Recent Cornell University studies show that traffic noises raise blood pressure and increae stress hormones, as well as lead or contribute to a state termed ‘learned helplessness’ in school children. Though many different sounds contribute to the overall noise pollution problem, car alarms are one of the biggest offenders because they happen suddenly and the noise they emit can easily rise above 125 decibels.
There was a study done in Manhattan by noise analyst Arline Bronzaft that showed children reading at about one grade level lower than their age when their classroom faces a noisy subway instead of a calm courtyard or no windows at all.
Another similar study showed that children living on noisier lower apartment building floors tended not to read as well as those living on higher, quieter floors. In general, experts see mto agree that children exposed to loud traffic noise learn to ignore sound cues. This makes it harder for them to pay attention in class, and can be dangerous in other situations, as one can imagine.
Car alarms also contribute to a general breaking down of civility between neighbors. It’s difficult not to get frustrated by the constant interruption of car alarms, and this increased stress has got to rub off on our fellow neighbors over time.
Neighborhood Car Alarm Agreement
It’s not a bad idea to get together with your neighbors and perhaps form some sort of neighborhood agreement about the use of car alarms. This is a great way to take out a lot of the problem. Though people are annoyed by car alarms, many of them feel that they must protect their cars if others are going to keep using car alarms.
It is that kind of misconception that only helps to prolong the car alarm problem that we’re all growing tired of. Bring along some facts presenting the evidence that shows how ineffective car alarms actually are against car theft. This kind of information sharing can help every individual in the group learn more about the situation at hand.
As more people become informed and are allowed a space in which each person can communicate his or her own concerns about the issue of noise pollution, or other community issues, the neighborhood you live in will become the home, the village of supportive neighbors, that we each have in mind.
