Transform Scotland - For Sustainable Transport

3 February 2013

MEPs urged to back EU legislation on road vehicle noise

Traffic noise a 'blight' on a fifth of Scots


Scotland’s six MEPs have been urged to back planned EU legislation [1] to cut road vehicle noise in a major debate to be held in the European Parliament on 5th February. The sustainable transport alliance, Transform Scotland [2] has written to MEPs [3] as part of a trans-European campaign [4] by environmental groups pressing for new legislation to tackle what it describes as a “blight” on the lives of almost a fifth of Scottish citizens.

Colin Howden, Director of Transform Scotland, commented:

“The current EU vehicle noise standards go back to 1995 and urgently need updating. Excessive noise from road vehicles is a blight on the lives of over 900,000 people in Scotland [5], and over 40% of the European population is regularly exposed to road traffic noise above the level the World Health Organisation considers to pose a serious risk to health – including loss of sleep, hearing damage, cardiovascular disease and learning impairment in children. Together with our sister organisations across Europe we’re urging MEPs to vote on Tuesday for new legislation proposed by the Parliament’s Environment Committee.

“Despite the Scottish Government taking an early lead to implement EU noise legislation some five years ago [6], we are now falling behind in terms of infrastructure investment and design, traffic management and modal shift from road to rail, so there is much that the Scottish Parliament needs to do to tackle the widespread problem of traffic noise in urban areas and along main road corridors [7] – but the EU legislation is critical in terms of tackling the problem at source, in other words the vehicle. Cutting vehicle noise levels by just 3 decibels has an equivalent noise-reduction effect to halving the level of traffic on the road. This level of reduction can be quickly and easily achieved through technologies already available to car and truck manufacturers.”

Campaigners have reacted strongly to a claim by the Parliament’s Rapporteur (MEP Ouzky) that the legislation “will only hurt European automotive industry by reducing its ability to compete and might even lead to its destruction”, describing this as “a gross exaggeration, as costs to the industry are modest – around EUR 20 per dB reduction per car, and approximately EUR 250 per dB reduction for each truck/bus – and the benefits in improved health and quality of life are over ten times greater.”

Some concerns have been expressed about the possible impact of lower noise levels on the safety of blind or visually impaired pedestrians – but Transform Scotland points out that that the proposed legislation relates to maximum noise emissions, that is, tackling the loudest vehicles, with the aim of making the overall fleet quieter.


NOTES FOR EDITORS:

[1] European Commission regulation proposal (2011/0409 COD) on the sound levels of motor vehicles, to be debated and voted on in a plenary session of the European Parliament on Tuesday 5th February.

[2] Transform Scotland is the national alliance for sustainable transport, bringing together the public, private and voluntary sectors – see <http://www.transformscotland.org.uk>

[3] Sample MEP letter is available at <http://www.transformscotland.org.uk/GetFile.aspx?ItemId=656>.

[4] Media Advisory from the European Federation for Transport & Environment (T&E) is available at <http://www.transformscotland.org.uk/GetFile.aspx?ItemId=657>.

[5] Noise exposure data submitted by the Scottish Government to the EU in 2007 showed that 945,100 people were exposed to noise levels equal to or above 55 dB by day, and 662,100 were exposed to noise levels equal to or above 50 dB by night. <http://www.scottishnoisemapping.org/public/noise-statistics.aspx>

The Word Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines for community noise recommend less than 30 A-weighted decibels (dB(A)) in bedrooms during the night for a sleep of good quality and less than 35 dB(A) in classrooms to allow good teaching and learning conditions. The WHO guidelines for night noise recommend less than 40 dB(A) of annual average (Lnight) outside of bedrooms to prevent adverse health effects from night noise.

[6] The Scottish Government was one of the first to comply (by 2008) with the European Noise Directive 2002/49/EC, specifically by (i) by producing strategic noise maps and (ii) drawing up Action Plans to manage noise. These included the Transportation Noise Action Plan for Scotland and the Glasgow and Edinburgh Agglomeration Plans.

[7] Round 1 of the European Noise Directive required places outwith the Edinburgh and Glasgow agglomerations, but near major roads with more than six million vehicle passages a year, to be included in an Action Plan. Across the country this encompassed no less than 40 sections of road in Central Scotland, but also 18 sections of road in the North and South of Scotland.

ENDS