Potential Impact of Latest Proposals for New European Vehicle Noise Limits

Noise emission of new road vehicles is regulated by European Directives [1] and subsequent amendments. Proposals for tighter noise emission limits for road vehicles made by the European Commission in 2011 [2] have been adopted in modified form by the European Parliament in 2013 [3]. In the VENOLIVA study on the effects of new vehicle noise limits [4] it was found that several dB reduction of the limit values is required to bring down current exposure levels and to reduce the numbers of severely annoyed and sleep disturbed people to a significant degree. In this paper, the effects of the current proposals for noise limits on environmental noise exposure and numbers of affected people are set out.