New crackdown in effect with automatic $250 fines from July 1 – cameras will be watching and listening for offenders
MILLIONS of drivers have a few weeks until sweeping road enforcement cameras will be mounted over city streets.
State lawmakers passed new road laws permitting cities to use sound-monitoring technology to issue fines in three tiers.
GettyMillions of drivers are subject to new tickets up to $250 by July 1[/caption]
GettyA state gave the green-light for new monitoring devices[/caption]
Connecticut, a state with 2.6 million drivers, passed a law that will simplify the rollout of noise-reading traffic devices in state-wide cities, according to NBC Connecticut.
Previously, municipalities were only able to implement camera technology to enforce road laws after gaining state-level approval.
With the law’s passage, all cities can mount noise-monitoring cameras on July 1 with specific regulations at their own will.
The cities are responsible for collecting the fines and enforcing city mandates on vehicle noise.
All monitoring devices will cap engine noises at 80 decibels.
Drivers with cars that are too loud will receive a warning on their first offense.
A second offense will result in a $100 fine, and drivers who receive a third ticket will pay $250.
The legislation will resemble red light camera tech already implemented on Connecticut roads.
However, red light cameras need state-level approval before they can be installed. Red light rules are state-mandated.
The noise regulation will attempt to cut down on the worble of modified engines and the pops of non-stock exhaust systems.
After-market exhaust systems are a popular modification for car enthusiasts.
However, some exhaust modifications can make the cars much louder when accelerating.
Lawmakers said the burbling exhaust notes and increased roadway decibels have upset dozens of residents.
State Representative Bobby Gibson told the station that the rule change was made in response to complaints from his constituents.
“As I was going along, more and more people were coming to me and saying ‘yeah, it’s a good idea to do something about it,'” Gibson, a bill sponsor, said.
Joe DeLong, the Executive Director of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, also said he has heard several complaints from residents.
“This legislation is a local option, so it’ll be the communities that, I think, are impacted by it the most as well as the communities where the residents express the most concern,” DeLong said.
Several other states, including Michigan, have recently passed similar laws hoping to fight back against the increased road noise.
Noisy cars, explained
Here are some of the modifications that regulators are looking to fight against:
Engine and exhaust modifications are extremely popular for car enthusiasts.
Dozens of after-market systems can increase a car’s performance and make the vehicle louder.
For example, some drivers can implement performance air intakes and turbo chargers to increase the engine output.
Other drivers may change the muffler, catalytic converter, or exhaust pipes to increase air flow.
Both changes can increase the decibels in an engine’s notes.
Drivers can also make major changes, like removing sound deadening parts around the engine.
But, studies show that increased road noise has a cumulative health impact on residents.
A recent Harvard Medicine study found that residents living near loud roadways have increased risk of heart and lung disease, anxiety, and type two diabetes.
Participants near loud roadways also reported increased sleeping and mental health problems compared to their quiet neighborhood peers.
However, opponents of noise-monitoring devices pointed out that the systems historically have had difficulty differentiating illegal engine modifications from cars with broken mufflers.
Drivers who fix their muffler after a fine are able to appeal the payment.
However, advocates said this could still cause an undue burden on low-income motorists.
“What we’re concerned about is everybody else who is going to get swept into this very large net,” Jay Beeber, the Executive Director of the National Motorist Association, said.
“You get a ticket, you have to defend yourself, now you have to take time off from work, you have to jump through a bunch of hoops.”
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