PERCEPTION OF EXTERIOR NOISE FROM TRAFFIC RUNNING ON CONCRETE AND BITUMINOUS ROAD SURFACINGS

There is considerable public concern about the noise produced by traffic running on concrete road surfaces. This is considered by some to be both louder and harsher than that produced under similar conditions by traffic travelling on bituminous road surfaces. The Highways Agency of the Department of Transport commissioned research to investigate the nature and size of this problem. The primary object of the initial research described in this paper was to determine whether, under controlled laboratory listening conditions, there are significant differences in the perception of noise from traffic running on selected examples of existing concrete and bituminous road surfaces. A total of 40 listeners from the general public took part in the trials, and this enabled unbiased assessments to be made of the comparative noisiness of the noise generated by traffic running on the two surface types. The results lend support to the contention that some concrete roads are genuinely subjectively noisier than bituminous roads. However, the data also shows that provided the surfaces are designed to produce similar levels of loudness then there is unlikely to be a clear distinction in terms of perceived noisiness. (A)

• Corporate Authors:

  TRL

  Crowthorne House, Nine Mile Ride
  Wokingham, Berkshire  United Kingdom  RG40 3GA
• Authors:
  • WATTS, G R
• Publication Date: 1996

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: 16 p.
• Serial:
  • TRL STAFF PAPER
  • Publisher: TRL

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bituminous materials; Concrete; Measurement; Noise; Perception; Rolling contact; Sound; Surfacing; Texture; Tires
• ITRD Terms: 4955: Bituminous materials; 4755: Concrete; 5440: Contact (tyre road); 6136: Measurement; 2492: Noise; 2229: Perception; 6748: Sound; 3053: Surface texture; 2972: Surfacing; 1381: Tyre
• Subject Areas: Environment; Safety and Human Factors; Society; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00729676
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Files: ITRD
• Created Date: Dec 26 1996 12:00AM