A road trip down the highway in India, often gives us a glimpse of the rear of heavy vehicles indicating drivers behind to Blow Horn to get pass ahead. While this unspoken gesture may be the norm to maintain driving principles, it inadvertently increases the levels of noise produced in the surrounding. Similarly in cities, people resort to blowing horn to get ahead or to get people out of their way and many a times in an annoyingly rude manner. They are immune to realizing its unseen effect on their health and also of those around. Needless to say, India has rightly earned a reputation of being among the noisiest places in the world.
The levels of noise pollution have only been increasing over the years. Studies have revealed high level of noise to have a direct impact on one’s health, prominent among them being mental stress, reduced concentration and productivity, anxiety, sleeping disorder, and even hearing impairment when exposed to high sound levels. Noise produced from vehicles, which include engine sound and horn, is among the major sources of noise pollution out on the road. With more number of vehicles and space constraint, the probability of noise creation is getting higher. It is thus imperative that we control the making of noise. The engine’s sound is usually tackled at the manufacturer’s end by integration of silencers or sound absorbers, but noise produced from blowing of horn can only be minimized by the ones who drive. Moreover, measures by government like prohibiting blowing of horn in certain zones such as schools, universities and hospitals have been implemented, but it’s a common practice to flout these norms. And with an enormous traffic to manage, the traffic police are not well placed to tackle such violations. More importantly, reducing the level of noise pollution caused by vehicles has never been an area of due concern and hence the lack of response by people in general.
If people are made aware of the harmful effects of noise and urged to observe certain rules when on the driver’s seat such as not using horn unnecessarily, avoiding the usage of horn completely, being patient, and sensitive to the surrounding, then the current levels of noise pollution can be brought down significantly. Since we co-habit and consume shared resources and also share the impact, the onus is on each individual to reduce noise produced by them and make a conscious effort in this direction.
So next time you drive, please think twice before hitting the horn – it’s not OK please!
