Use of pressure horns going on unabated

Tribune News Service

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Bathinda, May 3

Commercial vehicle operators continue to use pressure horns with impunity in the city.

It is observed that drivers of private buses and trucks prefer to use the horns as there is little check on its use. The rampant use of high-decibel pressure horns has become a nuisance for the public.

Despite the presence of a large number of traffic police personnel in the city, hundreds of vehicles flout traffic norms on city roads. The district transport office and the traffic police have failed to enforce ban orders on the use of pressure horns, especially in the vicinity of schools and hospitals.

Trucks carrying heavy loads pass through the city roads by unnecessarily honking the unbearable pressure horns even when there is no immediate requirement of the same. Even various school vehicles are also openly violating these norms by using pressure horns.

The traffic police and the district administration have miserably failed to curb the menace which is on the rise.

The state government has banned all types of pressure horns under the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules but there is no check on the use of the same.

Despite the set norms regarding the use of pressure horns outside hospitals, schools and other silence zones, there is no check on it.

The Central Motor Vehicles Act, 1989, states that “no vehicle shall be fitted with any 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”.

A Supreme Court ruling, under Section 119 (2) of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989, has outrightly banned the use of hooters and pressure horns. Using pressure horns is also an offence under Section 190 (2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

The sudden and continuous blowing of horns is a major health hazard, especially to commuters on roads. This can damage ears permanently, besides harming the heart, say medical experts.

A traffic police official, on the condition of anonymity, said: “A majority of the buses blowing loud horns are owned either by politicians or persons close to them. They call senior officials if a complaint was made against them and we have to obey the orders of the higher authorities.”

Jaspal Sharma, a city resident, said everyday buses are seen honking even on empty roads without any reason.

He demanded that the traffic police should check the menace and even impound such vehicles.

No enforcement of ban orders

The district transport office and the traffic police have failed to enforce ban orders on the use of pressure horns, especially in the vicinity of schools and hospitals, in the city.