Mangalore: Horn Ok...No Please! Glaring Reality of Blaring Noise Polluters
Mangalore: Horn Ok...No Please! Glaring Reality of Blaring Noise Polluters
Brijesh Garodi Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
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Mangalore, Jul 1: A new order by the Supreme Court banning dark sun films in vehicles created quite a few ripples across the country a couple of months ago. Ever since the rule came into effect, traffic policemen have been busy catching erring commuters and removing the tints on their vehicles.
However, this rule is nothing new. It was a part and parcel of Motor Vehicles Act, but no one knew of it, nor anyone cared until forced to. Rule 100 of Central Motor Vehicles Act and rule 177 of Motor Vehicles Act state that any vehicle fitted with dark glasses / sun films is liable to be fined Rs 100.
There are many other rules in the book that have not been strictly implemented. One such important rule is against the use of harsh, loud, multi-toned and pressured horns, especially in commercial vehicles and very importantly, in buses.
The two-way horn switch
These sort of horns have an intense and adverse effect on the ears, especially among children and senior citizens. It is quite common to be stuck in traffic jams in the city mainly during peak hours, but when a bus or any car behind you honks loudly, despite knowing there is not a single inch for you to move, can be quite unnerving and a harassment almost.
Many of the heavy commercial vehicles possess both battery and air-pressure horns. It is fitted with two-way switches most of the times. Once the vehicle enters the city limits, the horn is switched on to battery mode and when the vehicles leave the city limits, again the air-pressure horn mode is activated. Hence, it is difficult for the police to identify the erring drivers.
The bottomline is, it is the people who suffer because of the blaring ear-splitting honking all day, and for those with houses close to the road in the main parts of the city, it gets even worse as they cannot even escape the noise bombarding their living rooms. Even in and around hospital zones where there are 'No Horn' signs, hardly anyone adheres to the warning, nor are the traffic police bothered.
Honking loudly is also a tool for intimidating other drivers, and when the driver happens to be a woman or a learner, it leads to anxiety and nervousness, many a time causing accidents too. The bus drivers often tend to think the road belongs to them, and blaring horns indiscreetly makes things worse for other drivers.
It is high time the city traffic departement take this matter seriously and save the public from such unthinking and indifferent drivers and their horns. It is not just for the sake of precious human lives, but for the environment too which daily gets battered by the shrieking and screaming vehicles.
Blaring horns indiscriminately is actually a punishable offence under the Motor Vehicles Act. The fines are as below:
Improper horn usage while driving - Rs 100 (CMVR 105(2) (ii) 177 MVA)
I traveled form Mangalore to Kasaragod yesterday in a private bus and I was so pissed off all the way because of the loud horn. Not only this very annoying to the passengers, this is outright arrogance. Nobody wants to idle on the roads and these people have no rights to impose themselves on others.
Police can control this very easily by checking the vehicle. Have a hefty fine first time and cancel the permit for repeated offence.
I SOO GLAD THIS ISSUE IS TAKEN UP AS I WANTED TO COMPLAIN ON SAME. ITS MOST DISGUSTING AS THESE DRIVERS ARE SENSELESS AND HORN FOR GOD KNOWS WHAT. EVEN IF ONE LIVES CLOSE TO THE HOSPITAL STILL THEY DONT CARE. WE HAVE SENIOR CITIZENS LIVING ON MAIN ROADS AS WELL, IF FOR US WHO ARE YOUNGER ITS ANNOYING IMAGINE FOR THE ELDERLY. MUTI SOUND HORNS SHOULD BE BANNED. THEY HAVE SCREECHING HORNS. PLEASE TAKE STRICT ACTION ON SAME.
In New York,USA, if you hear a horn in the new york city,will be a miracle in 24 hrs. We hear only Ambulance and police vehicles.Signals are indicated by flashing headlights or tail lights when changing lanes. Discipline of traffic with 12000 taxis, and there is saying if you throw a stone, it will fall on the church premises or a yellow taxi.
Talking about Traffic Police to regulate this menace - I plead the the authorities first to curb free licensing and have due diligence process in issuing license itself, rather than curbing all sorts of menace in the aftermath.
In Bangalore, people do not know why Beam lights are for so it is on throughout while the headlights are on.
This goes to say the very failure of our learning process and immunities. Best example, look at our footpaths built by the so called meritorious engineers, on which people can't walk. And so is rest of our lives, circles around all this issues like Honking, noise pollution, transparency in our bureaucracy and so on & so forth.
i live in a place where horn is not allowed.Instead of horns headlight flashes are used to overtake.Our drivers in India have no patience one person stops and there is so much of honking.Its high time our traffic police does something about it.
Western countries use headlight flashes instead of horns to ask for right to ovrtake. In India Horn OK Please or Please Sound Horn is painted on the back of the trucks or trailers inducing other moterists to make as much noise is possible.
I really congratulate Daijiworld to bringing up such a wonderful topic. People in Mangalore suffering from this disease for a long long time. Most of the city buses and Udupi express buses are having this shrill horn, our traffic police are not doing anything on this. It is traffic police who needs to take strong action against this torture. Traffic police need to fine heavily to these drivers
First of all, kudos to Daijiworld for carrying this article. I live in bejai and it is miserable here because from the KSRTC bus stop to the bejai church, these bus drivers honk continuously even when the roads are clear. This shows the level of frustration in the drivers. They need to be counselled. Secondly, we have no District Incharge Minister/a responsible person who is approachable so that we can go and address our grievance to them. "Buddhivanthara Uuru, Mangalooru" hahaha :D
Actually,this situation is worse in Mangalore than in most other cities. But it is not enough to tackle one traffic problem at a time. They are all related : Not having any pedestrian crossings, allowing buses to overtake other buses in key portions of the road (in any country there are solid lines where you can not overtake and dotted lines where you can, in Mangalore there are no lines even in a four lane road), Speed limits and very harsh punishments for accidents which cause injury and death.In many developed countries, if you hit a person (just hit never mind death)while crossing the road (in a legal crossing or otherwise)you go to jail and lose your license for a long time or forever.
Mr.Don,Udupi said it very correctly. In western country horn is used only in very much need,but in India it is to harass the other driver. I have lived close to 40 years in western country and the total number of horn blowing during that period is equal to one day's horn blowing in Mangalore. Every traffic law is money maker for RTO. Carrying people in pickup trucks is violation of law and Kadri police top official was following a pickup with dozen people in it on Kadri Kambla road. He did not give a damn even after I had pointed it to him. The second incident was at Bikkarnakatte where a Traffic SI was following a pick up with dozen people in it doing circus. He did not care even after I had pointed this vehicle twice to Him. So Ms.Maria,please note that informing Police or RTO is like dog chasing the tail to catch it.
First some thing has to be done to bring this awareness into the notice of all the BUS DRIVERS becoz most of the noise pollution is done by them. And I dont think any of the bus drivers will go through this article and learn and impement any thing. So some steps has to be taken like bringing the same into the notice of bus owners assocition so they can take some action on their drivers
Regarding this type of horrible horn I think for bus owner have given Blessing to POLICE & R.T.O.or other vise i think horn sellers having hand in this dept not to BAN, Otherwise why can not BAN this ?.
Alternatively, this suggest that we are "in-disciplined" or "near deaf" people.
In the western or developed countries it is a shame if someone "honks" at you. In India, honking is a pass-time for the drivers and sound of it a music to people's ears!
Do you see that this honking culture (along with most other cultures) in the country will ever change for the good?
Being in India nothing can be done for these kind of matters.. its just the pain we are giving to our lovable fingers by writing comments.. the rules are made not for us... RTO people make their own rules, follow catch the Bakra's... Just hope for the best...
nice article on awareness. its not just within the city its also in the outskirts where horns are pressed continuously for 5-10 seconds. especially buses. they are trying to tell all on the road to move aside that kind of signal they are giving with the horns. if its someone learning how to drive and they press these horns how should i learner feel .
High decibel horns do cause harm to ears, distract attention etc, but banning them keeping the other conditions unchanged, sure to cause more harm. In addition to horn issue, there’s one more issue with severer consequences, that is indiscriminate use of high beams at night.
Horn is very important to get rid of cows which are lavishly sleeping on the roads as if it is their father's property..! Horn is very important to scare college girls who are walking on the side of the roads with umbrella in one hand,books on other hand,otherwise drivers don't get any thrill ...
As citizens we should do some part to inform the police the bus number which uses these shreiky horns. If the citizens inform the police it will be of some help as Police dept cannot do it all at all time. ex in front of school, the buses blow their horns NON STOP AND SO LOUD that all the surrounding areas are having that shrill horn noise.
Even when the bus driver is speaking on the mobile and driving as we all have seen, passengers, should have the courage to tell the driver, either drive or speak. Not both. He cannot do both as lives of so many people are at risk. If the driver is driving rashly ex Mangalore/Manipal/Kundapur/Talapady passengers should stop him from driving rashly. How many accidents due to negligence ? very sad.
but we all cry after the accident and complain that driver was drunk, river was on mobile, driver was rash, etc. any use after accident?
Nadumane Bajeelguthu Ravi Chawla, Pilar/Karol Bagh
Sunday, July 01, 2012
To me 'Horn' of our local buses sounds 'melody'. Will comes to know from anywhere which bus is on way either it may 'Hanuman of 10.30'. People are so much aware with sound of horn - a miles away to prepare on time. Balle Balle..Batanda..especially for old people.
*No motor vehicles shall be fitted with multi-toned horn giving a succession of different notes or with any other sound producing device giving an unduly harsh, shrill, loud or alarming noise. *Vehicles used as ambulance or for firefighting purpose or salvage purpose or vehicles used by police officers or officials of the motor vehicle department in the course of their duties or on construction equipment vehicles, may use such sound signals as may be approved by the registering authority in whose jurisdiction such vehicles are kept. *A driver of a vehicle shall not: - Sound the horn needlessly or continuously or more than necessary to ensure safety Sound the horn in silence zone Fit or use any multi-toned horn giving a harsh, shrill, loud or alarming noise. *No vehicle shall be permitted to have a musical horn. *All vehicles, buses, trucks and cars shall not be fitted with power, pressure or musical horns. Any vehicles with such horns shall be challaned and such horns shall be removed by the enforcement officer so authorised to challan, under his supervision. The fact of the confiscation should be mentioned on the challan form and the confiscated horn should be deposited with the police station having jurisdiction, with appropriate details being recorded in the station dairy. The horn should be released only on receipt of SUPERDARI orders issued by courts having jurisdiction. (Here, RTI activists should act) *Any person who drives or cause or allows to be driven, in any public place a motor vehicle, which violates the standards prescribed in relation to… Control of noise… shall be punishable for the first offence with a fine of Rs.1000 and for any second or subsequent offence with a fine of Rs.2000 *Penalty for contravention of provisions of the Air Pollution Control Act, 1981, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 months or with fine, which may extend to Rs.10000 or with both.
INDIA IS THE ONLY WORST COUNTRY HAVING UNCULTURED PEOPLE HONKING EVEN SIGNAL LIGHT IS RED!!! WE CAN'T FIND A SINGLE PERSON HONKING IN WESTERN COUNTRIES UNLESS IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY..
Please for heavens sake we require shrill horns ,people walk & drive around with cell phones stuck to their ears.Either ram them or honk them out of your way. this peacemeal court orders are a joke. let there be a comprehensive plan for traffic management & safety. Let taxes paid be utilised for which they are collected.
It is my experience driving through indian roads when you honk esp. if animals are on road, they move quickly to the side. But with humans, they still keep walking or look back at you instead of moving to the sides.
What do you think of this behavior? Animal seems to be more logical and mature. Have we humans gone immune to the whole lot of INDIAN systems or lack of system?
Congratulations to TV Daijiworld for bringing up this matter of blaring air horns. The simple fact as mentioned in the article is that fitting such a horn is a crime- Rs 500/- fine as per CMVR 119 MVA 190(2) so how come neither the Police nor the RTO Depts have stopped and made spot fines on all vehicles having such horns. One should just take a couple of walks between Kankanady Junction and Jyoti talkies during the day and will be able to count not just a few but scores of vehicles with such illegal horns. I have a suggestion ask for volunteers from among the public and give them the power to just note down the vehicle number and time of occurance of the offence- they can email the list to the Police Commissioner who will then take action & put the action taken report on the police website. In this way the volunteers will know that their work has not gone to waste. (sometime ago, I went to 15/20 shops on the road and asked the owners if they would sign a petition against these air horns- shockingly only 1 yes 1 shopkeeper said he would sign- the others said they would be harassed by the police and the bus lobby so they had to decline). Is not anyone aware that noise pollution can lead to ear trouble and even brain damage- a relation of mine from Mumbai told me how he warned the GM of a 5 star hotel that if their buses did not remove their airhorns he would complain to the Traffic Commissioner- when it did not stop, he did so and the contract buses were taken off the road by the police for a week. Never again was there the air horn problem. Mangalore needs such action which is long long overdue.
Environmental sound Pollution. Beautiul buses, harsh Horns which thorns ears, above that pe pe pee peee contineous whistles by the bus conductor or asst.which should be stopped.
Agree [9]
Disagree 
Police can control this very easily by checking the vehicle. Have a hefty fine first time and cancel the permit for repeated offence.