Application of M5P Model Tree and Artificial Neural Networks for Traffic Noise Prediction on Highways of India

Traffic noise prediction is the fastestgrowing development that reflects the rising concern of noise as environmental pollution. Prediction of noise exposure levels can help policy makers and government authorities to make early decisions and plan effective measures to mitigate noise pollution and protect human health. This study examines the application of M5P model tree and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for prediction of traffic noise on Highways of Delhi. In total 865 data sets collected from 36 sampling stations were used for development of model. Effects of 13 independent variables were considered for prediction. Model selection criteria like determination coefficient (R2), root mean square error (RMSE), Mean absolute error (MSE) are used to judge the suitability of developed models. The work shows that both the models can predict traffic noise accurately, with R2 values of 0.922(M5P), 0.942(ANN) and RMSE of 2.17(M5P) ,1.95(ANN). The results indicate that machine learning approach provides better performance in complex areas, with heterogenous traffic patterns. M5p Model tree gives linear equations which are easy to comprehend and provides better insight, indicating that M5P model trees can be effectively used as an alternative to ANN for predicting traffic noise.