Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Vehicular Noise by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment

Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Vehicular Noise by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) in the past three years, how many cases of feedback have been received from residents about loud noise generated by motor vehicles and motorcycles respectively; (b) how many of such motor vehicles and motorcycles have been caught for illegal modification of vehicle exhaust systems or failure to comply with the noise emission standards; and (c) whether further measure can be implemented by the Ministry to address excessive noise generated by these vehicles.

Answer:

1 Excessive vehicle noise is caused by a variety of factors, including vehicle design, illegal modifications, poor maintenance and inconsiderate driver behaviour. The National Environment Agency (NEA) received 190 cases of feedback on noisy vehicles in 2020, 175 cases in 2021 and 85 cases in 2022.

2 New vehicles must adhere to NEA’s noise emission standards upon registration. Vehicles on the roads must meet in-use noise emission standards, which ensure that they are well maintained and do not emit excessive noise. Enforcement action was taken against 9 vehicles in 2020, 76 in 2021 and 66 in 2022 for failure to comply with the noise emission standards.

3 The Land Transport Authority (LTA) enforces against illegal exhaust modification, including those which may create excessive noise. LTA enforced against 1,650 cases of illegal exhaust modifications in 2020, 1,781 cases in 2021 and 1,215 cases in 2022.

4 To further reduce excessive noise from vehicles, noise standards for new motorcycles, passenger cars, and aftermarket exhaust systems were tightened on 1 April 2023, and will be tightened for new commercial vehicles on 1 April 2024.