REGULATIONS ON ROAD VEHICLE NOISE – TRENDS AND FUTURE ACTIVITIES

Abstract

Problem of vehicle noise has been observed since the appearance of the larger number of vehicles on the roads. Drivers and passengers are exposed to constant noise and vibration originating from their own vehicles and all other vehicles participating in traffic. This paper reviews development of regulations that impose limits for vehicle noise. Chronological development of vehicle noise regulations is presented in order to observe trends in corresponding noise limits and requirements. Required future activities in formulation of new vehicle noise regulations based on vehicle users’ demands, developments and trends in automotive industry and requisites for vehicle weight reduction and cutting the costs of vehicle production are analysed in the paper.

Full text

Mobility & Vehicle Mechanics, Volume 43, Number 1, 2017
REGULATIONS ON ROAD VEHICLE NOISE – TRENDS AND FUTURE
ACTIVITIES
Danijela Miloradović
1
, Jasna Glišović
2
, Jovanka Lukić
3
UDC: 629;534.292
1. INTRODUCTION
It is universally acknowledged that noise is not only a huge ecological problem, but
it represents an unpredictable danger to human health. This problem has been existing since
forming of the huge cities and occurrence of the large number of engine operated vehicles
on the city streets and roads. Thus, it is no surprise that only after three decades of existence
of motorized transport, the British Government had introduced legislation to control the road
vehicle noise, by a simple act, known as “The Motor Cars (Excessive Noise) Regulations,
No. 416”, passed in 1929. This act, adopted before the invention of any means of measuring
noise, had authorized the police officers and courts to decide if the vehicle was too noisy
[1]. Motor vehicle is a complex source of noise emission, made by equipping the
vehicle with (internal combustion) engine. All surfaces of the vehicle’s engine and chassis
generate vibrations and sound waves, which are perceived as noise. Vehicle passengers hear
the sum of all contributions from airborne noise and structure borne noise carried to the
vehicle interior, joined by contributions from aerodynamic noise and tire rolling noise. In
most cases, the passenger cannot distinguish different noise sources inside the vehicle. It can
only be done by using corresponding measurement technique. However, drivers and
passengers are not only exposed to noise originating from their own vehicles. Their
environment also contains noise from all other vehicles participating in traffic.
Noise contributes to disorders of the cardiovascular, nervous and digestive system
of the driver. It also has an adverse effect on the nervous system and induces stress and
increased blood pressure. Excessive traffic noise damages driver’s hearing and health. It
frequently exceeds limit values set for occupational noise. This is particularly important for
health of professional drivers, such as bus and truck drivers, who experience increased stress
levels from the traffic and from their working schedules [2].
The European Parliament and the Council of Europe have adopted “Directive
2002/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 June 2002 relating to the
assessment and management of environmental noise - Declaration by the Commission in the
Conciliation Committee on the Directive relating to the assessment and management of
environmental noise” in 2002. This Directive is also known as „END - Environmental Noise
Directive“, and it applies to environmental noise to which humans are exposed in urban and
rural areas. Its goal is “to define a common approach intended to avoid, prevent or reduce on
a prioritised basis the harmful effects, including annoyance, due to exposure to
1
Danijela Miloradović, Ph.D., assist. prof., University of Kragujevac, Faculty of engineering, 6 Sestre
Janjić Str., 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia, neja@kg.ac.rs
2
Jasna Glišović, Ph.D., assist. prof., University of Kragujevac, Faculty of engineering, 6 Sestre Janjić
Str., 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia, jaca@kg.ac.rs
3
Jovanka Lukić, Ph.D., prof., University of Kragujevac, Faculty of engineering, 6 Sestre Janjić Str.,
34000 Kragujevac, Serbia, lukicj@kg.ac.rs

Danijela Miloradović, Jasna Glišović, Jovanka Lukić
Mobility & Vehicle Mechanics, Volume 43, Number 1, 2017
60
environmental noise“ [3]. In addition, END has a goal of providing a basis for developing
community measures to reduce noise emitted by the major sources, one of them, in
particular, being road vehicles.
Road traffic noise is the most prevalent environmental noise source in Europe.
Estimations show that the overall number of people exposed to road traffic noise inside and
outside urban areas amounts to around 24 % of the total European population. This means
that around 125 million people are likely to be exposed to threshold levels of road traffic
noise according to the Environmental Noise Directive (END) 2002/49/EC. The threshold
levels used for noise mapping and action planning by the END are 55 dB for the day-
evening-night noise indicator, Lden, and 50 dB for the night-time noise indicator, Lnight [4,
5]. Road traffic noise emissions can be reduced at a source, via measures relating to
vehicles, tyres, road surfaces and traffic management, or by reducing the exposure of people
by means of anti-propagation or insulation measures. Most European Union (EU)
regulations focus on mitigating noise at the source, such as: establishing limits for the noise
of vehicle engines and exhausts, promotion of quieter tyres and development of low-noise
road surfaces. Low-noise road surfaces have considerable potential to cut road noise and are
complementary to technical measures that reduce engine, exhaust and tyre noise from
passenger cars and larger vehicles [5].
In recent years, the requirements relating to the acoustics of the vehicle has
increased, which is, on one hand, caused by the increase in user demands, and on the other
hand, by development and trends in the automotive industry. Thereby, reducing vehicle
weight and costs have increasing importance. However, since there are requirements to
achieve greater engine power, the price factor and legislation on vehicle recycling, it is
necessary to find a compromise, primarily between weight and acoustic comfort, power,
price and regulations.
Today, the acoustics in the passenger compartment is one of the most important
performance of vehicles. Noise inside the vehicle has a central role and it suppresses the
effects of other vehicle characteristics. Thus, when the noise is unpleasant, the impression of
a quality vehicle is lost. Automotive manufactures are paying special attention to reduction
of vehicle noise. For example, over several decades, Japan’s automakers have introduced
new technologies into their products to reduce vehicle noise. Because of those efforts, the
vehicles they manufacture today are extremely quiet. Compared to the levels in 1971, when
regulations in this area were first introduced in Japan, heavy-truck noise has been reduced
by 92%, passenger car noise by 83% and motorcycle noise by 95% [6].
Over the years, vehicle interior noise is significantly reduced in response to
customer expectations. In the last 40 years, the greatest improvements were observed in
reducing differences in the levels of internal noise between family and luxury vehicles.
Unlike external noise, it is believed that the existence of internal noise is advisable to make
an impression on the character of the vehicle and as indication of the speed of the vehicle.
Some modern luxury, electric and hybrid vehicles have even gone below the ideal noise
limits. In fact, they are too quiet.
Although there was knowledge that prolonged exposure to noise causes hearing
loss, there have been no proposals of standards in relation to noise exposure limits until
1950s. The US Air Force approved the first standard on noise exposure in the United States
in 1956. Research bodies and committees for adoption of standards had discussed the issues
of noise for more than a decade, before the exposure limits to noise have entered the
legislature [7].

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International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and its Technical Committee
43 (ISO/TC 43) are dealing with global acoustics problems, some of which are related to
vehicle noise problems. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has
also published a series of regulations on vehicle noise, starting from Directive 70/157/ЕЕС
in 1970. Institute for standardization of Serbia (ISS), as a national body for standardization,
has adopted a set of standards on noise emitted by motor vehicles, which are identical to
corresponding regional standards in European Union (EN standards), European standards
based on international standards (EN ISO standards) or international standards (ISO
standards). In addition, Serbian “Regulation on division of motor vehicles and trailers and
technical requirements for vehicles in road traffic” defines the limits for allowed exterior
noise emitted by motor vehicles.
2. INTERNATIONAL REGULATIONS ON ROAD VEHICLE NOISE
The most important international organizations that publish standards on
measurement and analysis of noise are International Electro technical Commission (IEC)
and International organization for standardization (ISO). IEC is responsible for design of
instruments for noise measurement noise, while ISO, as the holder of standardization, is
competent in the fields of measurement techniques, experimental conditions, measurement
parameters and limits for the measurement results.
2.1 ISO standards
International organization for standardization (ISO) is the worldwide federation of
national bodies for standardization. The preparation of international standards is conducted
through numerous technical committees. ISO closely cooperates with International
electrotechical commission on all problems of standardization in the area of electrotechical
engineering.
ISO and its Technical committee 43 - Acoustics, Sub-committee 1 - Noise (ISO/TC
43/SC 1) deal with global problems of noise in 111 standards published and 23 standards
currently under development. The ISO/TC 43/SC 1 standards that are related directly to
noise emitted by road vehicles are shortly described in Table 1.
The following ISO/TC 43/SC 1 standards deal with the influence of road surfaces
on traffic noise:
 ISO 10844:2014 - Acoustics - Specification of test tracks for measuring noise
emitted by road vehicles and their tyres
 ISO 11819-1:1997 - Acoustics - Measurement of the influence of road surfaces on
traffic noise - Part 1: Statistical Pass-By method
 ISO/PAS 11819-4:2013 - Acoustics - Method for measuring the influence of road
surfaces on traffic noise - Part 4: SPB method using backing board
 ISO 13472-1:2002 - Acoustics - Measurement of sound absorption properties of
road surfaces in situ - Part 1: Extended surface method and
 ISO 13472-2:2010 - Acoustics - Measurement of sound absorption properties of
road surfaces in situ - Part 2: Spot method for reflective surfaces.

Danijela Miloradović, Jasna Glišović, Jovanka Lukić
Mobility & Vehicle Mechanics, Volume 43, Number 1, 2017
62
Table 1: ISO/TC 43/SC 1 standards directly related to noise emitted by road vehicles
ISO/TC 43/SC 1 standard
Brief description
ISO 362-1:2015 - Measurement of
noise emitted by accelerating road
vehicles - Engineering method - Part 1:
M and N categories
- specifies an engineering method for measuring
noise of road vehicles of categories M and N
under typical urban traffic conditions
ISO 362-2:2009 - Measurement of
noise emitted by accelerating road
vehicles - Engineering method - Part 2:
L category
- specifies an engineering method for measuring
noise of road vehicles of categories L3, L4 and L5
under typical urban traffic conditions
ISO 362-3:2016 - Measurement of
noise emitted by accelerating road
vehicles - Engineering method - Part 3:
Indoor testing M and N categories
- specifies an engineering method for measuring
noise of road vehicles of categories M and N by
using a semi anechoic chamber
ISO 5128:1980 - Acoustics -
Measurement of noise inside motor
vehicles
- specifies the conditions for obtaining
reproducible and comparable data of noise levels
and spectra inside road vehicles (excluding
agricultural tractors and field machinery)
ISO 5130:2007 - Acoustics -
Measurements of sound pressure level
emitted by stationary road vehicles
- specifies conditions for measuring the exterior
sound pressure levels from stationary road
vehicles, with continuous measurement of the
sound pressure level over a range of engine
speeds;
- applies only to road vehicles of categories L, M
and N equipped with internal combustion engines
ISO 9645:1990 - Acoustics -
Measurement of noise emitted by two-
wheeled mopeds in motion -
Engineering method
- specifies an engineering method for measuring
noise of two-wheeled mopeds in motion in urban
traffic flow of irregular character, with full use of
the available engine power
ISO 16254:2016 - Acoustics -
Measurement of sound emitted by road
vehicles of category M and N at
standstill and low speed operation -
Engineering method
- specifies an engineering method for measuring
the sound emitted by M and N category road
vehicles’ principal sound sources in stationary
and low speed vehicle operating conditions
relevant for pedestrian safety;
- derived from ISO 362-1
Some of the standards from this category, also related to influence of road surfaces
on traffic noise are currently under development:
 ISO/DIS 11819-2.2 - Acoustics - Measurement of the influence of road surfaces on
traffic noise - Part 2: The close-proximity method and
 ISO/DTS 11819-3 - Acoustics - Measurement of the influence of road surfaces on
traffic noise - Part 3: Reference tyres.

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The tyre/road noise is the subject of one standard published by ISO/TC 43/SC 1:
 ISO/CD 13471-1 Acoustics -- Temperature influence on tyre/road noise
measurement -- Part 1: Correction for temperature when testing with the CPX
method while ISO Technical committee 31 - Tyres, rims and valves (ISO/TC 31)
has one published standard related to tyre/road noise:
 ISO 13325:2003 - Tyres - Coast-by methods for measurement of tyre-to-road
sound emission
and one standard in development stage:
 ISO/NP 20908 - Tyre noise test - Methods of drum.
All mentioned ISO standards dealing with road vehicle noise provide necessary
information on measurement techniques and equipment to be applied, experimental
conditions to be met, measurement parameters to be taken into account and the limits for the
measurement results.
2.2 UNECE regulations
United Nation’s Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has published a
series of 137 regulations as addenda to the 1958 Agreement (“Agreement concerning the
adoption of uniform technical prescriptions for wheeled vehicles, equipment and parts
which can be fitted and/or be used on wheeled vehicles and the conditions for reciprocal
recognition of approvals granted on the basis of these prescriptions”). The following
UNECE regulations are related to road vehicle noise:
 Regulation No. 9 (UN/ECE R9) – Uniform provisions concerning the approval of
category L2, L4 and L5 vehicles with regard to noise
 Regulation No. 41 (UN/ECE R41) - Uniform provisions concerning the approval of
motor cycles with regard to noise
 Regulation No. 51 (UN/ECE R51) - Uniform provisions concerning the approval of
motor vehicles having at least four wheels with regard to their sound emissions
 Regulation No. 63 (UN/ECE R63) - Uniform provisions concerning the approval of
two-wheeled mopeds with regard to noise
 Regulation No. 117 (UN/ECE R117) - Uniform provisions concerning the approval
of tyres with regard to rolling sound emissions and to adhesion on wet surfaces
and/or to rolling resistance.
After a 15-year-long discussion, UNECE Working party on noise (GRB) has
finally reached agreement on the third series of amendments to regulation UN/ECE R51
(UN/ECE R51.03) in September 2014. Regulation UN/ECE R51.03 was adopted by the UN
World forum for harmonization of vehicle regulations (WP.29) in June 2015. It will enter
into force in three phases, starting from 20 January 2016.
Regulation UN/ECE R51.03 has introduced a transition from emphasis on
powertrain to total vehicle test (including the tyres). It contains the most recent decibel limit
values for all types of road vehicles with at least four wheels, presented in Table 2 [8].
For vehicles with low and medium power engines, the limit values are already
lower than 74 dB(A), which is a long standing limit. In later phases, in 2020 and 2024, these
limits will be decreased considerably. New measurement procedures and considerably
reduced pass-by-noise limit values will be, certainly, a great challenge to automotive
industry in the world.

Danijela Miloradović, Jasna Glišović, Jovanka Lukić
Mobility & Vehicle Mechanics, Volume 43, Number 1, 2017
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Table 2: Limit values for pass-by noise of road vehicles with at least four wheels according
to GRB [8]
Vehicle
category
Vehicle used for the carriage of
passengers
Limit values expressed in dB(A)
Phase 1
applicable
for new
vehicle types
from 1 July
2016
Phase 2
applicable
for new
vehicle type
from 1 July
2020 and for
first
registration
from
1 July 2022
Phase 3
applicable
for new
vehicle type
from 1 July
2024 and for
first
registration
from
1 July 2026
M1
power to mass ratio ≤ 120
kW/1000 kg
72(1)
70(1)
68(1)
120 kW/1000 kg < power to
mass ratio ≤
160 kW/1000 kg
73
71
69
160 kW/1 000 kg < power to
mass ratio
75
73
71
power to mass ratio > 200 kW/1
000 kg
number of seats ≤ 4
R point of driver seat ≤ 450 mm
from the ground
75
74
72
M2
mass ≤ 2 500 kg
72
70
69
2500 kg < mass ≤ 3 500 kg
74
72
71
3500 kg < mass ≤ 5 000 kg;
rated engine power ≤ 135 kW
75
73
72
3500 kg < mass ≤ 5 000 kg;
rated engine power > 135 kW
75
74
72
M3
rated engine power ≤ 150 kW
76
74
73(2)
150 kW <rated engine power ≤
250 kW
78
77
76(2)
rated engine power > 250 kW
80
78
77(2)
Vehicle
category
Vehicle used for the carriage of
goods
Phase 1
applicable
for new
vehicle types
from
1 July 2016
Phase 2
applicable
for new
vehicle type
from
1 July 2020
and for first
registration
Phase 3
applicable
for new
vehicle type
from
1 July 2024
and for first
registration

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(1) M1 vehicles derived from N1 vehicles: M1 vehicles with an R point > 850 mm from the ground and a total
permissible laden mass more than 2 500 kg have to fulfil the limit values of N1 (2 500 kg < mass ≤ 3 500 kg).
(2) + two years for new vehicle type and + one year for new vehicles registration
Problem with „silent vehicles“
Noise emitted by road vehicle is used to detect presence of the vehicle, to assess its
speed or decide whether the vehicle is accelerating or decelerating. However, hybrid and
electrical vehicles do not emit significant levels of noise and they may be a safety risk for
blind or visually impaired people, pedestrians or cyclists. The expanding share of these
vehicles on today’s market has brought the danger of their quietness while running at low
speed. The problem of so-called “silent vehicles” is addressed by a new regulation
adopted by the UNECE World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) –
„Regulation on Quiet Road Transport Vehicles (QRTV)”. This Regulation requires
implementation of acoustic warning devices on hybrid and electric vehicles. The goal of the
regulation is to minimize the risk posed by silent vehicles [9].
The new Regulation demands that quiet vehicles should be equipped with an
Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS) to create artificial noise in the speed range from
0 to 20 km/h. The tyre/road noise and wind noise are audible at speeds above 20 km/h, so
there is no need for artificial noise in this range of vehicle speed. The Regulation introduces
the minimum AVAS sound pressure levels and spectrum and frequency shift, depending on
the vehicle’s speed. When the car’s speed increases, the sound becomes louder so that
pedestrians can audibly judge the speed. At this stage, the Regulation covers only acoustic
measures to overcome the concerns of reduced audible signals from electrified vehicles. In
the future, the Regulation should encompass other, non-acoustic measures, such as
pedestrian detection systems within the vehicle [10].
2.3 European regulations
Activities to be implemented throughout Europe in order to reduce environmental
noise have a different priority compared to ecological problems such as air and water
pollution, often because it was thought that such issues are best handled at national or local
level. Since information on the impact of noise on human health are increasingly available,
there is more pronounced need for a higher level of protection of EU citizens against noise
through a wider framework of measures in all of Europe.
from
1 July 2022
from
1 July 2026
N1
mass ≤ 2 500 kg
72
71
69
2 500 kg < mass ≤ 3 500 kg
74
73
71
N2
rated engine power ≤ 135 kW
77
75(2)
74(2)
rated engine power > 135 kW
78
76(2)
75(2)
N3
rated engine power ≤ 150 kW
79
77
76(2)
150 kW < rated engine power ≤
250 kW
81
79
77(2)
rated engine power > 250 kW
82
81
79(2)

Danijela Miloradović, Jasna Glišović, Jovanka Lukić
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The European Union (EU) and the European free trade association (EFTA) have
officially recognized the European committee for standardization (CEN) as one of three
European standardization organizations (together with CENELEC - European committee for
electrotechnical standardization and ETSI - European telecommunications standards
institute) responsible for development of European voluntary standards. CEN brings
together the national standardization bodies of 33 European countries and supports
standardization activities in relation to a wide range of fields, including transport. European
standards (ENs) approved by CEN and CENELEC are accepted and recognized in all of
member countries. However, most standards related to road transport are defined at global
(international) level, so CEN coordinates its activities in this field with activities of ISO
[11]. Recent standardization activities of CEN do not include projects related to road vehicle
noise. In Europe, control of exterior noise emitted by road vehicles is conducted through
procedures of the type-approval of the vehicle. Each new type of vehicle on the market must
fulfil demands published in legislation. In 1970, the former European Economic Community
adopted Directive 70/157/EEC, which has introduced permissible noise levels for all motor
vehicles with at least four wheels travelling with maximum speed of more than 25 kmh-1
(cars, trucks, buses). It has been adjusted by the laws of the member states concerning the
permissible noise levels and exhaust systems of motor vehicle and has undergone several
amendments in the field of noise limits and measuring methods:
 77/212/EEC - change in vehicle categories and introduction of decreased noise
limits
 81/334/EEC - amendments to the method of measuring the noise of moving and
stationary vehicles in order to get them closer to the actual operating conditions
 84/372/EEC - amendments to the method of measuring the noise emitted by high-
performance vehicles and vehicles with automatic transmissions with manual
adjustments in order to get them closer to the actual operating conditions
 84/424/EEC - replacement of noise limit values by lower values for all categories
of vehicles
 92/97/EEC - comprehensive amendments by reduction of the noise level limits for
all categories of vehicles and by improving the test method for vehicles with large
engine power, because this type of vehicle is increasingly designed in such way
that it has a higher power-to-mass (PTM) ratio of the vehicle and the curve
representing the engine torque as a function of the engine speed was changed to
produce a greater driving force at low engine speeds; new designs have increased
the use of gear lever in urban traffic and have a major impact on the noise emitted
by the mechanical parts of the vehicle as compared to road noise
 2007/34/EC – introduction of a new test cycle, which gets demanded driving
conditions nearer to actual driving conditions (as described in UN/ECE R51.02).
Regulation EU 540/2014 on the sound level of motor vehicles and of replacement
silencing systems of the European Parliament and of the Council of Europe has repealed the
Directive 70/157/EEC in 2014. Reason behind this event is in the fact that, despite the
increased traffic, EU noise emission limits have not changed for more than 20 years. Thus,
the European commission has proposed to reduce the noise produced by passenger cars,
light commercial vehicles, buses, light trucks, coaches, and trucks in hope to reduce road
vehicle noise by around 25%. The new regulation has introduced [12]:
 new test method that better reflects current driving behaviour
 lower noise limit values

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 additional sound emission provisions (ASEP), which will be included in type-
approval procedure as preventive requirements intended to cover driving conditions
in real traffic, ensuring that the noise of a vehicle under street driving conditions
does not significantly differ from vehicle noise when it is tested
 a specific Annex on minimum noise of electric and hybrid electric vehicles and
 noise labelling in order to foster competition with manufacturers displaying the
sound level of each vehicle during sale.
To illustrate how noise limits have changed by European directives in last several
decades, Figure 1 presents trends in pass-by-noise limit values for passenger vehicles, as
they have been altered through years and expected future values. In the future, the limit
values for M1 type of vehicles will be lowered in two steps of 2 dB(A) each.
For N3 types of vehicles with rated engine power below 250 kW, limits will be
lowered by 2 dB(A) in two steps, while for N3 types of vehicles with rated engine power
above 250 kW, the reduction will be 1 dB(A) for the first step and 2 dB(A) for the second
step, Figure 2.
Figure 1 Trends in pass-by-noise limit values for M1 type of vehicles in European directives

Danijela Miloradović, Jasna Glišović, Jovanka Lukić
Mobility & Vehicle Mechanics, Volume 43, Number 1, 2017
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Figure 2 Trends in pass-by-noise limit values for N3 type of vehicles in European directives
3. ROAD VEHICLE NOISE IN SERBIAN REGULATIONS
Institute for standardization of Serbia (ISS), as a national body for standardization,
has adopted a set of Serbian standards (SRPS) on noise emitted by motor vehicles, which
are identical to corresponding European standards based on international standards (EN ISO
standards) or international standards (ISO standards). The following SRPS standards are
directly related to problems of road vehicle noise:
 SRPS EN ISO 11819-1:2012 - Acoustics - Measurement of the influence of road
surfaces on traffic noise - Part 1: Statistical Pass-By method (ISO 11819-1:1997)
 SRPS ISO 362-1:2015 – Measurement of noise emitted by accelerating road
vehicles - Engineering method - Part 1: M and N categories
 SRPS ISO 5128:2015- Acoustics - Measurement of noise inside motor vehicles.
Serbian “Regulation on classification of motor vehicles and trailers and technical
requirements for vehicles in road traffic” [13] deals with problems of motor vehicle noise in
its Article 78. According to this Article, the limit values of allowed exterior noise for each
type of vehicle, measured in laboratory conditions, are presented in Table 3.

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Table 3 Limit values of allowed exterior noise emitted by road vehicles in laboratory
conditions [13]
Vehicle category
Limit value
of noise in
dB(A)
Two-wheeled vehicles
L1
81
L3 with two-stroke engines with engine capacity not higher than 125 cm3
85
L3 with two-stroke engines with engine capacity higher than 125 cm3
87
L3 with four-stroke engines with engine capacity not higher than 125 cm3
85
L3 with four-stroke engines with engine capacity from 125 cm3 to 500
cm3
87
L3 with four-stroke engines with engine capacity higher than 500 cm3
89
Three-wheeled vehicles
L2, L4, L5
88
Motor vehicles with at least four wheels
M1, K5a, L6 and L7
87
M2 and N1
88
M3, N2 and N3 and with engine rated power not higher than 147 kW
92
M3, N2 and N3 and with engine rated power higher than 147 kW
95
Exterior noise is measured according to the method for measurement of noise of
stationary vehicle. Articles of this Regulation do not apply to vehicles produced or
registered for the first time before January 1st, 1972 and to military vehicles.
Another Serbian Regulation - “Regulation on technical and technical-exploitation
requirements that must be met by trucks and busses conducting international public
transport in road traffic” [14] sets the technical requirements regarding noise and pollutant
emissions and technical-exploitation requirements regarding safety that must be met by
trucks, trailers and buses, which conduct international public transport in road traffic.
According to this Regulation, and consistent with provided Certificates of fulfilment of
technical requirements in terms of noise and pollutant emissions, the heavy-duty vehicles
are divided into the following categories:
 "Green"
 "Greener and safe"
 "EVRO III safe"
 "EVRO IV safe"
 "EVRO V safe"
 "EVRO EEV safe" and
 "EVRO VI safe".
Serbian „Low on safety and health at work“ [15] states that, until regulations on
general and specific safety and health measures are not set, measures for safety at work will
be applied which are contained by „Regulation on measures and norms of protection at work

Danijela Miloradović, Jasna Glišović, Jovanka Lukić
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against noise in work areas“ [16]. This Regulation sets the occupational noise thresholds in
relation to the type of work. For physical work focused on precision and concentration with
intermittent assessment and control of environment by hearing and for control of transport
devices, the threshold limits are:
 80 dB(A) for noise made by device operated by worker and
 70 dB(A) for noise emitted by non-production sources (like street traffic).
Also, according to „The low on safety and health at work“, articles of “Regulation
on occupational safety during motor vehicle maintenance and motor vehicle transport” may
also be applied until regulations on general and specific safety and health measures are not
set (if not in collision with the Low). This Regulation states that, during operation of engine,
noise inside the vehicle dedicated to carry passengers and crew must not exceed 80 dB [17].
4. CONCLUSIONS
Noise is inevitable companion of accelerated technological development. In
today’s society, there is a constant need to pay attention to noise protection, because noise is
one of the most frequent ecological problems in the community. Road traffic noise, in
particular, presents a very complex noise source, both in and out of urban areas. It is a
product of effects of a number of factors: vehicle noise and driving practices, road structure,
road surface quality, the traffic flow and factors of the roadside environment. Based on
measurements of noise levels and traffic parameters and their analysis, it is noticed that the
approach of individual analysis of each factor and assessment of their contribution to the
total noise levels may lead to wrong conclusions. Thus, comprehensive measures must be
introduced in order to address the multiple challenges involved in effective road traffic noise
reduction.
Very important actions are taken on international level in order to decrease the
traffic noise. Corresponding technical regulations and international standards are developed
and adopted in this field. Most European regulations are focused on reducing the traffic
noise at the source – by applying measures on newly produced vehicles. More and more
strict limits are established for noise of vehicle engines and exhausts. Quieter types of
vehicles are promoted and low-noise road surfaces are developed. There are some opinions
that stricter vehicle noise standards are so cost-effective that 100 times more people can be
protected from road noise for every Euro spent on development and production of quitter
vehicles instead of on application of noise barriers and sound insulation.
Problem of road vehicle exterior noise should attract greater attention. It is
necessary to monitor traffic noise levels emitted by each of vehicle categories, continually,
during longer periods (couple of years) in order to take a stand about fulfilment of
requirements and standards defined by authorized bodies. In addition, measures to be taken
in addressing tire-road noise reduction and development of quiet road surfaces will play an
important role in meeting the environmental standards in the future.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Research presented in this paper was conducted within the framework of the
project TR35041, “Research of vehicle safety as a part of cybernetics system Driver -
Vehicle - Environment”, financi0ally supported by the Ministry of education, science and
technology of the Republic of Serbia.

Regulations on road vehicle noise – trends and future activities
Mobility & Vehicle Mechanics, Volume 43, Number 1, 2017
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Danijela Miloradović, Jasna Glišović, Jovanka Lukić
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