Abu Dhabi police develop noise-detecting traffic camera to crack down on loud supercars

The new traffic camera will listen out for loud engines and record the driver's license plate

Wealthy Middle Eastern visitors often ship their cars over to London in the summer, although Kensington and Chelsea's year-round residents aren't too impressed (Carl Court/Getty Images)

The well-to-do residents of Kensington and Chelsea made headlines last year, when they successfully pressured the council into cracking down on the loud supercars which roam their streets.

The cars' wealthy drivers, often young men from the Middle East who ship their toys to London for the summer, today risk committing a criminal offence if they rev their engines too loudly, suddenly accelerate, or perform stunts within the boundaries of Knightsbridge.

Now, it appears as though their neighbours closer to home are getting sick of obnoxious driving as well.

As reported by Gulf News, Captain Ahmad Abdullah Al Muhairi of the Abu Dhabi Police has invented a noise-measuring camera, which will help officers take action against abnormally loud cars.

Al Muhairi said his device, apparently the first of its kind, will use microphones to listen out for car horns and loud engines.

If noise levels are too high, its built-in cameras will snap a picture of the car's license plate and register an offence for the driver.

The device is fitted with cameras and microphones to detect noisy drivers (Abu Dhabi Police)

The police said the devices will mostly be placed in residential areas and near hospitals, schools and mosques, to keep away drivers who illegally modify their vehicles to make them as loud as possible.

Major General Mohammed Khalfan Al Rumaithi, the Commander of the gulf emirate's police force, said: "Introducing this new device will make Abu Dhabi the first city in the world to use the latest systems aimed at preserving the environment and reducing noise pollution caused by vehicles and excessive use of horns."

"It will promote Abu Dhabi's vision to achieve a sustainable traffic safety."

It isn't the first time Abu Dhabi's police have resorted to extreme measures to combat super-rich boy racers who "spread chaos and cause nuisance to the public."

Last June, the force announced it had purchased a £2.4 million Lykan Hypersport, a Lebanese supercar capable of accelerating from 0-60mph in 2.8 seconds, in order to better chase down other high-end vehicles.

A wealth of other anti-speeding measures have proved successful - police recently reported a 27 per cent decrease in traffic deaths caused by speeding since the start of 2016, compared to the same period last year.