Illegal use of hooters, sirens irks commuters
Manmeet Singh Gill
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, April 17
The sirens and hooters installed on private cars are an inconvenience for the general public on roads, as drivers often flaunt these when no cop is around. The drivers, mostly teenagers, blow these sirens which sound like either ambulances or police vehicles in a bid to get the passage in front of them cleared.
Shivani Sharma, a local resident, said, “These drivers with sirens and hooters think that they are privileged. First, they drive rashly and then expect others to clear the passage for them.” She said the drivers with hooters and sirens are cunning enough to not use these when a cop can be seen around. Residents say these sirens not only cause panic among other drivers, especially the elder ones, who feel that a police vehicle is coming behind them. “The sirens and hooters should be allowed only on ambulances and police patrol vehicles and these should be used only in emergencies,” said another resident, Kewal Singh, adding that the administration must keep a check on the use of such sirens by unauthorised persons.
The residents stated though it is not possible for the police to check each and every vehicle for such sirens, especially when these are not used when a cop is around, but still there should be an effective mechanism to check this growing tendency. “The police administration could easily ask auto-parts dealers to stop the sale of such devices to unauthorised people. Further, an example could be set by punishing one or two people and the problem would be checked,” said another resident, Harmeet Singh.
Meanwhile, a police official said, “The use of sirens and hooters by unauthorised persons is in violation of the law. Traffic police officials and patrolling parties constantly keep a watch on such drivers and action is taken as and when someone is caught.” He added that drivers with such devices installed unauthorisedly should also remove these.
