‘Racer boys’ risk fines for loud exhausts Business

Grant Shapps is taking on ‘racing boys’ by banishing noisy engines and illegal exhausts from towns and cities across the UK.

The Transport Secretary plans to fine drivers for running engines as part of a new initiative to ‘restore peace and quiet to local streets’.

The government says people living on noisy streets are more likely to have heart attacks, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and stress. The social cost of urban road noise is estimated at £10 billion per year.

Mr Shapps said: ‘We want those who live on Britain’s noisiest streets, who are kept awake at night by unbearably revving engines and noisy exhausts, to show up with help from zones of volunteers to test and perfect the latest innovative technology.

“For too long, rowdy drivers have successfully disturbed our communities with loud, illegal vehicles. It’s time to clamp down on this nuisance, banish the runner boy, and restore peace and quiet to the local streets.

Ministers are today launching a competition for Britain’s noisiest streets to benefit from trials of noise-cancelling camera technology to catch noisy drivers and punish them if necessary.

The cameras were developed by Atkins, a major rail and road contractor, and Jacobs, which handles defense contracts for the government. The two companies will use their “expertise in acoustics, design, modeling and asset management” to refine the technology.

The government’s Leveling Up white paper found that noise complaints are highest in the most economically disadvantaged areas. Residents of the most deprived neighborhoods are up to three times more likely to suffer from noise pollution.

John Stewart, chairman of the UK Noise Association, said: “This is a welcome decision. For many years we have received complaints from residents about excessively noisy vehicles. They’re all hoping to prove their street is one of the loudest, so they can get the first batch of cameras.”