Sound radars will be tested in the coming weeks in seven French communities, with fines of 135 euros in three months for vehicles that are too noisy, said the Minister of Ecological Transition in a press release.
Three radars equipped with three different technologies will be put into operation on Tuesday or Wednesday, as soon as a decree is published in the Official Journal, on the road that crosses Saint-Forget (Yvelines) in the valley of Chevreuse, adored by bikers, in the south- west of Paris. Another mduse radar equipped with a camera and microphones had already been tested there.
Six other collectivities will be running these radars in the coming weeks: Paris, the metropolitan areas of Nice and Toulouse, Bron in the metropolitan area of Lyon, and the municipalities of Rueil-Malmaison (Hauts-de-Seine) and Villeneuve-le-Roi (Val -de-Marne).
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No fines at first
The radars will first be tested without finding any infringements. The aim is in particular to determine the maximum sound level, initially set at 90 decibels.
Until now, the maximum sound level was specific to each vehicle, and recorded on its vehicle registration document. Only the arrest checks enabled the police to check its compliance. Sound radars should make it possible to amplify checks and improve their efficiency 頻, underlines the Minister.
After three months, a second phase of experimentation may lead to 4th class fines, ie a fixed fine of 135 euros, less than 90 euros in the event of payment within 15 days.
The noise has a very concrete cost for our fellow citizens, underlined Barbara Pompili, Minister for the Ecological Transition, quoted in the press release. Regulations already exist but the generalization of controls is an essential lever for effectively combating this source of pollution, in particular on public roads, she added.
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147 billion euros per year
Exposure to noise, mainly from transport, has a social cost of more than 147 billion euros per year in France, particularly in terms of indirect health consequences, according to a report published in July 2021 by the National Council of Noise and Ademe (Ecological Transition Agency).
According to the WHO, noise is the second environmental factor causing the most health damage in Europe, just behind air pollution, responsible for example for 40,000 premature deaths per year in France.
The sound radar system will have vocation to be generalized on the whole of the national territory, according to the minister, subject to the adoption of a legislative device taken.
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