Amsterdam to use “noise cameras” against too loud cars

Amsterdam has started the fight against noisy motorcycles and cars. On Friday, the city placed electric road signs in two places to warn road users if their vehicles are too loud. The warnings will eventually be replaced by “noise cameras,” which, like speed cameras, automatically send a fine to the offending driver, Parool reports.

The test with the noise signs will start at the Stadhouderskade in the city center and Molenaarsweg in Amsterdam-Noord. The installation consists of a noise meter and a screen a little further on. If the meter registers too much noise, the driver will see the message “Te luid” – “Too loud” in Dutch. Later this month, more sound meters and signs will be installed on Europaboulevard in Zuid and on Tussen Meer in Nieuw-West.

The municipality hopes that the signs alone will already alert road users to the noise their vehicles make and prompt them to do something about it, a spokesperson told Parool.

Rotterdam is conducting a similar experiment in collaboration with Amsterdam. It is part of a broader approach, the municipality of Amsterdam spokesperson said. “Other measures we are taking include a simpler way of enforcement and a feasibility study by TNO into the application of the noise camera. We try to reduce noise nuisance in various ways.”

The noise camera consists of a box containing four microphones that can detect precisely where a sound is coming from. The box is connected to a regular speed camera, which takes a photo of the license plate to issue a fine. If the data from the current experiment proves reliable, Amsterdam and other large cities will ask the Cabinet to have the technology certified.