Your loud exhaust could earn you a camera-issued fine as more US cities pair noise detectors with license plate readers

Cities across the United States are increasingly pairing license plate readers with noise detectors to identify vehicles with excessively loud exhausts or stereos. One such city preparing to implement this system is West Haven, Connecticut, which plans to connect four audio detection devices to its existing Rekor license plate readers along the shoreline.

Mayor Dorinda Borer has stated that the city is still determining the threshold for triggering the system and that violations would be emailed to police for review and enforcement.

Other cities that have either piloted or deployed these noise cameras include New York, Knoxville, Miami Beach, and Santa Fe. New York City, in particular, has been a leader in this initiative, having begun piloting the devices in 2021 and launching the program in 2022. As of 2025, NYC's 12 cameras recorded 15,994 noise events and issued 1,691 summonses for muffler violations, with penalties ranging from $800 to $2,625 per offense.

The expansion of these systems comes amid growing public anger and pushback over license plate surveillance. Concerns have been raised about the lack of oversight and the potential for misuse of data, as evidenced by reports of officers entering false information into the mandatory search-justification field of the Flock system, which is used by several cities.

Despite these challenges, cities like West Haven are moving forward with their implementation plans, with the city owning and controlling the equipment and data to maintain transparency and avoid third-party involvement.