#Camera calculate dark noise drivers#
#Camera calculate dark noise trial#

Some cannot speak for themselves and suffer behind closed doors. Sudden loud sounds can cause children with autism to bolt or hide and adults to withdraw from public life. In a cruel irony, dementia patients may also develop a profound and distressing sensitivity to noise, as can children and adults with sensory-processing disorders such as autism. In 2021 a Danish study linked transport noise to the risk of dementia. Some of the harm is thought to stem from sleep disruption and the sustained release of stress hormones. There is evidence to link transport noise to a startling range of medical conditions, including heart disease, strokes and impaired learning in childhood.

If anything, noise cameras and EVs seem to be creating each other. Most of the noisy cars on sale until 2030 will still be viable in 2050: noise cameras will write plenty of tickets before that date, and quite some time after.

#Camera calculate dark noise drivers#

A growing band of rebel drivers seem to define themselves by a dislike of EVs and the green agenda. It will be several decades before silent EVs might make much difference – if ever.

Unfortunately, the outlook remains noisy. A 2012 survey by the UK Government found that 60% of UK households suffer with exhaust noise daily.

In a 2020 survey conducted by Kantar in the UK, over 75% of respondents “overwhelmingly agree” that the Government should act to reduce traffic noise. The public has certainly spotted that roads are louder lately. Making matters worse, owners of noisy cars love to add illegal exhaust modifications, which are surprisingly tough for the police to prosecute, even if they are easy to hear. Even today, some sports car manufacturers enjoy noise exemptions from the EU on the basis of being a “low production-volume manufacturer.” Production volume may be low in any one year, but the numbers add up over time: there are now over 30,000 Porsche Boxsters on UK roads alone, to name just one model. These firms used fierce lobbying and some Dieselgate-style tactics to neutralise noise rules. Loud cars really went mainstream in the late 1990s, when vehicle manufacturers expanded the production of their sports brands, such as Mercedes’ AMG. Vehicle noise is not confined to a few hotspots: it’s everywhere, not least because the authorities appear to have lost control of vehicle noise regulation. The town of Elkhart, Indiana has collected over $1.6m in noise fines from a population of just 52,000. Best of all, cash-strapped local governments may keep the penalty revenue from noise tickets. This lowers the legal bar for prosecution, and in many cases can be pursued not only by police but by local councils too. Better yet, noise is unlike speed in that it is a civil offence, not a criminal one. The cameras have been broadly self-financing in most locations, despite being barely out of prototype. If the rest of the world goes on to spend like Taiwan, the market for vehicle noise enforcement will easily exceed $1bn – a decent prize for any global ITS firm.Ĭompared to speed enforcement, noise enforcement schemes are straightforward. Other cities are trialling noise cameras too. Plainly, voters prefer peaceful homes to loud exhausts. The politicians behind such schemes are pushing on an open door: over 85% of residents in Taipei and Kensington say they strongly approve of noise cameras.

#Camera calculate dark noise trial#

Kensington has only 150k residents, yet its borough council spent a healthy £75k on a trial camera, which collected circa £5k per month over a three-month period. In October 2021 Taiwan announced plans to spend $4m on a national network of noise enforcement cameras.