The trucks and tempowallahs will soon have to paint over their flowery and colorful ‘Horn OK Please’ signs as the government is finally putting in place a rule that will put to rest needless honking on the roads. Along with countless other commuters, we are glad to finally have a solution to all the noise pollution that comes our way every day.

As reported by Scroll.in, earlier this month, a panel of State Transport Ministers, appointed by the Central government, began suggesting stricture rules to be included in the Central Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Taking into consideration the proposals of the panel, the Centre laid out a systematic set of rules that would help in minimizing the use of horns, but, they also strictly lay down guidelines on the zero usage of horns in spaces like ‘silent zones’ and residential areas.
If caught violating the rules, the pointless honking would cost you a fine of Rs. 500 for the first offence, and then Rs. 1000 fines for subsequent breaking of the law. It has also been proposed to impose a fine of Rs. 5,000 on vehicle owners who have installed polyphonic or air horns in their vehicles. It’s worse for the garage owners who sell and install these type of horns, risking a fine of a whopping Rs. 1 lakh.

Though the Road Transport Ministry plans on proposing these amendments during the Monsoon Session of the Parliament, a group of State Transport Ministers have already approved the adoption and enacted of what is being called ‘Rules for Road Regulation,’ which deals with the use of horns. It was earlier reported that 70 percent of noise pollution is caused by honking. This statistic only reinforces the need to have this rule in place as soon as possible--not only to reduce noise pollution, but also avoid any kind of traffic and street fights.

Feature image courtesy of Times of India

Words: Karan Kaul