Drivers who play vigorous music, slam on the gas pedal, or scream around town have been warned Belgian City of Ghent: Their vehicles may be confiscated for violating noise restrictions.
The city of Flanders introduced a new regulation last month that allows police to impound drivers of excessively noisy vehicles, either by playing loud music (known as boom cars) for aggressive driving, or by tampering with the engine and exhaust pipes to make them Vehicles make louder noises.
The municipality stated that they are receiving more and more complaints about car noise, including a protest in June, when 120 people took to the streets to protest engine and exhaust pipe noise. Bram Van Loo, legal and security consultant Ghent The mayor identified several noise issues: “The car is very loud due to the engine, specific engine system, specific audio system or exhaust pipe. It is also people accelerating, stopping, turning around and speeding.”
According to the new regulations, drivers who violate the noise limit will be detained for at least 72 hours and must bear towing and storage costs. The law came into effect last month and expires at the end of the year when its effectiveness is evaluated.
Van Loo said that it is too early to share the results, including how many cars have been seized so far, but said that locals are satisfied with the measures.
The World Health Organization associates noise pollution with hearing loss, tinnitus, heart disease, sleep disorders and general “worries” as the main cause of urban headaches.About 113 million people in the European Economic Area suffer from road traffic noise pollution of more than 55 decibels day and night, which is the threshold of noise harmful to human health According to WHOAmong them, 36 million people were affected by more than 65 decibels of traffic noise. The World Health Organization recommends that people be exposed to no more than 30 decibels of nighttime noise in the bedroom to ensure a good sleep.
In the northeast of Ghent, the Dutch city Rotterdam Also hope to combat nuisance drivers. A survey of noise pollution last summer found that 3% of drivers (about 100 cars) were responsible for 100% of excess noise. When city researchers installed cameras and sound monitors at three points in the city center, they found that 97% of drivers were within the noise standard. Breaking the 3% noise limit caused a big problem: Only one car was photographed exceeding the noise limit 15 times in a day.
“We got a lot of comments from the residents of Rotterdam:’We can’t sleep all night because people drive like crazy,'” a spokesperson for the city said. The camera footage shared with The Guardian showed horns honking, wheel piercing, engine acceleration and exhaust pipe splattering. The latter is usually caused by the driver tampering with the car to make the car noisier.
for Dutch cities are famous for quiet bicycles Compared with aggressive driving, this is a problem. “Cars are a problem because we have a lot of cyclists. When someone is accelerating his engine, you feel unsafe,” the spokesperson said. “We want people to feel safe on the street.”
Although Ghent relies on the judgment of the police to determine whether the noise rules have been violated, Dutch officials must prove excessive noise by taking the car to a test center. When the aggressive driving can be corrected and the remote control modification to the exhaust pipe can be turned off, it is difficult to prove the violation in practice. “Bringing people over and going to the measurement center is very labor-intensive, and we want a tool,” the spokesperson said.
For this reason, the city authorities have launched a new research phase to associate noisy vehicles with license plates-the previous phase identified repeat offenders through the model and color of the car. The city hopes that in the future this will produce a more effective way to catch and fine noisy drivers.
After the study is completed, Rotterdam plans to discuss with the Dutch government and hopes to introduce a system to combat noisy drivers across the country. Amsterdam, The Hague and Utrecht It is said that I am also looking at this idea.
For Ghent and Rotterdam, solving the noise problem is to make the city a more livable place. A Rotterdam spokesperson said: “There is an increasing demand for less traffic, safer traffic, less noise, and lower speeds.” “People demand a city where they can live, and it’s not a city where people live. Drive and start the engine at night to awaken everyone’s city.”
