Honk-free city sounds good, but fine not the only solution

Rallies, programmes not adequate

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Noise pollution is a growing problem in the city as vehicles honk all day long. Considering the fact that aware and educated people are equal partners in the crime, rallies and programmes aren’t adequate. The step taken by the Traffic Police to issue a fine of Rs 1,000 is beneficial. If the system works on a transparent and non-corrupt basis, then honking would be reduced and so would the pollution caused by it.

Manmeet Kaur

Traffic sense almost zero

No-honking boards are not justified at all. Traffic sense is almost zero and people do not follow rules. Two-wheeler riders drive recklessly. People stop to purchase goods from roadside vendors leading to traffic jams. One has to honk to get way to move ahead. Chabeels also lead to traffic snarls and motorists have to honk to move ahead. How can the Traffic Police justify this move without solving these issues?

Paveela Bali

Ban use of horns in vehicles

A possible solution to unnecessary honking could be to ban the use of horns in vehicles. It will also make people more careful while driving and help in checking accidents as well.

Shubham Soni

Challaning violators a welcome step

The decision of the Chandigarh Traffic Police to issue a challan of Rs 1,000 for honking is a welcome step. This is essential for teaching a lesson to those who misuse the facility of horns in vehicles. This facility should only be used in extreme circumstances when it becomes necessary. The fine should be doubled. Unnecessary and repeated honking creates severe noise pollution. It is a crime in the US. We often go to Washington DC by car from New York City, which is a five-hour nonstop journey. And know what? Not even a once we use the horn, what to talk of honking. Heavy fine is necessary to do away with the honking menace.

RK Kapoor, Chandigarh

Fine those honking at traffic signals

In most of the cases honking is needed to save two-wheeler riders who drive on the middle of the road. There is no option but to honk in order to show them their side. At this point, honking is justified as we want to prevent any mishap. Before honking boards were placed, it was necessary to warn two-wheeler riders not to come in middle of the road. Two-wheeler riders need to be taught the lesson. Otherwise I don’t think honking is necessary. It is most irritating when motorists honk at red lights as they think they have only seen the green signal. For this, it is right to fine such nuisance makers.

Opinder Sekhon, Chandigarh

Residents should follow traffic rules

A fine of Rs 1,000 for honking is too much. The question is who will decide that honking is necessary or unnecessary. Some people take traffic rules for granted and others have to bear the brunt. Some four-wheeler drivers attend phone calls while driving. Some drivers stop their vehicles in a haphazard manner at light points. After the signal turns green, some motorists are not in ready-to-go position. In such a case, other motorists have to wake them up through honking. But yes too much honking increases noise pollution. For this, residents have to be alert and follow the traffic rules. In the beginning, challan amount should be nominal. If still there seems no room for reform, then it can be increased accordingly.

Rashi Srivastava, Chandigarh

Dos and don’ts of honking required

Imposing a fine of Rs 1,000 on violators for honking is a step forward to restrict noise pollution. The move shall tend to limit the use of horn for emergency and meaningful purpose. Do’s and don’ts of honking are required to be given wide publicity. Awareness camps should be held and pamphlets should be distributed among people. Signboards should be installed at entry points of the city to guide outsiders.

Renu Rajinder Pal Singh, Chandigarh

Harmful for human health

It is a healthy step to ban honking as it creates nuisance and affects human health. People need to be made aware of the ban in true sense. Two-week time should be given to caution residents and road users by putting up notices at important places and announcements. Such wise steps should be followed by neighbouring states too.

OP Garg

Honking must to caution cyclists, pedestrians

It is not possible to avoid honking on Indian roads. Honking is a must to caution cyclists/pedestrians /rickshaw-pullers and even two-wheeler riders who come in front of four-wheelers while overtaking or driving in a zigzag way. At the best, the police can spread awareness to reduce the usage of horns. It will not only be unfair to challan commuters, but also difficult to identify violators. It will be a new tool to make more money.

DPS Bajwa, Chandigarh

It may result in corruption

Honking should be stopped within the city. But “unnecessary honking to attract fine” is a bit ambiguous. This fine is same for two-wheelers and four-wheelers. Who will decide whether particular honk is unnecessary? Will this not result in corruption due to the discretion involved in deciding that a particular honk was necessary or not? This will be similar to penalising a vehicle user for putting “n” number of brakes on a stretch of road. The focus of the traffic police should be on smooth/uninterrupted and safe flow of traffic. Issue an advisory again rampant use of honks. Educate vehicle owners on the merits and demerits of honking.

Dr Rajeev Kumar, Chandigarh

Earmark honk-free zones

Large-scale honking is a troublesome problem on our roads. Traffic police have put some notices with “unnecessary honking” but its meaning is unclear and innocent persons will be penalised. Lot of publicity and educative discourses are required to be held with motorists. Fines and punishments will not achieve the objective. Initially, the police should earmark some honk-free zones, subsequently increasing its ambit. It will educate them to accept the concept of “honking-free Chandigarh”.

Bharat Bhushan Sharma

Challans justified

Challans are justified and it will certainly help in making those people realise who honk unnecessarily. Body-fitted cameras worn by the traffic police will definitely help in tracing the violators. Warning boards mentioning that unnecessary honking will cost them dear will also make motorists cautious about the menace.

Priya Darsh Growar, Mohali

Use of pressure horns rampant

Many vehicles fitted with pressure horns ply on city roads with impunity, thereby generating too much noise pollution. Many drivers enjoy high volume music, which irritates others. If the drivers of such vehicles are challaned regularly, there will be no need to think about controlling honking.

KC Rana, Chandigarh

Spread awareness in educational institutions

Unnecessary honking, especially using pressure horn, creates noise pollution beyond permissible decibel limit in the environment, which leaves far-reaching health hazardous affects. Therefore to curb this menace, step taken by the Chandigarh traffic police is certainly laudable. The proposed fine of Rs 1,000 for unnecessary honking appears too harsh. This may need review, but certainly for habitual offenders even higher slab could be imposed. Notwithstanding this, there is a greater need to create awareness about the issue in educational institutions as mostly youngsters resort to excessive honking.

SS Arora, Mohali

Blow horn in emergency situations only

Honking on city roads has become a necessary immoral activity. It should be used only in case of emergency situations. Irresponsible and lack of discipline driving normally leads to honking but in actual practice horns are mostly used when traffic light turns green. Some people are in habit of honking out of frustration while they are stuck in traffic jams. Using mobile phones while driving, frequent lane changing and unpredictable stopping and moving of vehicles should not be exercised.

Kamalpreet Kaur, Mohali

Honking frequent at traffic signals

Initiative taken by the Chandigarh traffic police to issue challans to violators is a welcome step. It is a common practice noticing persons driving at high speed and creating nuisance by honking unnecessarily. Besides, honking is frequent at traffic signals which must be avoided. The term “unnecessary honking” is very vague and not commonly understood by the public. This term needs to be defined and well illustrated so that genuine persons are not harmed.

RPS Chopra, Mani Majra

Harmful for environment

In the present scenario, honking is a big nuisance and harmful for environment. Four-wheelers adhering to traffic maps and GPS system can certainly avoid honking. Cyclists must use their own tracks. Use of rear view mirrors and blinking headlight can facilitate free flow of fast moving traffic without honking.

Harish Kapur, Chandigarh

Ban high-intensity horns

It’s not possible to prove that honking is necessary or unnecessary. It’s only possible when all vehicles are moving in a particular direction with a particular speed and no overtaking. The first step is to restrict the sound intensity and allow the decibel required according to the vehicle. Certain areas such as hospitals and schools should be marked no-honking zones. High-intensity horns not only be banned but also removed immediately.

PK Patpatia

Impound vehicles of violators

Roads are smooth in the tricity. So, most of the drivers drive vehicles carelessly and resort to unnecessary honking. Honking is dangerous for public as well as drivers. Some road users get panicky and lose balance due to honking. A fine Rs 1,000 is not sufficient. The traffic police should impound the vehicles and issue a challan. The Administration should make strict laws and orders for defaulters. It should punish them with heavy fine or send them to jail.

Sumesh Kumar Badhwar, Mohali

People should cooperate

I suggest that before imposing a fine, the police should make residents aware of no-honking through media, newspapers and warning boards. They can take the help of schools, colleges, etc. I feel it is a good move and people should cooperate.

Vidya Sagar Garg, Chandigarh

Will help prevent road accidents

I appreciate the move of the Chandigarh traffic police who have put up warning boards stating that unnecessary honking can attract a fine of Rs 1,000. I am of the view that if it is enforced strictly, number of road accidents will definitely come down. The reason being the drivers will not be able to overtake another vehicle. It has been observed in the past that a majority of the accidents take place while overtaking. I have also observed that in foreign countries heavy penalty is imposed for unnecessary honking. We must take advantage of advanced countries in world.

Tarlok Singh, Mani Majra

Motorists ignore warning boards

The traffic police have started installing warning boards. Warning boards of speed limit and no right or left turn are in position, but motorists ignore these warnings boards, resulting in accidents. Besides installing warning boards and creating awareness, challaning should continue with the same zeal to check traffic violations coupled with fine to avoid road accidents.

AS Ahuja, Chandigarh

Step in the right direction

The move to make Chandigarh honk-free is a step in the right direction and residents are expected to help the police achieve the aim. There are cases when some people blow horn without any reason, causing trouble to others. There is a need to check such elements as one cannot expect such menace in the City Beautiful. As far as the question of fine is concerned, I think if residents follow the rule then they will not be charged for that. The fine is just a deterrent against the violators.

Kirron Kher, MP, Chandigarh

Spread awareness

Unnecessary and senseless honking certainly needs to be checked. But who will judge that and when the decision is subjective, it is likely to be unfair. To begin with, emphasis should be on education and creating awareness about it. Technology can be deployed to record violations and indiscretions and automatically penalise after, say three instances. With smart applications it will not be difficult to do that.

Pawan Kumar Bansal, former Union Minister

Penalty should be last resort

Making the city honk-free is a good move and it will help the city make free from noise pollution. In several western countries, honking is supposed to be a kind of abuse. So, I fully support the move. As far as the fine is concerned, that part should be the last resort. First, the Administration should educate the people and make them aware of the move. In case, all these options fail then the penalty may be considered as the last resort.

Satya Pal Jain, former MP, Chandigarh

Educate residents to follow rules

Though the move to make the city honk-free is a good step, imposing fine for the violation cannot be justified. The fine is yet another ‘Tuglaqi Farman’ of the Administration which has only one thing in mind — to make residents pay for violations. Instead of imposing the fine, the Administration and the police must educate the residents to follow the rule.

Harmohan Dhawan, former Union Minister

Large-scale campaign to be carried out

As the chairman of the Traffic Management Committee of the Administrator’s Advisory Council, I have already discussed the issue in the last meeting. It was decided that a large-scale campaign will be carried out by involving everyone so that Chandigarh should become the first honk-free city of the country. I fully support the campaign. The fine is also justified as unless and until there is a penal clause, some of the residents won’t follow the rules. The police should first carry out an awareness campaign and then start penalising the violators.

Sanjay Tandon, Chandigarh BJP president

No one should be harassed unnecessarily

Making Chandigarh a honk-free city is not easy as it involves various issues. Before taking action against violators, the police must ensure that no one is harassed unnecessarily. A large number of vehicles come to the city every day from other states and the law cannot be enforced without implementing the same in the tricity. Imposing a fine of Rs 1,000 may also lead to corruption. So before implementing the new rule, the police should make people aware of the repercussions of blowing horns and then coercive action can be taken.

Pardeep Chhabra, Chandigarh Congress president

It’s possible to drive without honking

Chandigarh looks beautiful, let’s make it sound beautiful too. I have not honked once this year. It is possible to drive without honking. All we need is a little patience and forgiveness. We cannot wait for the traffic to be perfect to stop causing harm to ourselves and our environment. Driver who honks is closest to source of noise and more prone to damage. So realise it’s harmful for us and give up honking. As far as enforcement is concerned regarding unnecessary honking, we will do videography and have presence of traffic marshals and will begin enforcement by challaning near silence zones such as hospitals. In addition to this, various awareness campaigns are organised to address the issue. The motorists are sensitised to unnecessary honking, which is honking in close vicinity of silence zones, honking at intersections when lights turn green, honking to stop pedestrians and cyclists when they have the right of way. We will continue