Keighley noise camera trial sparks call for further action

A state-of-the-art noise camera was temporarily deployed in the Fell Lane area of Keighley and recorded more than 1,700 activations. 

It was part of a trial - backed by £300,000 of investment and run by Atkins Jacobs JV - in just four areas across the UK.

Robbie Moore, MP for Keighley, said the trial shows how "effective" these types of cameras can be.

Chosen out of high-tech options used in France, Switzerland and Japan, the noise cameras were set up to gather evidence of drivers hitting 95 decibels (dB) at 7.5m on roads with a speed limit of 50mph or less.

This is the level of noise expected from an electric drill, subway train at 200 feet away, a jackhammer at 50 feet away, or an unamplified oboe or flute listened to up close.

A prototype system was used - meaning drivers did not face prosecution while any flaws or further testing were ironed out.

A photo of the noise camera that was deployed on Fell Lane, Keighley (Image: Department of Transport report) The cameras - which later included the use of ‘Automatic Number Plate Recognition’ (ANPR) technology - also experienced periods of downtime during the trial.

As an area plagued by engine-popping cars, Keighley was one of four test sites used by noise camera researchers.

Keighley and Ilkley’s MP, Robbie Moore, pictured (Image: Robbie Moore) Mr Moore, had described issues with “anti-social driving from modified cars on residential streets and town centre roads in the late evenings and early mornings", the report said.

Between autumn 2022 and late winter 2023, the test site on Fell Lane recorded a total of 1,777 noise camera activations.

Of these activations, four per cent were considered 'attributable to excessively noisy vehicles'.

In recommendations to the Government, the independent report said a different approach to tackling excessively loud vehicles and the use of illegal exhausts is needed.

Months on from the trial, Mr Moore said his constituents' lives were still impacted by "reckless drivers with loud exhausts and modified cars".

He is now urging the new Labour Government to take action.

'Send a clear message to these selfish individuals'

Reflecting on the report, Mr Moore said: “Just recently at a public meeting in Stanbury, I heard first-hand the effects extreme speeding was having on residents, who like so many across the district are completely fed up with reckless drivers with loud exhausts and modified cars treating our roads like a racetrack.

"It’s happening day and night, it’s putting innocent lives at risk, and it needs to be stopped.

A generic image of a car exhaust (Image: Pixabay)

“These trials have shown how effective noise cameras can be in not only helping to identify and punish this kind of behaviour, but also in creating a strong deterrence effect.

"It is now critical that the new Government actually listens to the recommendations of this report and moves forward with live enforcement operations.

"Given Keighley’s successful participation in the initial trials, our area must be at the forefront of these new operations, and I have written to the new Government urging them to progress at pace.

“Alongside new technology, it is clear [a] tougher approach must be taken to extreme speeding, and I fully support tougher fines, licence points, and even vehicle seizures to send a clear message to these selfish individuals that they will be stopped.”

The Department of Transport said it keeps its policies to tackle anti-social behaviour under constant review.

The noise cameras being installed at the test site on Fell Lane (Image: Simon D'Vali/Bradford Council)

Under current legislation, the maximum noise a car registered since 2016 can make on a public road is 72 dB, while the legal limit for vehicles registered after 2007 but before 2016 is 74db.

A series of ‘other tests’ were undertaken to identify potential false positives, situations and driving styles that could affect the noise cameras’ performance.

These false positives ranged from anything from an idling bus and sirens to hard acceleration or horns.

How would noise cameras help police and councils?

The independent report suggested: “Vehicle noise is a significant cause of noise pollution, particularly in urban environments. Excessively noisy vehicles lead to annoyance and complaints and this project seeks to address this issue.

This image from the Department for Transport report shows the location of the noise camera test site on Fell Lane in Keighley (Image: Department of Transport report) "The police and local authorities have powers to take action against excessively noisy vehicles, however, it is difficult to collect sufficient evidence for meaningful enforcement action. The current approach does not sufficiently discourage vehicle modification.”

The study also looked at “potentially enforceable traffic scenarios” to silence anti-social drivers for good. 

It suggested fines of around £100, up to three driving licence points, re-education courses and vehicle seizures.

But the noise camera trials raised a number of issues - such as electric vehicle use, wet roads increasing the sound of tyres during rain spells, and “excessively noisy events outside the detection zone”.