NSW government progresses installation of hoon-catching noise cameras

Hoons of Wollongong and Sydney’s Bayside be warned, noise cameras will be in place soon.

The state Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has been gearing up to install the mic’d-up cameras for months, and they will be in place before the new year.

The microphones pick up loud vehicles, and a camera will capture accompanying footage.

In announcing the start of the trial program earlier this year, NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said car hoons were being “put on notice”.

Even though the technology is being used in London and New York, the Singaporean government found it was too hard to attribute the source of noise to a specific vehicle because of interference from surrounding traffic and other sources.

In a statement, the EPA said work leading up to the installation of cameras had been ongoing for months, including community consultation on preferred locations.

More than 25000 people suggested to the government about where they thought the cameras should be stationed.

The department said it was working with Transport for NSW, police, councils, an electrical engineer and energy providers to finalise the locations.

The cameras will be installed on a trial basis to evaluate the effectiveness and accuracy of the equipment.

The trial will be in the Bayside and Wollongong council areas this year.

In NSW, cars less than 20 years old cannot exceed 90 decibels, which is about as loud as a hairdryer, blender, or power tools. Motorcycles less than 40 years old cannot be louder than 94 decibels.

An offending rider or driver can only be fined $600 once authorities take a noise reading while the vehicle is stationary though.

CCTV footage from the New York mayor’s office shows three lanes of traffic creeping along a one-way street when a black station wagon comes into view, accelerates loudly and what is presumably AI locates the offending noisy motorist with a red dot.

Last year, the Singapore government abandoned plans for the acoustic cameras.

“I think the acoustic cameras … still have limited ability in detecting noise violations from individual vehicles accurately and reliably,” the Senior Minister of State for Transport said in parliament.

The ABC reported on Monday that the EPA had purchased four of the cameras for $200,000, which it was unable to immediately confirm.