NYC Wants To Silence Loud Cars And Bikes With More Noise Cameras And Fines Up To $2,600

Councilman Keith Powers authored a bill that authorizes the city of New York to install more acoustic cameras to combat loud exhausts. It will likely pass on Thursday and spark a new wave of enforcement across each of the five boroughs by 2025. While they might not pop up for some time, here’s what to expect and what the cameras are actually looking for as cars pass by.

New York has been fighting noise issues for many years. In 2020 alone, the state reported 81,000 noise complaints. In 2021, it imposed a potential $1,000 fine for those who had an exhaust that was too loud. In 2022, it reported the issuance of 71 tickets to drivers with exhausts that broke the law through the use of sound cameras. Now, it’s expanding that small program to more of the city.

The bill in question authorizes the use of sound cameras that activate when a vehicle produces at least 85 decibels from 50 feet or more away. In general, 85 decibels is considered the amount where damage to human hearing can begin to occur. In cases where a sound/acoustic camera gets triggered it’ll take a photo of the offending vehicle and the registered owner will receive a ticket.

More: New York Raises Fine For Noisy Exhausts To $1,000, Highest In The Country

It’s worth noting that New York has some pretty serious fines for those who break this law. First-time offenders could face a penalty of $800 and those who offend multiple times could be paying up to $2,625 for their illegally loud exhaust. The bill recommends that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) submit an annual report to the Mayor and Speaker of the Council detailing how the program is functioning.

It specifically requires that at least five acoustic cameras be installed in each of the five boroughs. That’s at minimum 25 additional spots where loud exhausts could generate revenue for the state and take cash out of the pocket of citizens. Notably, the bill recommends that the acoustic camera locations be posted publicly online. At least loud exhaust owners will know where they’re at if they do the legwork to find out.