How to make better noise maps - and why?

The Environmental Noise Directive (END) has a very fundamental error: It commits the 28 Member States only to map the major noise sources, e.g. only roads which have more than 3 million cars a year etc. Nearly every noise map complies with these minimum requirements - with fatal consequences. You have to fear the worst for the forthcoming maps in 2017. But what are the consequences? The answer is given by comparing the results of two very different kinds of noise mappings for the German Land Hesse (21,000km², 6 million inhabitants): a) the official noise maps, covering only the minimum requirements for roads and railways (4,460km and 2,640km respectively) and b) private state-of-the-art noise maps, taking in to account all noise sources (57,800km and 4,400km). The results are nearly shocking: The official maps underestimate the actual number of people suffering from serious noise problems by a factor of 5. The latter find over 10,000 quiet areas, whereas the official maps flop completely and find exactly 0. In summary, the most effective improvement of the END would be to take into account all noise sources. As long as this is not done the Directive will never reach its own objectives.