Noise radars that were first used in Paris last year are now being rolled out in other places throughout the country.
The noise radars, called “Medusa”, feature a central 360-degree camera with several microphones extending outwards. The idea is to dissuade people from fitting loud exhausts to their vehicles.
Undoubtedly, motorcycles are the primary target. L’Automobile Magazine says that the village of Saint-Forget in the Yvelines region is “A hell for the residents, who for many, sought tranquillity in this rural locality.” That “tranquillity” is disrupted by “500 bikers a day,” in the summer, according to L’Automobile Magazine.
L’Automobile Magazine also says that politicians in the Chevreuse Valley region say it is “not uncommon” to record vehicles at 120 decibels (dB) or even 130dB. That’s louder than most race bikes.
In any case, the limit the French authorities are imposing on the vehicles of its people is 90dB, which is 12dB lower than the 102dB limit they are planning on introducing to race tracks in the future. Those exceeding the limits will be fined as much as €135.
This is because 90dB is considered the maximum noise level before annoyance is caused to residents and other road users. L’Automobile Magazine says that the 90dB value will be adjusted, because the radars are still in their testing phase, and need to be correctly calibrated. “The main targets: scooters, and motorcycles, of course,” L’Automobile says.
Similar plans are already being rolled out in the UK. We wrote a few months ago about the plans of the Department for Transport to trial noise cameras in the UK this summer, and about one MP who wanted to use one on the A272.
The problem here is not only the money-grabbing of the authorities, but also the framing of the issue as a motorcycle-only problem. It is just as common, perhaps even more so, for cars to be fitted with loud exhausts as it is for bikes. But, as L’Automobile says, it is scooters and motorcycles who are targeted by the noise limits.
