As crazy as it may seem, this unique radar does not penalize you because of your speed. A city near Lyon will inaugurate it in the coming months.
For several years, by dint of encountering them on the roads, most motorists have gotten into the habit of evading the flashes of speed cameras. When they spot one in the distance, they all or almost all have the same reflex: to brake to avoid a fine and the loss of points. There are others who anticipate it by taking their foot off the accelerator. In general, they use these stratagems because their speed exceeds the authorized limit. A habit anchored in some drivers, but which can fail them because not all speed cameras are used to control traffic speed.
Indeed, in France, there are also radars that fine people who cross a red light, that monitor the number of passengers in carpooling lanes… And since the beginning of 2022, there is a new type of device that has been installed in certain cities for an experimental phase. These are jellyfish radars, also called “sound radars” or “anti-noise radars”.
Their target: noise from road traffic. Their mission is to track down noise pollution from vehicles, particularly two-wheelers whose exhaust pipes have been tampered with. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), noise pollution, as experts call it, is the second leading cause of morbidity in Europe after air pollution. Above a certain decibel level, “Excessive noise has effects on health, both auditory (deafness, tinnitus, etc.) and extra-auditory (cardiovascular pathologies, etc.)”explains the Ministry of Labor and Health on its website.
Concretely, how do anti-noise radars work? To date, several prototypes have been developed by different companies, including the Bruitparif association. The latter has developed the “Hydre” radar, which is equipped with microphones, environmental sensors and cameras. With these devices, the radar is able to calculate sound levels, the angles of origin of the noise and to find the license plate that is in question. In short, this technology can detect “excessively noisy vehicles within an area of approximately 15 metres on either side of the radar, even in a complex scene with several vehicles present simultaneously”, indicates Bruitparif in its 2022 activity report.
If they obtain approval from the State, these audible radars could in the future penalize drivers who are too noisy, with a fine of 90 euros if paid within 15 days or 135 euros for a fixed fine. Soon, the city of Bron, near Lyon, will be the first municipality to inaugurate in September 2024 the second phase of testing of this device, in real conditions this time. The fines are likely to rain down…