Mallorca Install Cameras With Noise Meters To Curb Illegal Racing

IN an effort to stop illegal motorcycle racing on the public highway, the Council of Mallorca is planning to install cameras that capture license plate numbers and also measure noise levels.

On Thursday, November 9, Fernando Rubio, Mallorca’s Minister of Territory, Mobility and Infrastructure announced that the Council will install 70 cameras throughout Mallorca, with 17 of them on the roads of the Tramuntana.

The new system will hopefully break the stalemate of responsibility that has existed between the council and law enforcement authorities.

High Tech Cameras

The cameras will be installed with license plate readers and sound level meters on the Serra highway to stop illegal motorcycle races, which have plagued inhabitants for months. These are some of the measures that the Consell de Mallorca plans to implement in the coming months.

Rubio explained that the information that the new system will collect will be transferred to the Spanish traffic authority (DGT), in order to improve road safety for all and reduce the nuisance factor to locals.

The proposed cameras will be equipped with technology that can view and record images, count vehicles and measure their speed. In addition, they will be able to differentiate between heavy and light vehicles, bicycles and motorcycles.

The Council also pointed out that additional elements can be installed such as cameras that can read license plates and include sound level meters that measure the decibels of passing vehicles.

Solution To Illegal Racing

Rubio explained added: ‘We have chosen the residents and their problems to meet with those affected by the MA-10 in the Tramuntana mountains. What is needed is coordinated action among all the administrations, as the Council of Mallorca does not have the power to impose penalties, but the DGT does.

‘We are working within our framework of competence to find solutions to the problem, and one measure is to make the information provided by our systems available to the administrations so that we can act against drivers’ uncivic behaviour.’

These improvements have been offered to the DGT because, in fact, they could also be of great use to other bodies such as 112 or Emergencies, as long as the regulations of the Data Protection Act are taken into account.