Already tested in some towns in France, this new kind of radar could be deployed on a large scale across the country in the coming months.
There are more and more of them on the roads every year. Fixed, mobile, crossing, autonomous… There were 4,447 speed cameras in France on September 1, 2022. If they bring big money to the state with 907 million euros in state revenue, they nevertheless remain very unpopular . This does not prevent their development. Thus, according to the specialized site radars-auto.com, the number of speed cameras could reach 5,600 by the end of 2023.
Among the new devices expected soon on the roadside, a few should particularly attract your attention. Some motorists have already come across them since they were tested experimentally for 10 months, between January and October 2022, in seven municipalities in France (Paris, Nice, Toulouse, Bron, Saint-Lambert, Rueil-Malmaison, Villeneuve-le-Roi). With their large antenna equipped with several sensors, they have a very different design than the devices you know well. Why such a metamorphosis? Quite simply because they are not conventional radars.
These radar prototypes – developed by several companies, including one, called Hydra, by Bruitparif, the technical assessment center for the sound environment in Île-de-France – were not designed to measure excess speed. Thanks to their acoustic device, these radars are able to measure the number of decibels produced by each car.
In France, approved vehicles generally do not exceed 80 decibels. The State wishing to hunt for noise pollution caused in particular by modified exhaust pipes, most often the prerogative of two wheels, one can legitimately think that the limit not to be exceeded will be significantly higher.
If they were not previously configured to verbalize motorists during the trial tests carried out in 2022, these sound radars will soon be provided that they are finally approved. In the case of a vehicle that is too noisy, the offense detected by the radar will be sanctioned with a 4th class fine, as provided for in article R318-3 of the Highway Code. This corresponds to a fixed fine of 135 euros, reduced to 90 euros in the event of payment within 15 days.
Removed from the roads last October at the end of the experimental phase, these new radars should initially be relocated to their original municipalities by the end of the year if they are declared compliant. Before, normally, being deployed on a larger scale on the roads of France. A new device that has probably not finished making noise!
