Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by hackernewds 738 days ago
why is there no highway noise in Germany?
5 comments

Not OP but when I was living there I noticed that major highways are generally physically separated from public spaces

I suspect due to better urban planning and less car-centric compromises on the placement of new motorways

Centre of towns and villages are more likely to be trams or trains than a highway. Very few settlements are anywhere near the autobahn.

Also the extreme emphasis on car maintenance was nice to see - polar opposite to where I’m from, Australia (similar I’d imagine to America). It seems that people here play a competition with who can illegally modify their car the most like cutting off catalytic converters and raising their SUV 4 inches for god knows why

There is noise, it just isn't a loud as here in the US. Germany has vehicle noise emissions standards, including the tires. Further, Germany doesn't have nearly as many large trucks and SUV's, which typically have fairly loud tires.
Different asphalt for example. Also less people with pickups and nubby tires.
Like their high speed train lines - 2m high concrete barriers to contain the noise. Also, they don't run highways through the centres of cities.
Sound barriers along the highway don't have to be super high to be effective.