The effect of vibration on noise annoyance: A survey on traffic noise and vibration in sapporo

Abstract The purpose of this study is to clarify the contribution of road traffic vibrations to the noise annoyance responses of residents in the community of Sapporo, Japan. The surveyed houses were all detached wooden structures and the total number of effective respondents were 219. The survey comprised attitude interviews with the people living in the houses and physical measurements outdoors. The key questions were about annoyance due to road traffic noises and how bothersome the road traffic vibrations are. The answers were given on a five-point category scale. By the analysis of the sound levels and the vibration levels, the 13 surveyed areas were classified into two groups. At the same noise exposure levels, the areas in the first class had higher vibration levels than those in the second. The statistical analysis showed a significant difference between the annoyance responses of the high vibration areas compared to those of the low vibration areas. The main result is that people are more annoyed by the same traffic noise in the areas where traffic vibrations are more severe.