Cross-national convergence of traffic noise policies

Abstract

Introduction Traffic noise has a long history as a political issue. Already in the late first century BC, the satirical poet Juvenal complained about noise annoyance caused by iron wheels and the shouts of draymen caught in traffic (Lay 1992: 132). Over the centuries, industrialisation intensified noise dramatically. Since the massive motorisation in the twentieth century, traffic noise has increasingly affected citizens living in and outside cities. Motor vehicles usually produce too little noise to damage hearing directly, but enough to cause annoyance, stress and sleep disturbance. Indirectly, noise may be contributing to cardiovascular or psycho-physiological problems. While individuals may get used to noise, they can still be affected negatively. Therefore, already in the 1960s several countries identified traffic noise as a problem and adopted first measures. Some countries included traffic noise in their earliest environmental programmes; others adopted regulations within transport or health policy. In those days, noise reduction was often viewed as a positive side effect of measures targeting other goals such as air pollution reduction. But many countries also built noise barriers along the noisiest parts of roads and rail tracks and started monitoring programmes and data collection. Yet the harmonisation of motor vehicle emissions became the most important goal. Strategies oriented towards the sources of traffic noise such as engines and tyres or the use of porous asphalt led to the first improvements. As a result of technological progress, in the mid 1990s the noise from cars was reduced by 85 per cent from 1970 levels, and the noise from lorries by 90 per cent (European Commission 1996). Additionally, new technologies made buildings (e.g. windows, walls and roofs) more soundproof. Some countries also tried to influence driving behaviour by adopting speed limits or providing information and education.