The most annoying noise in New Zealand is the sound of Boy Racers’ exhausts, followed by dogs barking and car or house alarms going off.

A recent survey carried out by the National Foundation for the Deaf (pdf) revealed New Zealanders’ 12 most annoying noises. These were:

1. Boy Racers’ loud exhausts (69%)

2. Dog(s) barking (54%)

3. Car or house alarms going off (50%)

4. Snoring (49%)

5. Neighbour’s loud music (44%)

6. Neighbour’s DIY Noise – hammers, drills, leaf blowers (29%)

7. Neighbour’s lawnmower (26%)

8. Other people’s mobile phones ringing (17%)

9. Planes flying overhead (15%)

10. Rubbish truck collecting bins (15%)

11. Children/babies crying/screaming (5%)

12. Body noises – chewing, coughing, humming, whistling, grinding teeth (3%)

The NFD is pushing for people to be protected from noise pollution in the same way they are protected from tobacco smoke and other forms of pollution.

In fact, many New Zealand cities and towns already offer their residents reasonable levels of protection from noise. Noise control officers are available and have sufficient legal powers to stop many neighbourhood nuisance sounds including loud music.

When it comes to boy racers, however, there is a degree of frustration in many localities that lawmakers and the police do not act more forcefully against the problem. The government has promised to bring in new laws this year to crack down on the problem, including giving the courts powers to destroy cars. (If you are one of the few who have yet to hear the term, a “boy racer” drives a car with an overloud exhaust. He and his associates race around the streets, often late at night and in the early hours of the morning.)

Whether the combined efforts of New Zealand’s lawmakers and the police will be able to force boy racers off the streets remains to be seen. In the meantime, the best advice to newcomers in New Zealand is to do plenty of research before buying a house. Some areas are badly affected by boy racers and noise levels in the early hours of the morning at the weekend in these areas are enough to drive some people up the wall. In contrast, other areas are relatively unaffected. The latter are obviously the areas you ought to seek out when making a new home in New Zealand.