Abstract: he article addresses the problem of assessing the impact of road modernization on improving the acoustic
environment. It formulates a hypothesis about the advisability of adopting the scalar dimension of the decibel
space to describe acoustic hazards. It is proposed to reduce the analysis of changes in sound levels to the
analysis of changes in the coefficient of exceedance of the recommended noise levels. Its value is determined by
the decibel relation of dividing sound levels. The basis for the assessment of the effectiveness of the adopted
solution was the analysis of the statistical characteristics of monitored exceedances of recommended noise
levels, considered through the prism of the current and proposed measure. They showed greater sensitivity
of the proposed coefficient in the assessment of the improvement of the acoustic climate caused by road
modernization. For example, the median noise level for nights before the road modernization was 66.9 dB(A),
and after the modernization 65.6 dB(A). However, the coefficient of exceedances decreased by approximately
25 %. Numerical simulations, in accordance with the Cnossos noise model, showed that reducing the speed by
10 km/h will reduce the coefficient of exceedances by approximately 20 %.
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