In 2025, you will have to be careful when faced with a new reporting system: the Hydra radar. Developed by Bruitparif, this device fights against noise pollution on French roads. A turning point in road traffic monitoring by broadening the field of action beyond traditional speeding.
The Hydra radar is the result of research by the Bruitparif sound evaluation center in Île-de-France. With its sophisticated sensors and high-performance antenna, this device accurately detects vehicle noise emissions within a radius of 15 meterseven in heavy traffic conditions. While the noise level of vehicles is around 80 decibels, approximately, verbalization is triggered at 85 decibels.
The Hydra radar fines vehicles that are too noisy
The deployment comes after an experimental phase carried out since 2022 in several cities such as Nice, Toulouse, the outskirts of Lyon and even Paris, which also has radars on the ring road to enforce the new limit of 50 km/h. The effectiveness of the system has been proven by data collected by Bruitparif: between 10 and 44 vehicles per day were identified as exceeding the noise standards authorized according to traffic density and location.
The first city to experiment with verbalization in 2025 will be Bron, a town in the Lyon suburbs. Violators expose themselves to a fourth class fine, i.e. 135 euros. The aim is to deter those who rev the engine and generate excessive noise pollution.
The deployment of the Hydra radar is part of a broader strengthening of controls. In 2025, existing systems will extend detection to new offenses: use of the telephone while driving, failure to wear a seat belt and failure to maintain safety distances. Faced with pollution, ZFE radars will also be deployed to fine vehicles which do not respect the Crit’Air.
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