Policy briefing addressing road traffic noise as a public health hazard and environmental concern. Documents adverse health effects of chronic noise exposure including cardiovascular disease, sleep disturbance, and cognitive impairment affecting over 100 million people. Identifies single-event noise exposures from modified combustion vehicles as disproportionately harmful drivers of citizen complaints. Warns that Enhanced Exterior Sound (EES) systems in electric vehicles replicate these harmful characteristics through high peak levels, steep onset rates, and prominent low-frequency tonal content. Recommends prohibiting EES designed to create sounds unrelated to safety, regulating Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems (AVAS) to minimum levels necessary for pedestrian safety while ensuring sound quality accessible to vulnerable populations, employing supplemental metrics beyond A-weighted averages to characterize harmful exposures, and making harm reduction an explicit objective of vehicle sound regulation.

Agenda for the 23rd session of the Task Force on Vehicles Sound on 20 October 2026. The session will cover adoption of the agenda and report of the 22nd session, exchange of information on national and international requirements including presentations on quiet communities and noise sensitivity analysis, cross-matrix comparison of sound traffic modelling approaches with presentations on noise modelling and CNOSSOS-FR parameters, any other business, and arrangement of the next meeting in February 2027.

Considerations by TF Data Analysis on revising the AVAS term in the RD-ASEP Sound Expectation Model to align with UN R138.02 specifications for electric and hybrid electric vehicles. The document presents two options: Option 1 implements UN R138.02 specifications for constant speed conditions; Option 2 extends Option 1 with an additional term to reflect paragraph 6.2.8 requirements for accelerated conditions. A revised AVAS term formula is proposed applicable only for vehicle speeds up to 50 km/h.

Agenda for the Task Force Data Analysis meeting of 29 September 2026. Discussion topics include amendments to factor x for improved model robustness, consideration on LDYN with amendments on factor x, considerations on the AVAS term to match UN R138, amendments to reference acceleration, temperature correction, indoor testing, simplified model for electric vehicles with integrated AVAS approach and amendments from Supplement 11, and considerations on slopes in the RD-ASEP model. The Task Force will prepare proposals for wording on issues identified in the editing task force list and address a clarification request regarding the phrase ‘but no more than 2.0 m/s’ in para. 3.1.2.1.4.3. concerning vehicles with only one gear ratio.