France vs. Loud Pipes: Enter The Noise Cameras!

[advrider]

The global War on Loud Pipes continues, with France the latest battleground as noise cameras roll out across the country. Yes, the same soil that once hosted such famous scraps as the Somme Offensive, the Battle of Agincourt and the ominously foreboding Siege of Strasbourg is now the epicenter of a crackdown on noisy vehicles, particularly motorcycles, that has spread across the Free World in the past decade.

That’s some exaggerated language, but this has been ramping up worldwide ever since an enterprising Canadian invented noise cameras in the early 2010s. Driven by frustration over loud pipes waking his sleeping baby, this man invented a device that works much the same as a speed camera. Instead of a radar gun tracking your speed, though, there’s a microphone array that tracks your motorcycle’s noise. Through the magic of computers, a ticket is then issued to the registered owner. Welcome to the twenty-first century, where a bureaucracy handles law enforcement, not a human being capable of sensible on-the-spot judgment,

It’s easy to see why municipalities around the world have been testing these cameras, though (cities across the US, UK, Canada and the EU have been trying them out in much-publicized trials, with varying results). Loud pipes might briefly annoy the neighbors in the countryside, but they’re a non-stop annoyance in urban areas. If you live in a biker hotspot, you might end up with a round-the-clock V-twin soundtrack when you need sleep. At least, you’ll have it on days when it doesn’t rain.

That’s the reason why French cities are testing these cameras now, says this piece in Automobile-Magazine. In summer months, the village of Saint-Forget sees nearly 500 motorcycles pass through daily. That has the potential to be a lot of loud pipes in an otherwise quiet town. Or, as the Google Translate version of the article calls it, “A hell for the residents, who for many were looking for tranquility in this rural locality, but who face the parade of followers of one of the rare winding roads in Ile-de-France, the famous road of 17 bends.”

It turns out there are three companies’ cameras involved in these tests across France, and while they won’t be handing out tickets in initial weeks, that will change in the days to come. And unlike a gendarme, who requires overtime pay and vacation time, these cameras will be on-duty 24-7, 365. No longer will authorities tell residents they don’t have manpower to deal with the problem—manpower isn’t needed with noise cameras, or at least, very little is needed.

Reportedly, these cameras are set up with a 90 dB threshhold to start with, but that’s expected to change; no word yet on which direction they’ll change, though.

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