Crackdown on speeding drivers and noisy exhausts

4:11pm Wednesday 7th May 2008

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Speeding drivers and cars with noisy exhausts are to be the subject of a police crackdown in Falmouth and Penryn.

As a result of numerous complaints from members of the public police are cracking down on the issue and from June 1 motorists will who drive in an anti-social way, with an exhaust system altered to create more noise, will be prosecuted.

Inspector John Trott, from Falmouth police station, said: "The issues raised by some of the local communities within our towns reflect a wider trend with drivers who undertake certain modifications to their cars. This frequently includes the fitment of a different type of exhaust silencer to the car.

"I am acutely aware of the problems, which can be caused to communities with noise, especially that caused by motor vehicles. The police will be leading on a number of initiatives in response to complaints identified by community priorities, especially in relation to speed and noise."

Inspector Trott said that he was now warning motorists that from June 1 police officers from Falmouth, with the assistance of the Road Policing Unit, would be prosecuting anyone who drove their car in an anti-social way with an exhaust system that had been altered to increase the noise.

The advanced warning allowed drivers in Falmouth and Penryn the chance to get a legal exhaust fitted.

Issues that a driver should consider getting a new exhaust over include exhausts that meant their car could be heard long before being seen, could be heard from inside another vehicle with windows closed or in moderate to heavy traffic, or had been changed from the original manufacturers' exhaust.

The initiative is planned to continue throughout June, after which it will be reviewed.

Unmarked vehicles are being used to carry out enforcement and gather evidence on vehicles that drive anti-socially.

A community speed watch is also taking place, involving members of the community working alongside officers to gather evidence in relation to speed, in order to deliver education and if necessary enforcement.

Inspector Trott said this was already being done on a daily basis for different periods and times of day and different locations. Three mobile speed guns are being used by staff to address the community concerns.

"At the end of the day, the message I am hearing from the public that have brought the issue to me is that they want to feel safe from speeding traffic within their own areas that they live. Additionally, they want to be free from the frequent noise caused by the exhausts, which make their lives a misery," he added.