Citation

Lambert J, Simonnet F, Vallet M. J. Sound Vib. 1984; 92(2): 159-172.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1984, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/0022-460X(84)90553-4

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

An inquiry involving a total of 1500 subjects residing in 15 different sites in the conurbations of Lyon and Marseilles was carried out in 1979 with a view to determining the behaviour and attitudes of people with regard to traffic noise. The main purpose of the inquiry was to identify the objective reactions to the traffic noise and to determine how such reactions varied with the noise level, with account taken of the socio-economic characteristics of the subjects (age, income, owner occupier or tenant, etc.). The 08.00-20.00 hour leq noise level was measured or calcuated for each of the dwellings included in the inquiry. The 00.00-05.00 and 20.00-24.00 hour leq values were also derived for each case and a total of nearly 20000 different noise levels were involved in the analysis of the data for this inquiry. On considering the completed questionnaires it was found that the annoyance experienced during the day was more closely correlated with the noise level (R=0.64) than had been the case with the results of previous studies. In addition to showing how traffic noise can interfere with activities and lead, for example, to the closing of windows to shut out the noise, the inquiry yielded information on the way in which activities affected by noise are transferred to quieter rooms, on the extent to which individual dwellings are sound proofed, on the extent to which occupants are likely to move to another dwelling in order to escape from the noise and finally on some aspects of the effects of noise on health and sleep. Thus it appears that a daytime leq value of more than 65 db(a) gives rise to what can be regarded as forced behavioural responses to the extent that there are significant changes in the normal way of life of the people concerned and such responses give an indication of the magnitude of the social costs that can be attributed to the undesirable effects of traffic noise.

Language: en