I've lost my old login details. (I messaged a few people here a couple of years ago on similar subjects suggesting they call 101 for loud vehicle exhaust disturbances.)
After moving house quite close to a main road junction last year I've now found myself with constant sleep deprivation and early wake-ups (5am) Loud cars and bikes heard over the TV up until midnight etc. (Almost impossible to get off to sleep before this time).
So now I've been relentlessly calling 101 (non emergency) finally got put in touch with a local neighbourhood Police officer via email. She has now given warnings to at least half a dozen owners of loud cars and bikes with view to issuing Section 59 notices which eventually lead to vehicle seizure. I managed to get 5 reg numbers and she seemed to 'already know' the other cars. I have already noticed one car is quieter and another regular (the main 5am culprit) has disappeared altogether.
DH did a lot of research for me last year searching on various motoring forums and these exhausts seem to be increasingly popular. He even spoke to the MOT guy acting as if he himself needed to MOT a car he was buying with a loud exhaust. To our surprise the MOT guy (and I suspect many MOT places) are on the side of the car enthusiasts fitting loud pipes and said it wouldn't be a problem. He even gleefully mentioned a Police officer who owned a motorcycle with a loud exhaust as if this gave him some kid of approval for not doing his job properly.
After discovering the link below I've now written to my MP asking to toughen up or at least monitor the testing stations for rogue testers and improve the test for motorcycles that don't even require the engine running for the test.
MOT 7.1 (4)
www.ukmot.com/manual/7.1/Exhaust-Fuel-and-Emissions
The government now mention on their website that it is illegal to modify a vehicle to be louder than standard.
www.gov.uk/noise-pollution-road-train-plane/vehicle-noise-limits
I've noticed I cannot hear regular cars at all bar the odd woosh from tyre noise (if I have the windows open) so this is not a traffic problem.
I've not reported all modified cars just the blatant and obnoxious ones which not surprisingly are often accompanied by excess speed and more recently some have started sounding like they have explosives in the exhausts with horrible boom sounds when they brake.
I'm hoping for a face to face meeting with an officer and will post more updates and of course the response from our MP.
If you're being disturbed please don't let it linger, call 101, don't be shy in thinking you're not reporting a crime, you are. You can also ask the operator for advice. They sometimes ask you victim support type questions which is also fine. I explain to them I'm at the point of running outside and throwing something at the cars if it's the middle of the night.
Finally relief that something can be done. Thanks to people who've posted here in the past and understand the problem and horrible effects.
We've also seen on Facebook car and bike owners asking for advice when they've received notes through the door from anonymous neighbours and the general consensus is these 'enthusiasts' are telling people to 'f#ck off' they can't be reasoned with it seems.