French carmarker provides solution for noisy roads

Lateral thinking by engineers at French car maker Renault is being used to make roads less noisy.

Many Renault vehicles now have noise-cancelling equipment installed, and Thomas Antoine, head of the noise and vibration technology group at the firm, realised that data from the system could be used to identify which roads were noisiest.

“Noise pollution is a major social and environmental problem,” he said.

He convinced the company that his idea could be developed and a master’s student at Cergy Paris University, Fadila Hrird, was recruited to work out how the data could be mapped.

Her work not only shows noise levels, but also highlights where it might have a negative impact on people’s lives, such as near schools, hospitals and houses.

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Reduced social costs

Bruitparif, an organisation responsible for monitoring environmental noise in the Paris agglomeration, estimates that every €1 invested in making roads quieter represents a €17-€20 reduction in overall social costs.

The data also showed a clear link between noise from roads and increased fuel consumption. 

Bruitparif said that refurbishing the Paris périphérique would cut noise levels by four and become a carbon neutral project in three-and-a-half years by saving 16,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually from better vehicle fuel consumption.

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