No Honking Day - stop use of horns - Chennai City Traffic Police FB

One Coffee advertisement asks – how much you know about the person whom you love most….. similarly can you instantly list out at least 5 persons whom you love or list out 5 things your city is famous for…. Coming to Chennai they are : ‘Masala Dosa with filter coffee. December music season. Marina beach. Discerning cricket fans.’ ~ not my figment of imagination………. but words on the Facebook page of a Govt Organisation – sounds an oxymoron  ~ FB is for individuals flaunting their status or addicted to social media one thought…….

Read today, an interesting post on the FB of  ‘Chennai City Traffic Police’ and the subject is “ No Honking day.” in a post titled - Not ok no horn please!! The post is available below in its entirety ~ you increasingly feel that you live in a crowd of impatient people.  There are crowds and there are people who jump the crowd unmindful of the harm that they do to the disciplined ones who are already on the queue.  At every traffic signal when vehicles move slowly, people try to cut, overtake, drive on the opposite lane and choke the traffic, thereby increasing the complications and traffic snarls ~ at every such traffic jams, people incessantly press the horns, making more sound, display irritable behaviour and start abusing and shouting at each other.  Do you feel like shutting your ears …. The FB post warns that the unpleasant thing of not being able to hear might happen sooner………

When the vehicle in front of you stop, why not understand that he / she has some impediment and has to imperatively slow down or stop …. It is not as if, they are so happy in stopping and waiting on the middle of road – be it start of the day, mid noon, evening or closer to dead night – everyone is mindful of reaching their home / destination faster and have no happiness or interest in stopping mid-way – yet people start banking on their horns.  Worser still, many do not go to the left, stop and give way when they hear the siren of an ambulance – some idiots try to follow the ambulance driving fast.  

The roads no doubt are clogged and choking under heavy traffic – the simplest all road users can do – is to follow the traffic signals, drive in a disciplined manner, allow other road users the right they deserve – a few minutes of indiscretion and indiscipline, only adds to the trouble – it is not going to solve – by honking, you cannot create way………. I horn only when I need to warn a pedestrian, cyclist of somebody else – and not with many hopes that there is going to be immediate clearance.

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Read the post which makes sense : ‘let us try to follow this useful advice’ of the authorities.  

***** Quickly list five things Chennai’s famous for. We wager it sounds something like this. Masala Dosa with filter coffee. December music season. Marina beach. Discerning cricket fans. Mylapore mami tales alongside endearing madras bashai. Now imagine not hearing the sizzle of the dosa batter hitting a hot pan, the sound of coffee poured tall into your tumbler, or being unable to appreciate mellifluous music , sound of waves crashing onto shore, cricket commentary or your auto driver’s take on life. Don’t worry, if present condition is any indication, you won’t have to imagine very long.

It is agreed world over that safe sound levels are below 90db. On an average day, the noise level on Chennai roads is 130db. Some high traffic places like Guindy and T Nagar, register highs up to 142 db. That is comparable to being exposed to loud gunshots over and over again. And again. Sustained exposure to noise levels above 125db can cause ear damage leading to partial or total hearing loss. That’s not all. Continuous exposure to high noise levels has several harmful effects which include increased stress, fatigue, irritation, anger, depression and overall a lower quality of life. No wonder road rage is what it is in the city.

It is more harmful than you think. It is more prevalent than you realize. The highest contributor to noise levels is vehicular traffic and honking followed by loud speakers, machinery, people talking especially when on their mobiles, sirens, alarms and office equipment.

It is more harmful than you think. It is more prevalent than you realize. We should think of ways to reduce noise pollution, not only for our well being but also for others. Noise pollution may not result in death, but it definitely can hamper your health and quality of life. Hence, protect yourself from noise pollution to escape from the long-term health problems.

Children who lived in noisy areas were found to have less concentration and decreased reading ability. Also, adults who worked in noisy environments found it difficult to solve problems and had shorter attention spans.

Join us in a pledge to reduce noise in the city and show your support by not honking one day. Chennai, No Honking Day.  It’s Saturday, March 16, 2013.******

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Let us take the pledge – and when you drive tomorrow – ‘don’t honk your horn’ – and try to follow it on the following days as well – Don’t  use horn unnecessarily tomorrow and if possible on all days thereafter.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

15^th Mar 2013.