Cops crack whip on honking, modified silencers

From April 5-13, the police initiated action against 214 motorists honking unnecessarily in residential areas.

In a crackdown on noise pollution in the city by needless honking and modified silencers, the Mumbai traffic police, in a special drive, have taken action against 214 vehicles for honking and 124 vehicles for modified silencers. The police have said that many buses use pressurised horns, and added that bikes caught with modified silencers will be seized and not returned unless the original silencers are produced before the police.

The data shared by Mumbai Commissioner of Police Sanjay Pandey states that from April 5 to April 13, the police initiated action against motorists honking unnecessarily in residential areas.

Pandey had said in Sunday’s interaction that those caught honking for no reason will have to spend two to three hours at traffic police stations, wherein they will be given training on traffic rules. Earlier, the punishment for honking was limited to penalties.

The data further states that modified silencers cause a lot of noise and often lead to anxiety, irritation and adverse impact on the health of children, elderly and pregnant women. Deputy commissioner of police (Traffic HQ) Raj Tilak Roushan, said that modified silencers will be destroyed.

“We will be taking stringent action against the offender and make them understand the severity of the situation,” added DCP Roushan.

While the first time offender will be issued a fine of Rs 1,000, similar offences committed second or more times will attract a fine of Rs 2,000, said the police. The police started seizing vehicles after noticing that it’s not enough by just booking them under the Indian Penal Code sections for racing in the night, wrong side driving, and other traffic violations.