Traffic police to get tough on illegal horns, unnecessary honking and faulty silencers
Taking a major step to curb noise pollution in the City, Bangalore Traffic Police (BTP) is preparing to get rid of shrill horns and faulty silencers of vehicles that have become not only a nuisance but also a health hazard for people.
With the lockdown lifted, the traffic police will intensify the drive against shrill horns and faulty silencers to provide much-needed relief to citizens, including motorists and officials deployed at signals.
In March this year, the volunteers of Citizens for Citizens (C4C), had made suggestions to Police Commissioner Kamal Pant and Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Ravikanthe Gowda to initiate a campaign involving all stakeholders against noise pollution caused by the honking, shrill horns and faulty silencers.
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In response to this, Rajkumar Dugar, C4C convenor said, “More than 12 traffic police stations have sent the data on measures taken and the number of cases booked against faulty silencers and shrill horns.
The police must take measures to prevent honking in residential areas with appropriate signage.’’
According to data available with Bangalore Mirror, the traffic police have registered 5,338 cases in 2019, 2,586 cases in 2020 and 868 cases till May 2021 against vehicles with defective silencers.
The traffic police have registered 16,332 cases in 2019, 6,118 in 2020 and 1,310 till May 2021 against vehicles using shrill horns.
“We have no equipment to measure the amplitude and frequency of horns.
We can book cases against those vehicles using horns louder than what was made by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM).
We can also book petty cases against those honking continuously at traffic junctions,’’ said a top traffic police officer.
Tackling noise pollution
According to Ashish Verma, associate professor, Transportation Systems Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, noise pollution caused by shrill horns is not taken seriously unlike air pollution.
The increase in the number of vehicles is the cause for noise pollution at traffic junctions.
People opting for public transport is one of the solutions.
The other solution is introducing more and more electric vehicles— MN Sreehari, Chief Executive Officer of Consortia of Infrastructure Engineers
“We have to set up noise monitoring stations to measure the amount of noise pollution in different areas of the City.
Mapping of areas will help us know the level of noise.
The traffic police have to treat such areas as silence zones or no-honking zones.
I am of the opinion that lack of awareness and lack of enforcement are the main reasons for noise pollution in the City,’’ said Verma.
Dr R Prabhu, ENT surgeon, said that slow-moving traffic in the City leads to irritability which causes drivers to honk, which in turn leads to anger, road rage and an increase in stress hormones.
This is turn leads to high blood pressure and cardiac problems.
“Hearing shrill horns throughout the day, especially in the case of traffic cops, can lead to hearing problems and in the long run cause permanent deafness,’’ said Dr Prabhu.
He emphasised the need to educate the public through radio or TV announcements on the ill effects of harsh horns.
The police must take punitive action against the automobile shops that supply shrill horns, he said.
Meanwhile, Sonali Kulkarni, a member of C4C, also stressed on awareness programmes.
“I think the punitive measures will not serve the purpose.
The vehicle owners should have awareness about the ill-effects of honking and shrill horns,’’ Kulkarni added.
According to Srinivasulu, Member secretary of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), 120 meters have been provided to the police department and they’ve been trained to use the meters.
“The police will use these meters to monitor noise levels at different locations in the City,’’ said.
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Meanwhile, MN Sreehari, Chief Executive Officer of Consortia of Infrastructure Engineers, has said that they had conducted a survey on the noise levels at various traffic junctions in the City.
“The survey found the noise levels crossing 90 decibels as against the normal or approved decibels of 55 at KR Circle.
The survey was conducted before the lockdown, during the first wave of Covid pandemic,’’ said Sreehari.
Sound solutions
Sreehari has said though it is the responsibility of traffic police to prevent using shrill horns and defective silencers, it will be difficult for the traffic police to keep a vigil on each and every vehicle.
He said that noise levels at Silk Board Junction, Hebbal Junction, Peenya Junction, KR Market are more than the approved limits.
“The increase in the number of vehicles is the cause for noise pollution at traffic junctions.
People opting for public transport is one of the solutions.
The other solution is introducing more and more electric vehicles,’’ he said.
