Traffic Noise Levels Research Articles

Psychophysiological responses to traffic noises in urban green spaces

The present study aims to explore the psychophysiological impact of different traffic sounds in urban green spaces. In the experiment, 30 subjects were recruited and exposed to different traffic sounds in the virtual reality (VR) scene. The road traffic sound and three railway sounds (con-ventional train, high-speed train, and tram) with three sound levels (45, 55, and 65 dB) were used as the acoustic stimuli. Physiological responses, electrodermal activity (EDA) and heart rate (HR) were monitored throughout the experiment. Psychological evaluations under each acoustic stimuli were also measured using scales within the VR system. The results showed that both the psychological and the physiological responses were significantly affected by the traffic sounds. As for psychological responses, considerable adverse effects of traffic sounds were observed, which constantly increased with the increase of the sound level. The peak sound level was found to have a better performance than the equivalent sound level in the assessment of the psycho-logical impact of traffic sounds. As for the physiological responses, significant effects of both the acoustic factors (sound type and sound level) and the non-acoustic factors (gender and exposure time) were observed. The physiological effect of high-speed train noise was significantly differ-ent from those of the other three traffic noises. The relationship between sound level and physi-ological parameters varied among different sound groups. The variation of sound level could hardly affect the participants' HR and EDA when exposed to the road traffic noise. On the con-trary, the physiological responses were significantly affected by the sound level of rail traffic noise. By a correlation analysis, no linear correlation between the psychological evaluations and HR was found.

The role of sound emergence for aircraft noise annoyance

The metric emergence relates source-specific sound levels to background noise. The approach of subtracting a residual sound level (total sound level without the level of a specific source) from the total sound level follows the definition of emergence in ISO 1996-1. Using exposure and survey data of the German NORAH study, the impact of emergence on aircraft noise annoyance was analysed. As total background sound levels were not available, information about source-specific and combined noise levels was used instead. For participants exposed to aircraft and road traffic noise for the emergence substitute es(air/road), road traffic sound levels for daytime (LAeq,road,day) of the home address of survey participants were subtracted from the combined sound levels of aircraft and road traffic noise (LAeq,air+road,day) with road traffic noise regarded as a proxy for background noise. Similar, for participants exposed to aircraft and railway noise, LAeq,rail,day were subtracted from LAeq,air+rail,day to obtain es(air/rail). The percentage of people highly annoyed (%HAV) by aircraft was predicted by LAeq,air,day for subgroups with es(air/road) and es(air/rail) ≥ 3 dB and es(air/road) / es(air/rail) < 3 dB. Results: Particularly in low aircraft noise-exposed areas, %HAV is higher for those with higher values of es(air/road) and es(air/rail), respectively.

Interlaboratory comparison of ISO 23351-1: speech level reduction of furniture ensembles

We examined the effects of both wind turbine noise and road traffic noise on symptoms and diseases close to wind turbines and in a control area. Wind turbine sound levels were between 1739 dB LAeq and met the Finnish regulation (40 dB). Daytime road traffic noise levels were 32.5-63.5 dB. Altogether 676 residents responded to the questionnaire. Higher wind turbine sound level was associated with more likely reporting wind turbine noise annoyance and not with reporting of symptoms or chronic diseases. Higher road traffic sound level was associated with higher probability of road traffic noise annoyance, migraine or headache, dizziness, impaired hearing, pressure in ears, tachycardia or heart palpitations, and heart disease. The health effects of wind farms seem to be limited to noise annoyance in areas where all residents are exposed to sound levels under 40 dB. The study has strong practical relevance since new wind power areas always fulfill this 40 dB regulation in Finland. On the other hand, more than 600.000 inhabitants are exposed to road traffic noise levels above 55 dB in Finland. Because high road traffic noise is associated with elevated prevalence of symptoms and a disease in our study, and several previous international studies have found even more serious health effects of road traffic noise, this issue deserves higher concern in the future.

Effects of traffic speed reduction interventions on noise-induced annoyance and self--reported sleep disturbances: a longitudinal study in Zurich

For the purpose of evaluating acceptance and effects of permanent speed reductions on noise level, noise annoyance and self-reported sleep disturbance, we surveyed about 1300 randomly sampled inhabitants, before and after a speed regime changeover from 50 km/h to 30 km/h along 15 small- and mid-sized city streets in Zurich. Concurrently, individual noise exposure calculations based on traffic counts and on-site speed measurements were carried out. The results show a decrease of road traffic noise levels at the loudest facade point by an average of 1.6 dB during the day and 1.7 dB at night, a significant decrease of road noise annoyance and of self-reported sleep disturbances as well as a significant but moderate increase of the perception of road safety. Most importantly, the exposure-response relationships for annoyance and sleep disturbance were shifted towards lower effects in the 30 km/h condition by, depending on receiver point, between about 2 and 4 dB during the day and about 4 dB at night, indicating lower effects at the same average level. We conclude that besides the lower average level alone, additional factors related to the lower driving speed must play a role in the reduction of annoyance and sleep disturbance.

Noise and Pavement Rehabilitation Using Chip Seal Surfaces

In the United States, increasing number of local and state highway agencies are using chip seals for highway pavement rehabilitation due to their relatively low cost and simplicity of application. These surfaces can significantly increase both exterior traffic noise levels and interior noise for vehicle occupants. Recent studies have quantified these effects using pass-by and interior noise and on-board sound intensity (OBSI) measurements. In order to minimize these effects, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has conducted research on different chip seal pavement designs near the City of Bishop, California. Previous measurements of chip seal pavement have indicated an average OBSI level of 106.2 dBA with a range of ±2 dB. The five quietest test sections at Bishop produced an average level of 101.8 dB with a range of ±0.6 dB. In this presentation, the previous pass-by and interior noise and OBSI measurements are provided along with the comparison of OBSI data to that measured at the Bishop sites. The performance and design information on the Bishop sites are also provided.

A machine learning- and compressed sensing-based approach for surrogate modelling in environmental acoustics: towards fast evaluation of building façade road traffic noise levels

State-of-the-art urban road traffic noise propagation simulation methods such as the CNOSSOS-EU framework rely on ray tracing to estimate noise levels at specific locations on façades, so-called receiver points; this method is computationally expensive and its cost increases with the number of receiver points, which limits the spatial accuracy of such simulations in the context of real-time or near-real-time urban noise simulation applications. This contribution aims to investigate the applicability of multiple data-driven methods to the surrogate modelling of traffic noise propagation for fast façade noise calculation as an alternative to these traditional, ray-tracing-based methods. The proposed approach uses compressed sensing to select a small subset of receiver points from which the data set of the entire façade may be reconstructed, associated with a Kriging model and neural networks, used to predict noise levels for these sensors. The prediction performance of each of these steps is evaluated on an academic test case, with two levels of complexity based on the dimensionality of the problem.

Objective and perceived acoustic environments during the COVID-19 lockdown: An overview of evidence

The COVID-19 pandemic took a heavy toll on population health directly, but also triggered profound changes to social life, daily mobility patterns, and activity spaces. At the beginning, public health measures for limiting the spread of the virus mandated home confinement and limited outdoor activities, which in turn reshaped typical acoustic environments for many people. Traffic noise levels reportedly declined across various settings, allowing for nature sounds, hitherto masked, to become more prominent. On the other hand, prolonged home confinement made indoor sounds, such as mechanical sounds, human voices, and noise generated by neighbors, even more relevant for the well-being of building occupants. This overview will provide a synopsis of the evidence of changes to residential noise exposure and perceived soundscape quality and components across different contexts, with implications for residents' well-being. The observed changes will be discussed through the lens of stress and restoration theories.

Road traffic noise in European cities: Learnings from a European-wide study on the health impacts of road traffic noise.

Road traffic noise is one of the main environmental risks to health and wellbeing. We aimed to provide an in-depth assessment of available road traffic noise data and to estimate population exposure and health impacts for cities in Europe. We analyzed 724 cities and 25 greater cities in 25 European countries. We retrieved road traffic strategic noise maps delivered under the Environmental Noise Directive (END) or available from local sources. We assessed noise exposure using the 24h day-evening-night noise level indicator (Lden) starting at exposure levels of 55 dB Lden for the adult population aged 20 and over and estimated the health impacts of compliance with the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation of 53 dB Lden. Two primary health outcomes were assessed: high noise annoyance and Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD), using mortality from IHD causes as indicator. Almost 60 million adults were exposed to road traffic noise levels above 55 dB Lden, 11 million adults were highly annoyed and more than 3600 deaths from IHD could be prevented annually. A considerable number of adults are exposed to road traffic noise levels harmful for health. Efforts to standardize the strategic noise maps and to increase data availability at the city level are needed to provide a more accurate and comprehensive assessment of the health impacts of road traffic noise.

Studying the association between noise exposure, stress and characteristics of green spaces: protocol and pilot study

Urban areas are constantly growing, and densification is a common strategy to limit settlement expansion. However, this leads to loss of green spaces (GSs) and increasing noise pollution, which is detrimental to public health. Within a research project that aims at elucidating the stress-easing potential of green spaces in noise-polluted environments and the mediating and/or moderating role of annoyance, an extended cross-sectional field study will be performed in the city of Zurich, Switzerland. In total, 5000 participants will be contacted in three waves, during which an online survey will be carried out followed by a visit to a subsample at home to collect hair cortisol probes. Participants of this study were selected according to the characteristics of their residences (stratified by accessibility to GSs and noise exposure). Further, traits of individuals in addition to acoustic and non-acoustic attributes of GSs are accounted. Thus, the association of noise annoyance, perceived stress and long-term physiological stress responses among residents exposed to different road traffic noise levels and with different grades of access to GSs are studied. In this contribution, the study protocol and first results of a pilot study with 256 participants will be shown.

Evaluating the factors whether road humps affect the living environment of the residents in the residential areas in Malaysia

In this study, six residential areas within Klang valley in Malaysia were selected to evaluate the perceptions of the residents on whether road humps had actually improved the living environment through reduction in traffic speed and noise level of the moving vehicles. About 480 duly filled-in questionnaires were used in this study. Two binary logistic regression models were developed, one evaluating factors that influence residents’ perceptions on whether road humps had any effect on improving living environment through reduction in the noise level of the vehicles (model 1) and the other on improving living environment through reduction in the speed of the vehicles (model 2). Overall, the results show that the residents were more likely to agree that road humps had, indeed, improved their living environment through reduction in traffic speeds as compared to traffic noise.

Assessment of traffic noise pollution at residential and school areas in Jeli, Kelantan

The development of roads interconnects communities and has become important for economic and social development. Higher traffic noise level is often reflected by the increase in the number of vehicles. This paper discussed the relationship between noise level and vehicle density in the study area. The aim of this study was to assess the traffic noise pollution occurring in the residential and school areas in Jeli, Kelantan. The traffic noise measurement was collected using a sound level meter for three consecutive months (July, August and September 2023). The traffic volume was recorded by traffic surveying. The assessments were carried out from 8.00 a.m – 8.00 p.m. The recorded noise levels were compared with the permissible limit (Malaysian noise limit). The highest noise level recorded was 85.9 dBA, well over the permissible limit of 60 dBA by DOE. This was due to the high number of vehicles passing by the road in the study area and the highest number of vehicles recorded was 4976 during sampling time in July at Kg Gemang. Overall, the traffic noise assessments for this study were beyond the standard limit set by DOE during daytime. This considerably high noise could lead to other health effects for the residents.

JS-ISH-ESH-2: NOISE POLLUTION AND ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION

Environmental noise significantly impacts human health and well-being. It is a widespread problem in Europe, where at least one in five people are exposed to harmful levels of noise. Hearing loss is the most known health effect related to noise exposure. There is, however, growing data that links noise exposure to hypertension, coronary artery disease, and stroke. According to some theories, this relationship may be explained by the indirect pathway of noise exposure, which can cause sympathetic and endocrine activation, as well as several cognitive and emotional responses, including annoyance. Noise exposure leads to stress reactions independent of cognitive involvement. There is a possibility that noise exerts its effects directly through synaptic interactions, as well as through cognitive and emotional effects. Epidemiological studies indicate that nocturnal noise exposure has more profound health consequences. Nighttime noise exposure is associated with an increase in heart rate due to sympathetic activation or parasympathetic withdrawal, and with an increase in blood pressure as well as endothelial dysfunction. Hypertension is a common condition and is an important risk indicator for other cardiovascular diseases. Previous studies showed an association between noise exposure, blood pressure and arterial hypertension. Meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies found an increase of hypertension prevalence per 10 dB increase in daytime average road traffic noise level. There is, however, some heterogeneity among these studies. Prospective studies have also found an association between aircraft noise exposure and hypertension, supporting the cross-sectional findings. The analyses, of data from the large Hypertension and Exposure to Noise near Airports (HYENA) study, showed that an increase in nocturnal aircraft noise exposure per 10 dB was associated with an increased incidence of hypertension. The meaningful effect of night-time aircraft noise on arterial hypertension was also observed in the prospective observation of the subset of individuals from that study. In a longitudinal observation of 420 participants, higher aircraft noise exposure during the night significantly associated with the incidence of hypertension. Previous cross-sectional case-control study conducted in 2015, in 2 suburban areas of Krakow, Poland, revealed an increase in blood pressure and arterial stiffness as determined by carotid - femoral pulse wave velocity in individuals exposed to increased aircraft noise levels. However, even short-term noise reduction, as experienced during the COVID-19 lockdown, may reverse those unfavorable effects. As a result of these observations, noise mitigation strategies are important for cardiovascular health.

Cardiovascular consequences of aircraft noise exposure.

The results from epidemiological studies suggest that environmental noise including aircraft, railway, road traffic, wind turbine, and leisure-related noise is a growing public health concern. According to the WHO, at least 100 million people in the European Union are affected by traffic noise levels above the WHO-recommended thresholds. Environmental noise can adversely affect physical and mental health, as well as wellbeing. Chronic low-level noise exposure typical for most environmental sources is associated with psychophysiological stress causing non-auditory or indirect noise effects leading ultimately to cardiovascular diseases. Among all environmental noise sources, aircraft noise is considered the most annoying, and its leading mechanism of action is autonomic system activation such as increases in heart rate and blood pressure. Previously, we observed that long-term exposure to aircraft noise was associated with increased diastolic blood pressure, arterial stiffness (as assessed by pulse wave velocity), and impaired left ventricular diastolic function. All mentioned above effects are early, subclinical, and potentially reversible changes which preceded late noise effects in the cardiovascular system, that is, established cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure. However, even a short-term reduction in aircraft noise exposure as observed during the COVID-19 lockdown may reverse these negative effects on arterial stiffness and blood pressure and may decrease the prevalence of insomnia. In this review, we aimed to critically discuss our obtained results considering recent studies on the influence of aircraft noise (and other traffic noises) on cardiovascular diseases in the context of the WHO Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region.

Measurements of traffic parameters and conditions in traffic noise research

Abstract: The level of traffic noise depends mainly on road traffic parameters such as: traffic volume, share of trucks in traffic and vehicles speed. Traffic conditions determined by such parameters as, for example, the average travel speed, average delays at the intersection and the number of vehicles stops are also important. Their particular importance is revealed especially in the case of bad traffic conditions and a significant reduction of traffic flow. The paper presents selected methods of measuring road traffic parameters, and in particular - traffic conditions on the example of research on their impact on the noise level in the vicinity of the street and intersections. The results of these tests are also presented, determining the impact of such parameters on traffic noise as: instantaneous speed, sectional speed, average delays at the intersection entry, the number of vehicle stops, volume to capacity of the entry ratio. Keywords: Traffic noise; Traffic conditions; Traffic parameters; Measurement methods

Effect of Vehicular Stream Characteristics on Traffic Noise

Human health can be negatively impacted by exposure to loud noise, which can harm the auditory system. Traffic noise is the leading cause of noise pollution. This paper studies the problem of noise pollution on the roads in Baghdad, Iraq. Due to the increase in vehicle numbers and road network modifications in Baghdad, noise levels became a serious topic to be studied. The aim of the paper was thus to study traffic noise levels and the effect of the traffic stream on noise levels and to formulate a prediction model that identified the guidelines used for designing or developing future roads in the city. Then, the noise levels were measured based on five variables: the functional classification of roads, traffic flow, vehicle speed, distance from the carriageway, and skid number. An analysis of traffic noise prediction was conducted using a simple linear regression model to accurately predict the equivalent sound levels. Finally, the findings have shown that the formulated prediction model gives acceptable prediction noise levels since the R2 is 88.83%. The results showed that the noise levels measured were 23.1% and 48.8% higher than the allowable noise levels limited by Iraqi standards during the daytime and nighttime, respectively. Further, studying the alternatives used to improve the performance of the environment on the existing roads in Baghdad can be considered as a future research direction. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-12-016 Full Text: PDF

Analisa Pengaruh Volume Kendaraan dan Kecepatan Terhadap Tingkat Kebisingan Lalu Lintan di Jalan Cikuray, Garut

Cikuray street, Garut is a collector road located 1 km from Garut Square, and on this road, there are many offices and shops for facilities and services. Therefore, Cikuray street experiences an increase in a traffic flow which causes noise. This study aims to analyze the level of traffic noise due to the volume and speed of vehicles. The method used in this research is a direct survey of the field and traffic noise modeling analysis using multiple linear regression analysis with the help of SPSS (Statistical Package of the Social Sciences) software version 26 for Windows. From the analysis, the highest volume of vehicles occurred on Saturday at 11,605 pcu/hour, with the average speed ranging from 34.00 – 38.00 km/hour and for a noise level of 84.55 dB(A) which means it has exceeded the standard. limit. permissible noise level. The relationship between volume and vehicle speed to traffic noise levels on Jalan Cikuray Garut using mathematical modeling is shown in the equation Y = 56.777 + 0.020X1 + 0.043X2 + 0.214X3 – 0.090X4 with R2 = 0.443. This shows that traffic noise (Y) can be explained by the volume of motorcycles (X1), the volume of light vehicles (X2), the volume of heavy vehicles (X3), and traffic speed (X4).

Mapping Vehicular Noise Pollution in Port Harcourt Metropolis, Rivers State, Nigeria: Implication for a Sustainable Urbanization

This study aims to investigate geo-referenced vehicular noise pollution in Port Harcourt metropolis of Rivers State, Nigeria. Three types of data were gathered for this study. Data from vehicular traffic noise were measured in decibel (dB) using Noise Dosimeter (ND); data from vehicular traffic counts were carried out by observing and counting traffic flow at junctions and roundabouts as well as vehicular traffic noise location map was established by using Global Positioning System (GPS) instrument processed in the Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. The findings indicated that in the northern segment, Igwurita (99.5 dB) and New road roundabout (96 dB), generated the highest vehicular noise in the spatial distribution. In the eastern road segments, Eleme Flyover (98.1 dB) and Artillery Junction (95.5 dB) contributed the highest vehicular noise levels. In the northern segment, New Road (2311 vehicles) and Igwuruta (1566 vehicles) at the roundabouts, generated the highest vehicular traffic counts in the spatial distribution. Thus, among the eastern roads, Eleme Flyover (6735 vehicles) and Artillery Junction (5539 vehicles) contributed the highest vehicular counts in the area. The results showed that the northern and eastern segments of Port Harcourt metropolis had the highest level of vehicular traffic noise and traffic flow. Thus, the vehicular noise level values have exceeded the recommended 75 dB national and international health standards.The study recommended construction of more road network in the southern and western parts of Port Harcourt metropolis in order to decongest traffic flow and noise pollution in the northern and eastern segments of the city.

Effects of vessel traffic and ocean noise on gray whale stress hormones

Human use of marinescapes is rapidly increasing, especially in populated nearshore regions where recreational vessel traffic can be dense. Marine animals can have a physiological response to such elevated human activity that can impact individual health and population dynamics. To understand the physiological impacts of vessel traffic on baleen whales, we investigated the adrenal stress response of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) to variable vessel traffic levels through an assessment of fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGC) concentrations. This analysis was conducted at the individual level, at multiple temporal scales (1–7 days), and accounted for factors that may confound fGC: sex, age, nutritional status, and reproductive state. Data were collected in Oregon, USA, from June to October of 2016–2018. Results indicate significant correlations between fGC, month, and vessel counts from the day prior to fecal sample collection. Furthermore, we show a significant positive correlation between vessel traffic and underwater ambient noise levels, which indicates that noise produced by vessel traffic may be a causal factor for the increased fGC. This study increases knowledge of gray whale physiological response to vessel traffic and may inform management decisions regarding regulations of vessel traffic activities and thresholds near critical whale habitats.

IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCES OF THE TRAFFIC NOISE MODEL USING MULTI-LINEAR REGRESSION

This research aims to examine the traffic noise levels and to improve the performances of the Calculation of Road Traffic Noise model (C.R.T.N.) by applying the statistical multiple linear regression approach. Research methods included traffic noise level measurements with a noise measuring device in an urban area, using a sampling method in different periods. An evaluation of the measured data and prediction results was performed. Based on the predicted values of the C.R.T.N. model and coefficient of determination (R2), multi-linear regression was carried out to determine statistically significant parameters. The obtained multi-linear regression equation defined a new form of C.R.T.N. model. When applying the new improved version based on the C.R.T.N. model, higher accuracy of prediction is achievable. It can be seen that by applying multi-linear regression, the obtained prediction values are acceptably equated with field measurements in the chosen research environment. So, in this way, the differences between the predicted values of the noise level and the values measured in the field were minimized. Finally it can be concluded that when applying the new improved version based on the C.R.T.N. model, higher accuracy of prediction is achievable.

The Impact of Transportation Traffic Noise on Merauke City Road Crossing

Noise caused by transportation significantly exceeds the 55 dBA. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of transportation traffic noise at the Merauke city crossing and its solutions. Noise caused The lack of proper attention to the impact of noise from traffic flow at a crossroads. The Development of additional techniques for noise reduction in this area is needed. The results obtained are very important for areas with solutions at every highway intersection The results obtained are very important knowing the noise above the standard value at every highway intersection. This research develops techniques to reduce transportation traffic noise at the crossroads of Merauke city which are applied in design practice. Experimental studies in real conditions in the characteristic areas of Merauke City using sound level meter measurements. This research was carried out experimentally by taking measurements at each crossroads and theoretical solving methods. The good convergence results confirm the impact of noise on the immediate area with a slightly higher crossing than the value on a normal two-lane road. The proposed solution will allow providing additional protection against transportation noise.