Medium Road Noise
Moderate traffic noise
Medium road noise covers modelled traffic noise of 65 to 75 dB Lden on the strategic noise maps. Lden is a 24-hour indicator averaged over a year, with evening and night hours carrying extra weight. The maps model a grid of the wider area, not individual front doors. Responsibility for the mapping is devolved to each UK nation.
What This Means
Outside this building, traffic will be audible through the day. Rooms facing the road will hear much more of it with a window open, and older single glazing lets a steady hum through. A flat facing away from the road or higher up can be quieter. Gardens and balconies on the road side carry a constant background noise that no glazing will soften. The band is an outdoor model of the building's location, so what you hear on a viewing tells you more. This does not normally affect mortgage approval, buildings insurance or resale.
Score Ranges
Low Noise
45 to 65 dB LdenModelled outdoor traffic noise is low.
Medium Noise
65 to 75 dB LdenModelled outdoor traffic noise is clearly audible, more so at busy times.
High Noise
Over 75 dB LdenModelled outdoor traffic noise is loud and constant.
Practical Advice
- Ask the estate agent which rooms face the road before you plan where bedrooms would go.
- Visit at the morning rush and again late at night to judge the range for yourself.
- Get a secondary glazing quote for any room where the existing windows are single glazed.
- Stand in the garden for five minutes at rush hour, since outdoor noise is what glazing cannot fix.
Additional Information
Strategic maps model noise on a 10 metre grid at 4 metres above ground, roughly first-floor height. A ground-floor room or a garden can therefore sit a little below the band. The link below is England's Defra noise collection.