Does your car have an aftermarket exhaust system or even a worn-out muffler? If so, and you live in NYC, then you could get hit with a hefty traffic ticket
as NYC takes its crackdown on noise pollution to the next level. Thanks to traffic cameras with built-in microphones, officials can pinpoint cars whose noise emissions aren’t up to regulation standards and hand out fines to the drivers responsible. Why are loud cars being regulated?
NYC’s Section 386 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, which prohibits excessive noise
from motor vehicles, is the cause of the recent crackdown on noise pollution in the city. Until recently, the rule was hard to enforce because discerning one loud vehicle from a rush of traffic is difficult for a police officer to do—but it’s a job that a computer, aided by a microphone and camera, can accomplish easily. Road and Track
explains that one driver of a BMW M3 was fined, and uploaded an image of their ticket. The document detailed that breaking the Section 386 regulations could result in up to $875 in fines if the driver fails to pay the fine by the scheduled date. When did NYC start cracking down on loud cars?
The camera-microphone setup that’s currently being used in NYC
is part of a test system, a pilot run that’s been up and running since September of 2021. Like a speed camera, the new microphones measure the sound of oncoming cars in decibels. With a matching computer system, the sound traps then use their cameras to identify the offending vehicle’s license plate and, therefore, the driver. Although the DEP has denied that their new microphone system is a result of Governor Kathy Hochul’s SLEEP Bill, which aims to cut back on noise pollution in urban areas, the bill and microphone system went into effect the same month.
MORE: You Can Be Sued for Having a Loud Exhaust
Will NYC keep handing out tickets to drivers with loud cars?
It’s uncertain; at present, the DEP will evaluate its microphone system in June of 2022 to measure its effectiveness in terms of cost, community benefits, and resource management.
NYC is unlikely to stop cracking down on loud cars, though—with the highest noise pollution fines in the nation ($150 for first-time offenders), NYC definitely takes noise pollution seriously. And with the U.S. Census Bureau
reporting almost 9 million people in 2021, taking hard measures to cut back on noise pollution in such a densely populated area makes a lot of sense. MORE: Car Modifications That Are Illegal in the U.S.
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