Hyderabad: The no-horn initiative has been so unsuccessful in the city that motorists aren’t even aware of it. The campaign ‘Horn Not Ok Please’ was introduced in October 2015 by CII — Young Indians, with the laudable aim of reducing the maddening frequency of horn blowing by drivers of all types of vehicles. It had the support of the Hyderabad traffic police and IT minister K.T. Rama Rao.
In the past one year, it has made no difference. Whether for fun or out of frustration, or just because it is a habit, anytime you want to overtake, urge the driver in front to move faster, or warn a pedestrian, the honking habit continues unabated.
An irate Arun Kumar, from Serilingampally, said, “The horn is easy to reach and is like a lifeline for impatient, senseless people. We have all been abused by a honking car or motorcycle that tries to overtake our vehicle, or honks at us when the signal is red. Sound pollution is real and it’s more of an imposition when there is a school or a hospital in the vicinity.”
Ms S. Srinivasan blames the buses. “RTC buses, private long-distance buses and MNC transport vehicles are the major culprits. Manufacturing and selling pneumatic horns should be stopped.”
Motorists blame the unregulated traffic. H. Amit, who works for an IT company, said, “The honking habit is well incorporated in our system. I believe it is not a personal trait but a response to the lawless traffic situation.”
Some blame the authorities. Meena Iyer, a lecturer, said, “The blame should be squarely on the RTA. During a driving licence test, they failed a candidate for not honking when overtaking. The candidate argued that there was no need to honk as there was no chance of the vehicle in front taking a turn since they weren’t at a crossroad. But the officer’s contention was that while overtaking one should honk and that is the rule.”
Supreme Court directions on noise
- The sound at the boundary of the public place, where a loudspeaker or public address system or any other noise source is being used, shall not exceed 10 decibels above the ambient standards for the area or 75 decibels whichever is lower.
- No one shall beat a drum or tom-tom or blow a trumpet or beat or sound any instrument or use any sound amplifier between 10 pm and 6 am except in public emergencies.
- The peripheral noise level of privately-owned sound systems shall not exceed by more than 5 decibels the ambient sound level specified for the area in which it is used, at the boundary of the private place.
