FOLLOWUP: Vehicle-noise camera-enforcement bill advances in State Legislature

During today’s weekly “briefing meeting,” the City Council, as usual, got updates on the State Legislature bills the city’s been tracking. Noting that legislators are now past the midpoint – 57 days into this year’s 105-day session – the city’s legislative liaisons said that the main bill to allow a “vehicle-noise enforcement-camera” pilot program has advanced; the state House passed HB 1423 57-40. District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka, who’s been advocating for that bill as a potential tool for problems in neighborhoods including Alki, asked the briefers what’s next. They said that though there’s a Senate version of the bill, the House bill is the “main vehicle” for this proposal, so it will likely have a public hearing in the Senate Transportation Committee sometime soon.

P.S. Our area’s state legislators – Sen. Emily Alvarado and Reps. Joe Fitzgibbon (who voted for the noise-camera bill) and Brianna Thomas (who voted against it) – plan a “telephone town hall” next Monday, March 17, at 6 pm. People throughout the district will get a call at that time inviting participation, but you can also call in; this page explains how.

T Rex March 10, 2025 (8:29 pm)

Reading this in upper Fauntleroy and heard what sounded like a tank going 70 miles an hour down by the park about 10 minutes ago. Not sure taking pictures will help or stop them, Seattle tends to want to play like tough guys but in the end they are not, let’s hope this time they will be.

AvoidingAds March 24, 2025 (9:50 pm)

Noise ordinance violations are hard to report and enforce (where is the evidence going to come from? What officer is going to chase a loud car at 2 AM?) I’m unsure if Seattle will give sufficient teeth to violation penalties, but noise cameras at least make that feasible.

alkibeeeech March 10, 2025 (10:04 pm)

That is a pathetic human on a motorcycle. They do that regularly when the weather is decent. We will all get to hear it again and again unless we get pictures and report them. Pretty sure they blasted down the alley behind Muse Salon.

DeadEnder March 10, 2025 (10:54 pm)

This is a fiscal boondoggle looking for an excuse. Until we get 5 more patrol cars, this expensive full time surveillance will be worthless.Give us the bodies before wasting our tax revenues.

Nolan March 10, 2025 (11:45 pm)

That’s the neat thing about automated enforcement: the patrol cars and “bodies” you’re referring to *are* the waste.
- WS_1999 March 11, 2025 (12:17 am)
  
  You can get out of a photo enforcement ticket. Harder to get out of an officer issued ticket.
  - Watertowerjim March 11, 2025 (5:42 am)
    
    Still should act as a deterrent, if nothing else.

Marcus March 11, 2025 (8:26 am)

Loud cars were always the exception many moons ago. They were throaty and part of the muscle car culture. Now days the loud cars are high pitched screamers like having an unhappy screaming kid next to you on an extended plane flight. There is nothing classic, impressive or unique about these high revving, no muffler, narcissistic noise makers. As Bevis would say “get em, yeah get em”.

Jeff March 11, 2025 (11:07 am)

I promise you, that Camaro SS or whatever is no less annoying to most people than the turbocharged Honda. Both are pure unnecessary noise intended to draw attention and make up for personal shortcomings.
T Rex March 11, 2025 (12:00 pm)

The ones in the older Honda Accords are the ones that make me laugh out loud! Yes, the days of a 1969 Chevelle Super Sport with a 396! That is a car worth making a little noise, and all you had to do is simply pull up.
Neighbor March 11, 2025 (4:40 pm)

I wouldn’t gleefully associate myself with Beavis but you do you I guess.

Lucy March 11, 2025 (9:52 am)

Auto shops that perform illegal exhaust manifold alterations should be fined. Stop the vehicles that make the noise, impound the vehicles and make the owner pay to be brought back to legal status.

Mike March 11, 2025 (6:35 pm)

Illegal exhaust manifold modifications??? Huh? Go check your blinker fluid level.
- Eric1 March 11, 2025 (8:34 pm)
  
  I think technically, if you remove an stock exhaust manifold and install an unapproved long tube header, it would be an “illegal exhaust manifold alteration”. I understand that you mean that there are lots of parts to the exhaust that would increase the noise level more than installing headers (like straight exhaust pipes) but I don’t think Lucy is wrong.

Neighbor March 11, 2025 (4:24 pm)

I don’t love the idea of lighting tax dollars on fire for ineffective surveillance systems. Isn’t this what vehicle inspections were for? Why did we stop doing emission testing? Just check out the car every year to make sure it’s not a deathtrap.

WS Res March 11, 2025 (7:30 pm)

California required it of cars older than a certain age to renew your tabs. It’s a good system.

anonyme March 12, 2025 (7:02 am)

I’m all for traffic enforcement cameras, but why advocate for noise reduction ahead of safety issues like speeding – which is rampant? We either need cameras and/or live traffic enforcement. Currently, we have neither.

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