Developing a Model for Assessment of Traffic Distraction

The soundscape of an expressway in Zagreb was recorded and reproduced to two groups of listeners while they were performing a concentration demanding task – a simplified variation of the memory game. This expressway was chosen due to the high traffic frequency and on the other hand, due to the large number of residential buildings that are near the expressway. The focus of the research is whether the residents of a large city, in their daily life have adapted to this noise and how. We also wanted to investigate what is the main reason of their annoyance and distraction. Furthermore, we wanted to quantify human distraction with this typical urban soundscape by developing and then using the acoustic model for total distraction level.