CCTV used to fine drivers performing doughnuts less than a mile from Buckingham Palace

Four drivers have been issued with Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) after being caught on camera performing burnouts, doughnuts and revving their engines at a late-night unregistered car meet less than a mile from Buckingham Palace.

Westminster City Council issued the fines after the wannabe boy racers triggered strategically placed acoustic noise cameras off Pall Mall in central London. This is the latest in a string of enforcement operations where the local authority, in partnership with the Met Police, have acted against anti-social or dangerous driving in recent months.

Some of the cars found guilty included a highly tuned BMW Coupe and a Mercedes C63 AMG worth almost £100k. Those caught were seen on CCTV performing doughnuts in dangerous proximity to onlooking crowds and other road users. Others were caught blocking roads and revving their engines close to residential areas producing noise at around 90 decibels (dB) which is as loud as operating jack hammer or standing next to a passing London underground train.

Installed in 2021, the cameras are activated when they detect events over 80-90 decibels. The noise camera uses AI to differentiate an engine’s sound from a typical car horn by monitoring the sound patterns. The microphone height is typically 5m above ground and the camera is designed to pick up high noise events that take place at any distance up to approximately 10 - 15m.

Cllr Aicha Less, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children and Public Protection at Westminster City Council said: 

Driving like this is not only unwelcome in Westminster, but also incredibly dangerous. We often notice an increase of this behaviour during the summer, but we will continue to work throughout the year to deter this from happening."

"We have a zero-tolerance for antisocial driving, so I welcome the latest round of fines and hope by working with our partners we can identify others. If you are looking to meet up with cars like this, our streets are not the place for it."