Dr. Robyn Gershon, the lead author of a deafening new report that subway rising is bad for hearing, recommends people wear ear plugs.
When asked what she does, she said, she used to wear ear plugs all the time, but stopped last year. Why? She authored a study on violence and accidents in the subway and was very disturbed by all the incidents of people being pushed off the platform by psychos.
Subways also present a special concern with respect to crime, although public perceptions about crime are often out of line with actual crime rates, which generally have been dropping. Observes Dr. Gershon, “There are some crimes, unique to subways, such as pushing or attempted pushing onto subway tracks, that loom large in some riders minds [sic].” In fact, one study showed that over 75% of randomly selected New York City passengers were afraid of being pushed onto the tracks, despite the fact that this type of violent event is fortunately very rare for the millions of subway riders. The most frightening aspect of this type of crime, when it does occur, is its utter randomness. [Association of Schools of Public Health]
So, if riders eschew ear plugs to keep alert for psychos, Gershon said standing at the front of the platform wear the front car pulls in has less noise than the middle. Also, simply stinking one’s fingers “well into the ear canal” can cut 20 decibels.
And, speaking of subway psychos, Andrew Goldstein, the nut that pushed the aspiring writer to her death seven years ago, finally pleaded guilty.
Read the complete reply by NYC Transit to Gershon's report after the jump
Photo from Doug Jaeger via Flickr
-- Chuck Bennett amNY.com
MTA New York City Transit’s Response to
Columbia Noise Study
The methodology used by Columbia University to study subway noise is fundamentally flawed due to inadequate research. It fails to take into account several noise abatement measures that have been undertaken by New York City Transit for many years, as well as long-standing employee protection policies.
In an effort to lessen noise in the subway environment, NYC Transit has moved to the use of Continuously Welded Rail, resilient rail fasteners, acoustical treatments in stations, the installation of quieter wheels on subway cars, reduction of motor noise on older cars and the introduction of new, quieter cars into the system. Also, the authors failed to inquire about the Hearing Conservation Program, which identifies tasks and conditions with the possibility of excessive noise and requires affected employees to be trained, take annual hearing tests and be provided with hearing protection.
As they were chosen without any input by the Authority, it is unlikely that the sound monitoring locations are representative of the system. Therefore, any noise exposure conclusions should not be applied to the average subway customer. There is also considerable question whether the Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization noise exposure guidelines for communities can be applied in a mass transit setting, particularly when proper measuring techniques are not used.
