Excessively noisy drivers should be fined $5K for 1st offence: city councillor

It’s time to crack down on loud vehicles revving their engines down busy streets, says an Edmonton city councillor.

Ward papastew Coun. Michael Janz is exploring new ways to end excessive noise violations.

Janz is calling for a significant increase in fines and penalties.

“We have noise bylaws already, but these drivers are flaunting it,” he said. “They need to have their vehicles penalized with the fullest extent of the law.”

Increase in noise complaints

There has been an increase in noise complaints in Edmonton since 2019, jumping nearly 300 more cases in only a year.

“The tickets (are) marginally higher than littering,” said Janz. “It’s like $150 – it’s barely worth a cop’s time for that. So I think we need to make it worth its while that would generate more revenue to go into the program to pay for enforcement.

“Ideally, I would like to see fines as high as $5,000 for a first offence or $10,000 for a second. I would like to see vehicle seizures and auctions.”

Noise-targeting radar technology?

CityNews has previously spoken with motorcyclists who say loud noise acts as a safety feature. So if drivers can’t see them, they can hear them.

But that’s not enough for Janz, who says such modifications are prohibited under current legislation. The councillor wants to bring in noise-targeting radar technology as seen in other cities.

“We need to get the message out that this kind of behaviour is not welcome in Edmonton. If you want to go out to a raceway, go for it. But White Ave. is not your raceway, Groat Road is not your raceway. This needs to stop.”

A city report focusing on excessive vehicle noise was presented Monday at the community and public services committee.

Janz says he intends to escalate the matter as high as possible.