Udupi: After several complaints of noise pollution, the city traffic police decided to crack down on vehicles fitted with loud horns.
Under the direction of SP Annamalai, Udupi Traffic SI Rajgopal, Jayak K and their team conducted the drive on Saturday, April 3 near Court Road, inspecting over 200 buses and fining those using high intensity horns.
Speaking to Mangalorean.com, Traffic SI Rajgopal said, “We have received several complaints so we have decided to crack down on vehicles that are fitted with air horns and other loud horns. Such horns cause a lot of noise pollution and also cause trouble to commuters. Many people use these horns. We will penalize people using such horns fitted in their vehicles. Many commuters have the habit of honking constantly on the roads for no reason. This causes a lot of noise pollution and irritation to the public, especially in areas where hospitals, courts and schools are located. Bus-drivers should show self-discipline while driving and also remove such horns from their vehicles.”
It is hard to change the driving culture that has existed since independence. One solution may be to ban the production or import of horns exceeding certain decibels and at the same time forcing the removal of horns that exceed the specified decibels as and when vehicles are pulled over by the police. The police would need a device to measure the intensity of the horns.
I am glad to note that the Udupi Traffic Dept. is finally cracking down on
the use of blaring horns and unnecessary honking, especially by those
private buses – City and Service buses.
These buses are fitted with air-horns with high decibels that are actually
blown to glory by these drivers, especially in residential areas.
I have personally brought up this topic and as well as the topic of seat
belts, 3 people riding on a motorcycle, driving on the wrong side of the
road, over-speeding over the years in Mangalorean.com in the hope that
the Udupi Traffic Dept. will read, analyze, and implement some checking