Transportation noise: impact on man, indexes and regulations

The development of various modes of transport since the 1960s has given rise to environmental concerns linked to urban traffic, motorway and ring road traffic, airports and high-speed rail lines. Since then, interest has shifted from one source to another, showing that the problems are permanent, despite the efforts of public authorities. Research and regulation have focused on the physical aspects of noise, from the overall average or energetic level, to the peaks of identifiable events, to the acoustic frequencies of sound environments. Noise in the city affects the largest number of people, but has been considered more or less unavoidable since time immemorial.

According to the national survey on environmental nuisances from transport conducted by INRETS in 2005, following on from that carried out by INSEE, 28% of the population living in France consider noise to be the main environmental problem linked to transport, in particular because of its impact on quality of life and the living environment, and to a lesser extent because of its effects on health. At home, transport noise is perceived by 60% of the population, whether in a single-exposure situation (most often road noise) or in a multiple-exposure situation (mainly road noise combined with aircraft noise). Transport noise is a major source of annoyance for 33.7% of the population: 30% due to road traffic, 6.6% due to air traffic, and only 2.2% due to rail traffic (i.e. 5.1% of people annoyed by several sources of noise). Its negative effects are mainly disturbance of moments of relaxation and rest (1 in 8 people) and sleep disturbance (1 in 12 people).

As for the latest IFOP survey on the subject in 2014, it shows that at home, road traffic noise is considered the cause of annoyance by 32% of French people, but only 4.3% for aircraft noise and 3.4% for rail traffic noise.

Noise can also be addressed as an element of housing satisfaction; a 2017 Ipsos survey of 2,700 people, carried out for the Qualitel label, highlights the role of acoustic insulation in housing in the quality of life felt by residents. Deficient insulation was reported by 30% of the sample, coming after thermal insulation (32%) and related energy consumption (32%). A similar survey conducted by INSEE (2016-2017) produces lower figures, noting however that transport noise is a source of the same order of importance as neighborhood noise, especially in collective housing and at night.

When these noise nuisances first appeared (1960-70), the engineers who designed the suburban expressways didn't understand the opposition of local residents, who went so far as to set fire to a tire barrier on the southern exit from Paris. In cities, noise levels seem to level off, and do not increase during...