A review of transport noise indicators

The different approaches to noise impact assessment adopted by the individual countries and the scientific community have led to the development of a certain amount of indicators, mainly focused on specific transport modes. However, in practice, technicians and decision- makers alike may fail to identify the most appropriate indicators, if they have not a specific expertise on environmental noise. The paper presents a review of the main transport noise indicators, both the general acoustic ones and those used for specific transport modes. A critical analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of those indicators is provided, as well as a section discussing the framework in which they work, and suggestions for their best use, aimed at assisting decision-makers to ascertain their role in the evaluation process of the transport systems. To this extent a classification is proposed supplemented by the DPSIR approach (Driving forces, Pressures, States, Impacts, Responses), in an effort to assess the cause-effect relationship between society and the environment. Decision-makers will also gain insight in prioritising the use of existing indicators in accordance to their own needs, as well as advice into the joint use of socio-economic variables to fully support their decisions.