Road vehicle noise and road traffic noise

Road noise is a proven environmental nuisance. It affects people's health, is a source of annoyance and social inequality, and costs society dearly. Road traffic is the most widespread source of noise in Europe, and the one that exposes the greatest number of people to excessive daytime and night-time noise levels. This is true throughout Europe and France, and concerns both urban and rural areas. As a result, French and European public authorities have been working for several years to regulate the various components of road noise.

Regulations on vehicle noise go back a long way, and have long been the only means of limiting road noise emissions: the first European legislative text dealing with noise from road vehicles dates back to 1970, and concerned the exterior noise level of motor vehicles with at least four wheels. Since then, this text has undergone a number of changes, notably in terms of authorized limit levels, and the regulations have been extended to tractors and two- and three-wheel vehicles, as well as to equipment that could potentially cause noise pollution, such as horns, replacement exhaust systems or alarms.

In parallel with this work on vehicle noise emissions, more recent and independent global regulations on environmental noise management, including road noise, have emerged. These are complemented by standardized calculation and measurement methods for the various components of road noise.

This article provides an overview of regulatory methods for measuring vehicle noise levels, and the impact of these regulations on the annoyance they cause. It begins with an overview of the regulatory context for road noise and vehicle noise, followed by details of the various components of road noise and how they are modeled. The article goes on to describe the methods used for vehicle noise certification, and the various indicators used. The fifth section analyzes the various levers for action on vehicles and road traffic as a whole to reduce noise. This analysis finally puts into perspective the difficulty and necessity of achieving a global approach to noise reduction.