ETRMA Proposes Voluntary Road Noise Reduction Levels

On October 18 the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) delivered to the European Commissioner for Enterprise, Günther Verheugen, its letter of commitment concerning the reduction of environmental impact resulting from tyres and further measures to increase road safety.

With this document the Association, chaired by Pirelli Tyre managing director Francesco Gori, commits itself to lowering tyre noise levels by two decibels while also contributing to a reduction of up to 5 grams per kilometre in CO2 emissions caused by motor vehicle traffic. This will be achieved through a range of measures including promotion of lower rolling resistance tyres and a recommendation for the fitment of tyre pressure monitoring systems to all cars.

The proposed two decibel reduction, a voluntary measure, is less than that recommended by the findings of a study conducted by the Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories (FEHRL). This study, managed by the Transport Research Laboratory in the UK, was instigated by the European Commission in order to gain information needed for amendments to Directive 2001/43/EC that will include reductions to permissible noise from vehicle tyres that take into account considerations of wet grip adhesion and rolling resistance. In their report FEHRL state “in the short-term a 3 decibel reduction is clearly possible”, and add that long-term reductions to the order of 5 decibels are “feasible.”

The ETRMA letter reflected the organisation’s position that a more significant contribution towards reducing noise levels can be achieved through changing the materials used in the construction of road surfaces, and also indicated that the barring of European market access to certain products would further assist the causes of environmental protection and safety. In a press statement, the ETRMA said that the letter to Commissioner Verheugen emphasised that “in order to achieve environmental impact reduction targets and increase safety it is necessary to intervene to prevent the importation of products into the European market that do not meet the high standards of safety expected of them.”