Development of a noisy vehicle detection system

Abstract

Traffic noise is an increasing concern in society and is the largest contributor to community noise levels. Besides being a general annoyance and distraction, high noise levels are detrimental to health and wellbeing. Excessively noisy vehicles are a nuisance to communities both with and without high traffic noise levels. Such vehicles consist of cars or motorbikes with illegal exhaust or mechanical configurations and heavy vehicles using engine braking. A noisy vehicle detection system could be used for the roadside detection of excessively noisy vehicles or those creating unacceptable noise. The presence of a detection system on the roadside would not only aid in gathering information concerning noisy vehicles but would also act as a noisy behaviour deterrent. The objectives for this project were to investigate the characteristics of vehicle noise on a roadway and current noise measurement techniques and standards. This research then led to the discussion and development of several signal processing techniques for the use in determining the event of a noisy vehicle as well as the vehicle location and noise type.