Problem statement: Due to increasing urbanization and growing traffic levels, Indian metro cities are more and more confronted with the need to deal with the impact of noise in day-to-day life. In a survey conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board, India, found that noise levels in all Indian metro cities are more than permissible limit. In Indian metro cities like Mumbai, to a great extent day-to-day travel and commuting could be considered as a predominant daily activity which leads to exposure to very high noise pollution. Unlike most of the developed world, in India, in addition to vehicle engine noise and noise due to interaction between road surface and tyres, most of source of noise is due to vehicle horn. Due to lack of proper traffic system, driver discipline, high traffic volumes and congestion, drivers horn very often throughout the journeys. Traffic noise causes health risk for passengers (e.g., increase the risk of ischemic heart disease, including myocardial infarction etc) and also one of the reasons for many ill effects like high blood pressure, fatigues, less efficiency at work and mental stress. Various research papers have proposed a range of models to quantify the traffic noise levels at different traffic volumes, locations and at different times. However, as far as authors are aware, there is no model developed to analyse the traffic noise level experienced by a passenger inside the vehicle for Indian conditions and for different modes of transport (e.g., non AC bus, AC car and two wheeler, etc).
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