Noise speed cameras in Berlin to unmask noisy vehicles from 2023 onwards

They have already been in place in France for some time, and now they will soon be used in Berlin in an initial test: the so-called noise speed cameras. They measure the volume of passing vehicles.

Berlin to test noise speed cameras from 2023

Next year, Berlin plans to borrow and deploy noise speed cameras on a trial basis, which have been commonplace in France for years. They measure the volume of passing vehicles rather than their speed and are intended to counter noise pollution, especially in large cities.

A spokesman for the mobility administration has now confirmed this to rbb|24, after the Berliner Morgenpost had initially reported on it.

The main purpose is to determine the noise caused by converted vehicles or unnecessarily strong acceleration. Thus, similar to a normal speed camera, a camera is triggered.

As the Tagesspiegel reports, there were around 511 cases of noise pollution by vehicles in Berlin by the end of September 2022, five times as many as in the previous year. This is now to be countered by the new noise speed cameras.

Medusa tackles noise

Berlin is borrowing the “Medusa” noise monitors, officially known as the “Hydre” system, from France, where the devices have been in use for years. Large microphones protrude from the devices in all directions to determine the noise pollution in the surrounding area.

In addition, 180-degree wide-angle cameras are used, which can be used to assign the noise directly to a vehicle. These noise cameras are to be installed in Berlin as early as the first half of 2023 – but it is not yet clear exactly where. Exact locations would first have to be determined.

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No penalties during test

Within the test cycle, however, there are still no penalties or misdemeanor proceedings for vehicles that are too loud. The test is initially only for the determination of data, with which one wants to evaluate scientifically whether and in what form these devices could also be used in Berlin in the future.