Treading Lightly

This article reviews the musical road in Paris that has drawn enough complaints from locals to force a partial paving over. Perhaps the tune, composed by Gaellic Guillerm, grew weary upon repeated hearings by area residents. People living alongside busy highways would probably empathize with the inhabitants of the Paris suburb. The pavement’s texture also plays an important role in the kinds of vibrations that develop in the tread and sidewall. Pavement texture can excite these vibrations. Vibration from the blocks accounts for low- to mid-frequency sound. Measured from a few inches out, a tire can sound as loud as a chainsaw. The average driver, ensconced in the soft, cushiony interior of a modern automobile, rides close to but completely unaware of the buzz saw sounds coming from beneath the carriage. Highway noise outside the car might not be much of a concern in rural states. It may be a bigger deal in Europe due to the closeness of people and roads there.