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The Effects of Noise
There is a significant volume
of international research which confirms that there are serious adverse health
consequences associated with excessive noise;- sometimes referred to as
"unwanted sound."
The links below will be a start
for anyone interested in further reading about the adverse effects of motor
vehicle noise in our environment. Europe, including the UK, and Australia take
the issue very seriously and have dealt with it responsibly. New Zealand has
lagged well behind in addressing the issue (see our
Other Countries page for a summary).
The World Health
Organisation link below deals with the issue at the chapter entitled "Adverse Health
Effects of Noise". It discusses the fact that sleep disturbance is considered to
be a major environmental noise effect. It also considers the so called
"after-effects" of exposure to night time noise; increased fatigue, depressed
mood or well being and decreased performance.
The World Health Organisation Guidelines
The (Australian) National
Road Transport Commission paper
(External Noise From Motor
Vehicles, Regulatory Impact Statement, Oct 2002), which preceded the current and
much improved Australian law, is a comprehensive report on the problem.
The report highlights the fact that excessive noise from motor vehicles is a
major source of community concern and a significant problem affecting millions
of Australians. The Commission concluded that links between excessive noise
levels and human health are well documented but difficult to quantify in
financial terms (paragraph 1.1.1). The adverse effects of vehicle noise are well
documented in this report.
The
Australian NTC Report
Further links on the effects of
vehicle noise will be added as they become available. |
