Shown in surveys to be the public's biggest source of complaints about noise pollution, owners of souped-up two-wheelers have so far enjoyed a loophole in the law that routinely leaves their din unpunished.

However under the new initiative unveiled by Ecology Minister Roselyne Bachelot, police will be empowered from the end of the year to confiscate and destroy the bikes -- normally low-powered mopeds and scooters with so-called "competition" exhausts.

Enforcement will be aided by the fact that from next year owners of motorbikes with a capacity of under 50 cc will be required to register them for the first time.

According to Yves Contassot, Green party deputy mayor of Paris, a single unsilencered scooter crossing the capital can wake as many as 200,000 people.

Among the other measures announced Monday are a new airline-financed tax to insulate homes near airports, and investment in sound barriers and double-glazing near railway junctions and busy thoroughfares.

Local magistrates will be urged to take more seriously a growing number of complaints about noisy neighbours, and a campaign will be launched to cut the high-pitched din in school canteens, gyms, swimming pools and recreation areas -- said by psychologists to cause stress and fatigue in children.

TERRA.WIRE