-me drivers blasted the street with exhaust noise. Could certain situations occur where it's unavoidable? Maybe. Here's one excuse that didn't work with the judge.
That logic doesn’t sit well with city resident Anthony Aquilino. A noise camera in Manhattan recorded his $315,000 Lamborghini Huracán at 92 decibels. The insurance broker said he would have deserved a ticket for “acting arrogant” behind the wheel. But he said he was driving 25 miles an hour to a prostate-cancer awareness event. The burst of noise, he said, came when he braked for a pothole and the car downshifted.
I saw two Lambos parked on Howard last week. How they navigate El Camino without shredding their undercarriages is unknown. I think Noise Cameras are an innovation whose time has come. Start with the Ave, Broadway and ECR. Maybe the fines collected can fund another traffic officer.
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