Citation

Blomberg LD. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 2013; 134(5): 3978.

Affiliation

Noise Pollution Clearinghouse, Box 1137, Montpelier, VT 05601-1147les@nonoise.org.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, American Institute of Physics)

DOI

10.1121/1.4830494

PMID

24180900

Abstract

The 250 million vehicles in the United States make so much noise that it is often difficult for pedestrians to hear a particular approaching vehicle, perhaps one that they do not see or realize is there. This masking effect is a pedestrian safety concern. Solving the general problem of masked vehicles is very difficult, because each vehicle plays conflicting roles-it needs to be heard, while it simultaneously masks other vehicles. This is especially true in urban settings where many vehicles and pedestrians are present. This paper seeks to identify the optimal vehicle noise level to minimize masking.

Language: en