Some circuits can help if your car fails the decibel tests. The new quiet drive-by limit is just 70 dB averaged over an hour. ‘A local resident has been against us for over 13 years and had tried various ways of closing us down, finally bringing a private noise nuisance case.’ Croft had to cancel all track days and very nearly went bankrupt before agreeing to restrictive new regulations. ‘We were served with an injunction last year,’ circuit manager Tracey Morley told us. Bedford is not alone.īut it’s the Croft situation that has sent shockwaves through the industry. ‘Well over half of our development costs go into fighting noise,’ chief instructor Phil Ellis told us. Trying to safeguard their existence, many circuits are being constructed with noise containment in mind, but such methods only do so much.īedford Autodrome, evo’s home circuit, has some of the toughest regulations in the country – a 101 dB static limit and a 87.5 dB drive-by reading – and this is despite spending a fortune building noise defences. Some circuits must adhere to stricter regulations than others with local residents pushing for quieter noise limits or the track to be closed down altogether. The same goes for the drive-by reading (measured at a distance of 20 metres) when you’re out on track, not all tracks have drive-by testing, though. Exceeding the prescribed dB ceiling will result in a fail. A sound meter is positioned half a metre from the exhaust at a 45-degree angle, with the car of held at three-quarters of maximum revs. On arrival to your track day (normally) prior to the driver briefing a circuit official will carry out a static test. If the track breaks these rules – which are often monitored remotely by the local authority – it can face being shut down. The council has a responsibility to its residents, but also needs to be mindful of the benefits the circuit brings to the local economy, so most lay down guidelines that stipulate not only noise limits but how often and at what times the track can be used. In between lie the track itself and the local council. How is it that race tracks, of all places, have come to have noise limits? There are four main parties involved, book-ended by the track day attendees and the people who live nearby. > evo Trackdays 2022: dates, tickets, booking info Why are there noise limits? Those few seconds when you have your car decibel-tested can be the most nerve-wracking of the entire day – fail and it’s likely you won’t be allowed near the track at all. The chance to drive harder than you ever could on the road, and getting the adrenalin pumping epitomises the thrill of driving.
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