Project STEER: Improving the EU Tyre Noise Label and its impact on European Roads

Abstract

Tyre/road noise is the dominant component of overall vehicle noise at medium and high speeds and for cars even at low speeds. Consequently, road traffic noise can be reduced with the proliferation of quieter tyres. One way to achieve this is to give the tyre noise label greater attention among tyre and transportation consumers. Hence, the STEER project has evaluated the relevance and performance of the noise part of the European tyre label, looking at how it works in practice, analyzing its uncertainties and suggesting how it can be improved. Its main finding is that the uncertainties in the measurement of noise level for the label are too high to be acceptable. This paper focusses on the solutions offered by STEER for an improved tyre label. With four main improvements, the overall uncertainty of the current procedure can be halved. A few possible future strategies to increase the market share of quieter tyres have been analyzed and their effects quantified. If the tyre noise label is improved and the market share of quieter tyres can be increased as project STEER proposes, area-wide reductions of up to 3 dB in road traffic noise emissions compared to the present situation are possible.