sound radars tested in a commune of Yvelines to measure vehicle noise

Motorcycles, quads, scooters … The noise of two-wheelers poisons the lives of the inhabitants of Saint-Lambert, a small town in Yvelines located in the regional natural park of the Haute-Vallée de Chevreuse. “It’s a background noise, permanent, every weekend”, says the mayor Olivier Bedouelle, mobilized for a long time on the subject. “Even in the morning and in the evening, there are vehicles … Lots of motorcycles too, which have unbridled engines and which make a noise that can reach 80 or even 100 decibels”, specifies the chosen one.

Now this sound volume will be captured by three new generation radars, which will make it possible to fight against excessively noisy vehicles. Equipped with microphones and 360 ° C cameras, they were inaugurated on Tuesday January 4 in the presence of the Minister of Ecological Transitition Barbara Pompili. Manufactured by three different companies, these radars will first be tested, before the verbalization phase scheduled for 2022. Their amount will be 135 euros.

“It’s a world first”, says Jean-Noël Barrot, member of the 2nd district of Yvelines, at the origin of the project. “He To my knowledge, there is no device allowing both to capture the sound and its origin, and to carry out automatic verbalization“, he explains, specifying that these radars “are intended to dissuade the ultra-minority behavior of certain road users, without, however, placing the burden on the police.”

Hubert Gourden, head of the Federation of Angry Bikers in the Yvelines, is cautious: “If there is only one vehicle, yes we will know it is him. But if there are several, how do you know which one is at fault? Will there not be occasions when it will be the wrong one? person who will be charged? “, he wonders.

For its part, theth deputy Jean-Noel Barrot is reassuring: “This is the culmination of two years of work. These radars, installed today in a real situation, have been tested on the track, with exercises demanding enough to ensure that they were able to discriminate between several vehicles passing at the same time, and to identify the origin of the noise. ”

Patricia, who has lived in Saint-Lambert for 15 years, welcomes the installation of these radars in front of her garden. “The idea is not to prevent people from enjoying their motorbikes and mopeds, and to allow residents to maintain their standard of living”, explains this resident, who hopes to spend more peaceful weekends.

The noise limit not to be exceeded is not yet known, and will be set by ministerial decree after the experimentation phase, planned in seven cities in France, including Paris, Nice and Toulouse.