"It's so, so loud": Hampshire commissioner Donna Jones targets noisy car exhausts in crackdown
Street racing and late-night car meets are creating noise pollution across the region and keeping people up at night
Hampshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones has launched a campaign to crack down on antisocial noise pollution coming from car exhausts that have been modified to be louder, asking the government to introduce a legal limit on the volume of vehicle exhausts.
For many people across the county, sleeping during this summer’s heatwaves is difficult enough, but for some in Lee-on-the-Solent, trying to rest with the windows open has become impossible due to the “ridiculous” noise coming from boy racers, who speed up and down the coastal roads at all hours.
“The speeds they do are ridiculous, especially at this time of year. It is so, so loud,” said Hannah, who lives in Lee-on-the-Solent, and didn’t want to give her surname. “They do donuts and backfire their cars on purpose. They are menaces. It's not good for a small town, especially for retired and elderly people here.”
Antisocial driving is an issue across Hampshire, not just Lee-on-the-Solent. Notorious hotspots for street racing and late night car meets also include the Portsdown Hill in Portsmouth, Hayling Island, the A32 junction with the A272, Netley, Hedge End, Winchester and central Southampton.
“Its disruption to people's right to a peaceful life,” said Mrs Jones, who has been Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire since 2021. “Countless people have told me how the constant racket is affecting their ability to enjoy their homes and get a decent night’s sleep.”
“It's been an issue for a number of years,” said the MP for Gosport, Dame Caroline Dinenage. “It’s a problem of noise pollution, air pollution and light pollution too. For a lot of people its also affecting their mental health and causing anxiety.”
It’s currently illegal to modify a vehicle’s exhaust to make it louder, however there is no legal limit on how loud an exhaust can be, making it harder for police to crackdown on excessive noise.
“A lack of clarity from the government is making enforcement difficult and inconsistent,” said Mrs Jones.
Her campaign focuses on the introduction of a legal limit for exhaust loudness and the introduction of roadside testing machines for police to measure volume on the spot, and she has written to multiple MPs, including the Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander, about the issue.
“Ministers need to give police forces an objective and enforceable decibel limit alongside standardised noise-measurement equipment,” she said.
“Having a set roadside decibel limit and clear national guidance will not only help police and local authorities collect better evidence, but it will also act as a strong deterrent against illegal modification and anti-social motorists.
“Drivers and riders need to understand the rules and consequences. That comes from education and proper enforcement.”
According to the Department for Transport, the maximum legal limit for most new cars is around 70 decibels (dB), which is the same as the sound coming from a regular washing machine. EU noise standards state the legal limit for new motorcycles is between 73 and 77dB.
Technology to record noise levels already exists, and in 2022 the Department for Transport conducted a trial of noise cameras to automatically detect when vehicles are excessively noisy in the north and south west.
Mrs Jones said: “The noise camera trials demonstrated that acoustic camera technology can successfully identify vehicles generating excessive noise. The technology exists. What is now needed is the policy framework and legislative backing to enable it to be used effectively.”
The police force in Hampshire & Isle of Wight use a range of tactics to deal with speeding, street racing and late-night car meets, and in 2022 launched Operation Chromium, an intelligence initiative to crack down on anti-social driving across the region.
To better understand how antisocial driving noise is affecting Hampshire residents, Mrs Jones has also launched a survey for local people to give feedback on their experiences with the issue, which will be open until September 1. You can find out more and fill out the survey here.