Big noises on quiet
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BRITISH and West-German lorry manufacturers are leading the Common Market in research designed to lower levels of engine noise, according to a written answer from the EEC Commission in Brussels.
EEC Transport Ministers have already stated their intention to lower noise emissions for all types of motor vehicle to 80dB (A) by 1985, and Brussels officials are working on proposals for the further reduction of noise emissions to below 80dB (A) after 1985.
No EEC manufacturer at present produces a lorry likely to comply with such stringent limits, but the Commission adds: "Prototypes of lorries and tractive units have been developed in the United Kingdom — the Foden QHV — which have a noise level of less than 80d8 (A) under current test conditions.
"Reliability and absence of maintenance problems have yet to be demonstrated in fleet tests under normal haulage conditions.
"In the Federal Republic of Germany, a 130bhp lorry has been developed with a noise emission level of 77dB (A) and work has begun on prototypes of lorries of more than 200bhp designed to emit no more than 80dB (A)."
This development work in Germany, says the Commission, is expected to take two years, and the EEC says it is financing research into the technical possibilities of even further reductions of noise, planning as far ahead as the year 2000.
Common Market officials now regard an agreement on quieter lorries as a priority task as they believe that British and WestGerman opinion will more readily accept heavier lorries provided they are less noisy.