Roadside cameras that listen for loud vehicles are spreading across the United States, giving cities a new tool to enforce noise ordinances that have long been difficult to police. At least 10 U.S. jurisdictions have deployed or piloted noise-camera technology in recent years, and more communities are preparing programs or weighing whether to follow.
The systems use microphones, cameras and software to pinpoint a loud vehicle, and some also capture its license plate. Depending on the program, that evidence can lead to a warning, a review by an official or a citation. The approach addresses a common frustration: by the time someone calls police about a roaring car, the driver is often several blocks away.
New York City offers the clearest look at how far noise-camera enforcement can go. The city's Department of Environmental Protection operated 12 cameras in 2025, recording 15,994 noise events and generating 1,691 summonses. The system can target excessive engine or muffler noise, and it can also capture certain horn and vehicle-music violations. A muffler violation carries a minimum penalty of $800, with a maximum that can reach $2,625.
New York's cameras combine microphones with video and a license plate reader. When the microphones detect noise above a preset level, the system attempts to identify which vehicle produced it. City staff can then review the evidence before issuing a summons. The equipment comes from Intelligent Instruments Ltd., a U.K. company that makes the SoundVue noise-camera system. New York paid the company for equipment, calibration and service during 2025.
SoundVue combines an array of microphones with cameras and software designed to locate the loudest vehicle, and it can connect with automatic license plate recognition technology. Intelligent Instruments is becoming a familiar name in the space. Knoxville, Tennessee, has used the technology in a mobile noise-camera program that records information tied to excessive-noise events, including time, location, vehicle type and license plate. Knoxville says the camera can support warnings, but the city currently does not use it to issue camera-generated citations. The system originally came from 24 Acoustics, another Southampton, U.K.-based company, and Knoxville's current city page says the technology now trades through Intelligent Instruments.
Miami Beach also tested three Intelligent Instruments systems, launching a noise-meter and camera pilot to see whether the equipment could identify the correct vehicle under different traffic conditions. Florida law prevented the city from using camera evidence to issue automated noise citations during that pilot. Miami Beach has since taken another approach. In July 2026, the city launched a year-long Quiet Zone pilot in the South of Fifth neighborhood, where police officers handle enforcement under existing laws rather than relying on automated noise-camera citations.
The technology is not limited to major cities. Avoca, Iowa, moved ahead with a noise-camera program along Highway 59 after testing the technology in spring 2025. The city was dealing with complaints about loud engine-compression braking from trucks, often called Jake braking. During the one-month pilot, Avoca recorded 183 violations involving 83 vehicles. The city later announced a full implementation using technology from Intelligent Instruments with backend services from Sitestream.
Hawaii launched a two-year noise-camera pilot on Oʻahu in September 2025, planning 10 locations around the island, beginning with the H-3 Freeway and Ala Moana Boulevard. Drivers are not receiving camera-generated tickets through the pilot. The Hawaii Department of Transportation says the cameras collect information about vehicle noise levels and where the sound originates, and the agency plans to use that data to help guide future legislation and enforcement decisions. The systems flag events exceeding 90 decibels and help identify the type of vehicle noise involved, which could include an engine or muffler.
Kirkland, Washington, also used noise cameras as a test rather than a ticket machine. The city's Street Racing Noise Pilot Program placed equipment at two locations with a history of complaints about racing and modified exhausts. The system used a camera with an array of sensitive microphones. When a vehicle crossed the noise threshold, software created a heat map showing where the sound came from. Kirkland did not issue tickets or warnings during the pilot. Instead, the city wanted to see whether the system could reliably separate one noisy vehicle from everything else happening around it — a question that becomes especially important on a busy street.