Hope mayor will back bid to curb the antisocial boy racers

COUNCIL WANTS TO INSTALL NOISE CAMERAS ON MAIN ROADS AFTER KNIGHTSBRIDGE TRIAL

A WEST London borough is set to install more noise cameras on its main roads to crack down on street racers.

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea plans to install cameras on red routes across the borough, if the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, supports the move.

The council has already been trialling noise cameras in Knightsbridge.

So far it has fined drivers for being as loud as helicopters and rock concerts. Residents have had as many as 70 cars zooming past their windows and they are bothered by “banging noise like loud gunshots”.

Quoted in a council report on noisy drivers last year, one resident said: “The noise, day and night, from cars with souped-up engines and motorbikes is ruining my life. It’s too noisy to have the windows open, especially at night. There can be up to 70 cars.

“They all have extremely loud exhausts that send sparks out and make a banging noise like loud gunshots. We are all at our wits’ end.”

In March the council’s noise cameras caught a BMW driver doing doughnuts on a quiet street. At the time RBKC explained BMW and Mercedes drivers had been regularly caught driving in antisocial ways. Between June 2021 and February 2022, nearly 10,000 vehicles triggered the cameras at four spots in RBKC, with BMW drivers being the biggest offenders. Lamborghini drivers were the next loudest, followed by Mercedes, Ferrari, Audi and Land Rover drivers.

One Lamborghini was even recorded at 112.9dB, leading to worries about residents’ health.

Any exposure to sounds above 85dB for extended periods can cause permanent hearing loss.

So far the authority has given out hundreds of fines and it has not seen any repeat offenders.

The Royal Borough is calling on the Mayor of London to greenlight cameras being installed at key locations such as Holland Road, Earl’s Court Road, Warwick Gardens, Pembroke Road, Cromwell Road and Chelsea Embankment.’

Earlier this year the Department for Transport revealed it was planning to invest £300,000 in noise cameras in order to “banish boy racers” across England.

The noise – day and night – is ruining my life. It’s too noisy to have the windows open, especially at night

PHOTO: STEFAN ROUSSEAU/PA WIRE The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea wants the mayor to approve noise camera plans

The noise of speeding cars and motorbikes is affecting residents in Kensington and Chelsea