EXCLUSIVE
Clubs split over whether new tech will help or hinder older vehicles
Plans to roll our so-called ‘noise cameras’ have been met by mixed reactions among classic owners, chiefly over fears that older vehicles could be penalised unfairly.
The noise-sensing monitors, which CCW first reported on in 2019, are aimed at tackling road users with illegally loud vehicles. They’ve been trialled in Bristol, Great Yarmouth, Keighley and Rubery and the Department for Transport (DfT) is now assessing the results and considering whether to roll out the technology in other parts of the UK.
Transport minister, Richard Holden MP, said: ‘The current trials were completed on 1 February with data from the trials being evaluated later this year.
‘If the trials prove to be successful noise cameras may be considered for a wider rollout.’
The DfT told CCW last June that older vehicles for which legal noise limits are higher would be ‘taken into account’ but didn’t explain how this would be carried out, leaving clubs concerned that classics could still be caught out by technology aimed at antisocial uses of other vehicles.
Alfa Romeo Owners’ Club chairman, John Griffiths, said: ‘I understand why some people might want the cameras in certain areas. A lot of Alfas make a tremendous sound. I can’t see many owners revving cars and annoying people.’
Maestro and Montego Club and Rover 800 Club chair, Tanya Field, told Classic Car Weekly: ‘There is concern at how much technology is permeating our lives. The cameras have been on trial but does this capture the real situation? And what would the criteria be? Would my diesel Austin Montego fall foul of the new cameras?’
However other clubs have said that they didn’t think that the cameras wouldn’t be a concern – and
