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Amsterdam introduces a 'noise speed camera' to combat the nuisance of roaring motorcycles

Amsterdam wants to tackle nuisance and noise from roaring motorcycles and is therefore experimenting with a "noise speed camera". Noisy acceleration or popping exhausts now remain practically unpunished.

 

Especially on sunny days it can be irritating. Groups of motorcycles tearing through the city with modified exhausts and accelerating as fast as possible. Some motorcyclists seem to be happy with the noise their machines produce, but more and more local residents are bothered by the roar.

Alderman Egbert de Vries (Traffic) does not know exactly how big the problem is, but recently he has received various petitions and piles of signatures that are specifically about motorcycle noise. "Motorcycling should be possible, but making noise with a motorcycle is a conscious choice. I don't understand why people do this."

 

When the Noise Action Plan was discussed in the early 2020s, nuisance from motorcycle noise already constituted the largest category of public comments, and in the pandemic the use of motorcycles has only increased. After all, touring on a motorcycle remained possible despite all the corona rules. New technology

De Vries sent an inventory to the council today of the options available to the municipality and the police to deal with nuisance motorcycle noise. There are already various articles of law that prohibit engine noise and the 400 euro fine for exceeding the permitted standard by 5 decibels is no mean feat.

But enforcement is now far too complex, says De Vries. It takes a lot of capacity to stop a motorcycle, take it to a test site and check the decibel level via a special microphone.

 

On three streets, Tussen Meer in New West, the Valkenburgerstraat in the city center and near the RAI in the south, there will soon be a 'noise flashpoint', a new technique that automatically registers the license plates of motorcycles that make too much noise. Boosted cars will also be registered. This should make it clear whether it is possible to catch and identify those causing the noise. The caught motorcyclists are not yet fined, it is still a temporary test.

 

If the data is reliable, De Vries wants to go to the cabinet with his colleagues in the major cities - Rotterdam is also doing tests, for example - to have the technology certified. "It has little priority for the police now because enforcement is so labor-intensive," says De Vries. "We want technology to make it easier to detect noise pollution, so that we can deliver this to the police and the judiciary ready for use. It doesn't have to become a top priority, but right now it's so low that it's actually not being enforced." At full power through the P.C.

 

Enforcement of motorcycle noise is difficult because the problem is "dynamic. Motorcycles in Amsterdam do not adhere to fixed routes, as in municipalities that lie along a popular dike or well-known tour route. In Amsterdam districts, groups of motorcyclists also take to the streets at night to ride around the neighborhood for fun. They ride at full power through the P.C. Hooftstraat, for example, or through one of the major road tunnels. Enforcement is then a cat-and-mouse game that officers only have time for when there are no other emergencies.

 

In addition to the development of the noise flash, De Vries wants to sit down with the police to see if there are more enforcement options. For example, 'causing unnecessary noise' in traffic is already prohibited; an officer can therefore issue a fine by ear. There could also be an app that immediately recognizes whether an exhaust has been illegally modified.

 

Alderman De Vries is the first to acknowledge that many of the plans can only be realized in cooperation with the police or the state. But Amsterdam aldermen have not let that stop them before either. For example, in 2018 the capital city stipulated a helmet obligation for moped riders, something that will also be introduced in the rest of the Netherlands in 2022. Also in 2015, the speed on parts of the A10 was limited to 80 kilometers per hour for the sake of air quality, despite objections from The Hague.

 

Incidentally, motorcyclists only have a few more years to tour the city. From 2030, only zero-emission motorcycles will be welcome.

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Not that it matters at this point but back on page 13 we had this

210419101209-tesla-autopilot-crash-tx-04
WWW.CNN.COM

Two passengers were killed in a crash of a Tesla Model S on Saturday in which there was no one sitting in the driver's seat, according to police.

 

 

Turns out they crashed not because of "auto pilot" but  because the driver mashed the accelerator and was doing well over twice the speed limit.

 

9cc513cc092204898230e0c6905a233e.png
JALOPNIK.COM

First responders arrived to an empty driver's seat, but the NTSB doesn't think it was empty at impact

 

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58 minutes ago, Jason said:
BS_file55201041043PM_MAP8777.jpg
NATIONALPOST.COM

Toronto’s city planners appear to be undermining the province, preferring to protect rich homeowners at the expense of new buyers

 

If I wanted to increase the density in Toronto, York Mills is not the hill I would want to die on. 

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If it's the York Mills that shows up in Google maps lol yes it does need upzoning. Everything within a half mile of the metro stops and regional rail for starters needs to allow towers and the rest of the residential area should allow up to at least 8 residential units per lot. Same should be true across any metro area with high quality transit and insane housing prices.

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