EFFECT OF STOCHASTIC TRAFFIC FLOW ON PERCEIVED NOISE

Traffic noise is an environmental impact of urban highways whose properties depend significantly on statistical properties of the traffic on the highway. Psychological aversion to noise is related to aspects of its variability such as the number, height, and duration of peaks, to the standard deviation and decile range, as well as mean noise level. Some sources of variability on multilane urban freeways include: (a) different emissions within vehicle class among individual vehicles. (b) different emissions among different vehicle classes. (C) formation of clusters or platoons of vehicles of the same type. (D) variation in vehicle spacings within and between platoons. (E) variations in flow among adjacent lanes. Renewal and Markov renewal processes provide tractable models for traffic flow. Noise intensity is represented as the noise power contributions summed over all vehicles on an infinitely long, straight, ideal highway; that is, as a linear filter of the multitype point process for vehicle spacings or headways. Moments can be calculated recursively. Some exact theoretical results are available for constant spacings and for exponentially distributed spacings. The exponentially modified skew stable law with exponent 1/2 (i.e. The wiener first passage time density) is a good approximation to the actual distribution. The variability in actual measurements is much greater than in simulations, and much greater than that predicted by the usual design manuals. One simple and effective method for reducing traffic noise variability (hence impact) is a mandatory minimum distance between heavy vehicles in densely populated urban areas. /TRRL/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Transportation and Traffic Theory. Proceedings of the Sixth International Symposium on Transportation and Traffic Theory. University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, August 26-28, 1974.
• Corporate Authors:

  Elsevier

  Radarweg 29
  Amsterdam,   Netherlands  1043 NX
• Authors:
  • Marcus, A H
  • Buckley, D
• Publication Date: 1974

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 231-245
• Serial:
  • Publication of: Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company
  • Publisher: Elsevier

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Attitudes; Bunching; Conferences; Distributions (Statistics); Environmental impacts; Exhaust gases; Freeways; Heavy vehicles; Perception; Psychological aspects; Sound; Sound level; Stochastic processes; Traffic flow; Traffic lanes; Traffic noise; Urban areas; Urban highways; Variables; Vehicle spacing; Vehicles
• Old TRIS Terms: Lead angle
• ITRD Terms: 1057: Air transport network; 2267: Attitude (psychol); 652: Bunching; 8525: Conference; 6572: Distribution (stat); 1078: Lock (waterway); 2752: Motorway; 6748: Sound; 671: Traffic flow; 2827: Traffic lane; 313: Urban area; 9086: Variability; 694: Vehicle spacing
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Environment; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00152908
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)
• Report/Paper Numbers: Proceeding
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 17 1977 12:00AM