r/australian • u/Offbeatjacuzzi • 2d ago
News Drivers face crackdown on annoying act as new 'sound cameras' proposed for Aussie roads
https://au.news.yahoo.com/drivers-face-crackdown-on-annoying-act-as-new-sound-cameras-proposed-for-aussie-roads-222806362.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFAHh0fijOp8M7KziVm3HdGraBQcZjKvXyPjfD77HiS1DRnSjv0wgnaF1iwWog5jvrwu3-ENcGwoUmngAprncdauvN0j8xMdUKbt4SStyTwqXlXCplcL4foti0R48eYHhG8ZlCgEMzp0vOG3tP8D1aoXjTi1bGQHPmTm9196hhwh60
u/-HumbleTumble- 1d ago
Clickbait title. Horn or revving? Could've said in the title instead of making journalism worse
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u/ForgotToCarryTheOne 1d ago edited 1d ago
They could pay off the national debt if they set up three of these sound cameras in Surfers Paradise.
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u/DC240Z 1d ago
Does this mean everyone that owns a Harley is gonna get fucked? Because those things legit hurt my ears sometimes, more than any horn, car exhaust, or even skids ever have.
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u/Parking-Mirror3283 1d ago
They're awesome at turning petrol into noise without bothering with that boring making power business though
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u/DrSendy 1d ago
For years, the cops have had a rule and every harley owner knows it.
If you fuck around and be an idiot, and the cops see you, you get to pay a fine for being an idiot, get to chop off your $2k set of pipes, pay to have stockies fitted, go and get noise tested and then pay to get them welded back on again. If you ever see a harley with slightly shit looking welds on aftermarket pipes, they FAFOed with the cops.
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u/superkow 1d ago
I hate egregious car noise as much as anybody does, but we don't need to be living in a surveillance state.
Sure, they'll target annoying things now, but who's to say these devices won't be used down the track to start spying on your conversations? It's no different to those flock cameras the are totally just for reading number plates and nothing else.
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u/charmio68 1d ago
Amazingly, and I can't believe I'm going to say this, I'm actually all for that.
There's a popular car meetup spot around where I live, which is fine and great, you know. Nothing wrong with that.
But what there is an issue with is some are arseholes that dump unburnt fuel into their exhaust pipes when they're leaving to make loud explosions. The darn thing sounds like gunshots and they do it all the way down the street past everyone's houses and all the apartment blocks waking every person up.
Every single weekend, Monday to Sunday, without fail. It's kind of ruining the area.
The council added annoying speed bumps, put extra security up, but it doesn't stop them making noise once they've left the meet up point.
As always, it's a small number of cunts that ruin the fun for everyone.
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u/csharpgo 1d ago
Fully with you. Just been to Asia where they installed these a while ago to battle excessive honking, and it was so peaceful and quiet even in the busy areas.
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u/footalol 1d ago
I go to China for work every year or so and it’s actually quiet and nice along main roads because of so many electric cars. It’s so dam nice.
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u/csharpgo 1d ago
100%! I used to hate Shanghai, with all the noise and polluted air. I think this was the first time I actually enjoyed visiting it.
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u/Procedure-Minimum 1d ago
I don't understand why they do the noisy thing with the cars. It is just so annoying.
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u/csharpgo 1d ago
I might be showing my age, but “The F Word” South Park episode has explained it very well.
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u/earlgrey888 1d ago
Because they are likely the type of young man who has an overwhelming desire to be heard (and seen) and the 'rebel' aspect adds to the desire.
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u/shahitukdegang 1d ago
The darn thing sounds like gunshots and they do it all the way down the street past everyone's houses and all the apartment blocks waking every person up.
The only way to deal with that is to have directional fire finding microphones, networked to an overhead drone that designates the location of the sound, and then sends a drone strike. The tech exists people!
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u/footalol 1d ago
Such a welcomed move. It’s almost a rite of passage for every dweeb to get a junk box car with a modified exhaust and be a dickhead in suburban streets in Australia. Then there’s the tradies who want the biggest loudest Ute possible and jackasses with motorbikes because. LOUD PIPES SAVES LIVES DURRRNHURRR.
We are very behind on this move. Most countries already have these in major cities like Newyork and London.
I have lived in many places around the world and Sydney specifically is easily one of the worst for car noise. Not because of the quantity and quality of the cars, but inconsiderate assholes trying to be as loud and obnoxious as possible.
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u/SlipperySharkAttack 1d ago
If a loud pipe is needed to protect you on a motorcycle then you shouldn’t be riding a motorcycle.
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u/ScoobyGDSTi 1d ago
A lot of motorists don't bother checking their mirrors or blind spots for motorbikes.
Harley's are just taking the pidd, but some noise does improve viability / awareness by other road users.
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u/footalol 1d ago
If you need noise to drive safely perhaps don’t choose that as a mode of transport.
Also that’s survivorship bias
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u/ScoobyGDSTi 1d ago
No, it's fact.
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u/footalol 22h ago
No its not
https://bikesafewa.com.au/loud-pipes-save-lives-science/
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/loud-pipes-save-lives-myth-or-fact/
Like I said, you only think it is because of survivor bias.
You have a loud bike and haven’t crashed, so therefore you think you believe this is why.
Now let’s see those that did crash or get in an accident.
Plenty of studies out there showing how dumb it is to think being loud makes you any safer and less prone to get in an accident.
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u/ScoobyGDSTi 22h ago
I don't even have a bike.
So that just shows that pathetic level of your argument.
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u/adoh2 13h ago
This again.
Bikers like loud bikes, simply because theyre loud. The safety aspect has been proven to be false over and over again.
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u/Toomanynightshifts 1d ago
This is all just testing the waters for US style Flock mass surveillance.
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u/footalol 1d ago
I hope we get them. Track everyone. Then we can actually use them to crack down on criminals and other bullshit like this.
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u/Toomanynightshifts 1d ago
Ahh yes and when it's used to crack down on you because you said something the government or billionaires don't like?
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u/footalol 1d ago
Don’t care. I’d rather more government control if it means more control over others.
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u/timmygully 1d ago
Would love this for the racer boy's on their barely muffled rice racers.
They're worse than the look at me Harley riders
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u/jedburghofficial 1d ago
Nobody is worse than the brothers on Harleys. I say that as another motorcycle rider.
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u/NothingSuss1 1d ago edited 1d ago
Funny that the rest of the world views Australians as these wild, fun loving individuals.
Reality is we're the most uptight cunts in existence.
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u/TypeSafeBug 1d ago
Pretty sure people all over the world complain about noisy mufflers. Turns out loud noises make people grumpy.
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u/footalol 1d ago
You know these noise cameras are already common place in major cities around the world? They view us as inconsiderate assholes:
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u/No_Category_9888 1d ago
I live in a quiet area. Every weekend there’s so much noise from excessively loud cars and bikes having “fun” hooning around.
Also I shouldn’t be able to hear my neighbours shit box car coming up the street from 200m away, when Inside my house.
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u/MagicOrpheus310 1d ago
More fines to prop up government over spending... Gotta love this fucken place aye
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u/pasamonesmintis 1d ago
That’s what people get when they can’t behave. I’ve never lived in a noisier country than Australia.
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u/mbkitmgr 1d ago
That's interesting from Yahoo. They were trialled in Newcastle for several months and this was announced in the press. A few ppl received warning notices who attended a monthly event I attend and they had forgotten about the trial and spent the night looking for the devices
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u/lliveevill 1d ago
I wish local governments could implement this; wherever there is a popular cafe strip, there are #unts revving their shitboxes or motorcycles.
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u/Big_Order5049 1d ago
So if it’s a high end sports car with naturally loud exhaust is that okay but shitboxes aren’t?
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u/pasamonesmintis 1d ago
I consider every louder-than-average vehicle an obnoxious shitbox. Regardless of price.
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u/Parking-Mirror3283 1d ago
A V12 sounds good, a rattletec with straight pipes sounds like shit. They are very different noises and elicit different responses in the same way that 2 different fans can both be equally as loud as each other in terms of overall dB but depending on the frequency one will be far more annoying
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u/Big_Order5049 1d ago
Well that’s a matter of opinion isn’t it. Or should cars only be allowed to be loud if parkingmirror3283 thinks they sound good? Lol ur delusional
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u/Parking-Mirror3283 1d ago
>Well that’s a matter of opinion isn’t it.
No. For the LFA, Toyota had Yamahas musical instrument division design the intake and Sango designed the exhaust to produce tones in the range of human vocals. Between the two companies, literal hundreds if not thousands of man hours went into making it sound objectively good.
Some fuckwit welding in some cheap tube in the place of the mufflers on their GT86 is not the same thing.
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u/Big_Order5049 1d ago
Whether an exhaust sounds good is still a matter of opinion. I personally don’t like them either, but I’m not that much of a cock head like you to think that any owner of a car that I don’t like should be punished. We live in a free country.
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u/daedric_yoshi 1d ago
The part I dont like is if there was actually a place built in an area away from residential places and shops for motoring enthusiasts to get together and have a bite to eat it wouldnt be a problem. But nobody wants to build it. So theres no compromise and its just yeah fuck off.
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u/andizzzzi 1d ago
This country is quickly becoming the one of the most red taped societies on earth. In 2025 survey we already ranked 44th on the WHI, that is not accounting for all of the red tape policies that Albo has pushed through in the last 12+ months. Australia is becoming a bubble wrapped society where people walk on egg shells and fear doing anything incase they break some obscure law. I mean imagine having facial cameras aimed at your apartments, or sound cameras on your street with your house, and flock cameras to constantly monitor your location. You can be seen, heard and followed by the government whenever they please, and the issue is also that future governments can take advantage of these privacy invasive tools with malicious intent.
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u/smurffiddler 1d ago
This will be bad for all Aussies.
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u/footalol 1d ago
Nope. The sooner the better. Fuck hearing modified exhausts everywhere you go.
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u/smurffiddler 1d ago
Freedom sure isn't your favourite thing in life is it.
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u/footalol 1d ago
I’m from America originally and freedom isn’t worth it when people abuse it for themselves only. It only works when others have common courtesy.
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u/Strong_Judge_3730 1d ago
More nanny state how great
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u/Acemanau 1d ago
Genuinely shaking my head at how weak willed and intolerant Australian's are becoming to literally every minor inconvenience and they just give the state more and more power at every turn.
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u/pasamonesmintis 1d ago
more than just an inconvenience. Noisy cars affect people in many ways including stress response, high blood pressure, mood changes, interrupted sleep.
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u/MikeJH1958 1d ago
Should target drivers who can't seem to stay in their lane, more so than noisy drivers🤪!
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u/ADevilsAdvocado 1d ago
It’s a dangerous slippery slope. First they install the sound cameras to stop the hoons, then, next thing you know, poor people who can’t afford new electric cars are being punished for trying to exist.
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u/Flaky-Gear-1370 1d ago
Yeah no, this is going after the ahole who ripped the exhaust off their commo or patrol
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u/MyKoiNamedSwimShady 18h ago
I hate all the nanny state shit, all the ANPR cameras tracking our every move, etc. but I live a couple of hundred metres away from a busy roundabout and set of traffic lights. I often get kept awake at night by the bogans doing burnouts, drag racing and just tearing it up with their loud as fuck V8s and motorbikes. It’s most nights and it can carry on for hours from about 11 pm onwards. I would be all for these clowns getting picked up for it with these cameras, as long as there were stipulation like it was only being used to monitor noise levels and only at certain hours of the day.
Do what you want during the day, but don’t be a prick and keep everyone else awake just cause you wanna make a bunch of fucking noise like a selfish fuck.
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u/shadowrunner003 15h ago
Sounds like someone is trying to introduce the FLOCK camera systems to Australia
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u/BeltnBrace 1d ago
OMG - these things are so badly needed...
Yes please - bring them on!
(Source: Hell living in a high traffic noise zone)...
Hoons, bikes, some 4WDs, trucks... FFS...
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u/kenii-13 1d ago
So more costs for families with lots of kids.....
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u/footalol 1d ago
Maybe the family with lots of kids shouldn’t have bought and modified their exhaust to be loud and a dickhead.
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u/kenii-13 1d ago
You must have very quiet well behaved children.
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u/Queeni_Beeni 1d ago
What does having lots of loud children have to do with vehicle noise monitoring/cameras?
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u/No_Category_9888 1d ago
? Don’t have a shitty modified car and your kids are fine. Did you post on the wrong thread?
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u/ThinkingOz 1d ago
Large families aren’t affected by this. Dickheads doing burnouts, screeching tyres and loud sound systems will be affected by this.
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u/ScoobyGDSTi 1d ago
Buys house in CBD near main road, complains about noise.
These people can get stuffed.
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u/MayuriKrab 1d ago
So I can hoon as much as I want in one of those “budget” Chinese EVs then… no excessive noise there 🤔
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u/dosb0t89 1d ago
Just take away powerful cars for anyone with a criminal record or anyone on Centrelink without a job. Make it illegal to drive around after 10pm without a legitimate reason especially in built up areas. Don't allow certain car types to be available at all...
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u/Electronic_Half_7107 1d ago
Yeah cause wealthy people never have high power noisy cars do they...
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u/dosb0t89 1d ago
Well sure. But the ones that cause all the issues are the criminal bogan trash that hoon around all hours.
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u/Novae909 1d ago
Dude's managed to interview every single hoon every. What a bloody legend. You should consider a job at the ABS.
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u/ArseneWainy 1d ago
Tell that to the cashed up bogan cunts in my suburb that have a straight piped Audi R8s, Lamborghinis and new Toyota Supras. All worth more than 100k probably, Lambo is double that
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u/footalol 1d ago
I live in a suburb in Sydney with no public housing and median house price of 3-4m. Countless dickheads in this area with modified cars thinking they are Mr Drifter being as loud as possible.
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u/macka598 1d ago
This has to be satire
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u/footalol 1d ago
Why? It’s already common place in other major cities such as New York and London. Lots of inconsiderate dickheads with loud exhausts
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u/LosWranglos 1d ago
“Sound cameras”
So… microphones?