Record number of fines issued for noisy cars, motorcycles and trucks

Last year, the police issued 3,805 fines for noise nuisance in traffic. That is the highest number of fines for hard-accelerating engines, screeching tires, and backfiring exhausts that the police have ever issued. It is also more than double the penalties issued three years ago, De Telegraaf reports based on figures provided by the police.

“It is clear that we are dealing with an undesirable trend,” Paul Broer, traffic portfolio holder of the National Police, told the newspaper. “The number of complaints from society about noise nuisance is increasing. Perhaps one of the reasons is that we lived relatively quietly during the corona period, and then we experience noise in traffic - but also from airplanes, for example - more as a nuisance. People are annoyed by that and report it. But it is clear that it is getting out of hand in many places.”

The police know of several hotspots, like the boulevard in Scheveningen and Witte de Withstraat in Rotterdam, where “people apparently like to show off their cars and motorcycles.” The police enforce in areas where people experience a lot of nuisance. “We take action after consultation with municipalities, while we also pay attention to noise nuisance during normal surveillance,” Broer said.

People caught with technical adjustments that make their vehicles noisier face a fine and must go for a re-inspection by the RDW. The car is banned from driving on the road until the inspection has taken place.

The fine for making unnecessary noise is 280 euros. The fine for unnecessary honking is 160 euros for cars and motorcycles and 110 euros for mopeds.