Of course, the authors being from Germany, they may have different expectations about how the existing noise environment colors people's concern about a little more/less noise in general.
I remember taking subways (subways!, not even to mention HSR) in Germany (Munich, Berlin, etc) where you could hear a pin drop during the journey, and where you could talk to your fellow traveler in a whisper.
Go to New York or Boston, and people look at you like you're a wimp if you ask why the train is screeching so loudly.
And then another example, if you've lived in the UK for any time, you come to believe that cars are supposed to make the constant diesel-level cranking noise even at idle. And then you go across the channel and find that miraculously, cars can actually be manufactured to be quiet.
> Go to New York or Boston, and people look at you like you're a wimp if you ask why the train is screeching so loudly.
To me it feels like trains in Chicago can get to dangerously loud levels for significant portions of the route, and IIRC NYC is worse. It's unfortunate that cities don't really seem to care much about this.
Chicago granted CTA a special exemption to its noise ordinance.
There was a study that found that, while the subway can get uncomfortably loud, it probably doesn't represent a significant risk for riders. Probably pretty bad for operators, though. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28278069/
> And then another example, if you've lived in the UK for any time, you come to believe that cars are supposed to make the constant diesel-level cranking noise even at idle. And then you go across the channel and find that miraculously, cars can actually be manufactured to be quiet.
Huh? We drive the same cars as them. The steering wheel being on the right doesn't make it several decibels louder at idle.
Diesel cars are everywhere in Europe. They're not as bad as they once were but, yes, they are generally awful.
The loudest "normal" traffic noises I've ever heard, by far, were in Paris at the Arc de triomphe. I didn't have an SPL meter with me, but that would almost certainly be above safe working levels for more than a few tens of minutes.
Living in the suburban London for 2 years, I observed that there was something about UK cars and engine noise levels at idle. I don't know whether it's average age related, but it was immediately noticeable.
In metro systems all over France I find the screech to be almost painful. Can anyone with more experience chip in on how say Paris compares to New York in this regard?
I remember taking subways (subways!, not even to mention HSR) in Germany (Munich, Berlin, etc) where you could hear a pin drop during the journey, and where you could talk to your fellow traveler in a whisper.
Go to New York or Boston, and people look at you like you're a wimp if you ask why the train is screeching so loudly.
And then another example, if you've lived in the UK for any time, you come to believe that cars are supposed to make the constant diesel-level cranking noise even at idle. And then you go across the channel and find that miraculously, cars can actually be manufactured to be quiet.