Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala's transport department, the police and the Indian Medical Association (IMA) are observing 'no-horn day' on Thursday as part of traffic awareness week observance. The 'no-horn day' is observed every year to create awareness on noise pollution.
Indian roads are infamous for the aggressive honking behaviour of motorists. When honking is almost nonexistent in developed countries, in our country, honking is habitual and unnecessary. It is a major source of noise pollution in India.
Congested road conditions and chaotic behaviour of other road-users also cause people to overuse their horn. Many believe that honking is necessary to avoid accidents and to clear traffic blocks.
Unlike other pollutions, we do not immediately identify noise pollution due to lack of awareness. More than a nuisance, it is a health hazard to everyone.
Much of the honking we hear on Indian roads falls into the following ten categories:
Habitual honkers: They have been honking ever since they learned to drive. They start honking as soon as they get in and turn on the ignition, and stop when they get off.
'Get out of my way!' type: This applies to people who are permanently in a hurry on the road. The problem here is faulty time management as well as lack of respect for other road users. They fail to budget enough time for their travel, and blame the other road users for their being late. They expect others to make way for them each time they enter the road. Many private city buses and auto rickshaws fall into this category.
'Can't you see I'm a VIP?' type: Although criticized by social thinkers, courts and the informed public, India has a thriving 'VIP culture', with more and more people calling themselves VIP's. In addition to the beacon lights that some of them are provided with, these VIP's commonly unleash noise pollution using high decibel horns.
'My horn is so powerful, it clears traffic blocks' type: These people become active chiefly during traffic blocks that involve dozens of stopped vehicles with hardly an inch of space in between. By continuously honking in such conditions, they seem to hope that the noise will magically blow away all the vehicles, leaving an empty road ahead for their exclusive use.
The overtakers: On an apparent mission to overtake every vehicle in front no matter how brief the commute, they compulsorily honk each time they pass a vehicle – contributing generously to the din.
The green signal maniacs: A common phenomenon in metros, these people start honking as soon as the red signal turns green. They seem to assume that everyone else is asleep in their respective vehicles and it is their responsibility to wake them up.
'I have entered the road' type: These folks love to announce their arrival on the road with a loud blare of the horn. Getting noticed is partly the intention.
'Don't hit me' type: They assume that all other road users are blind; and fear that unless they honk, others will collide with them. Possibly the effect of past generation driving instructors who trained them to honk at every living being they saw on the road.
Also read: Noise kills: this is scarier than you thought
'I'm angry at you' type: These are the road rage people. Ill-tempered from birth, they are permanently angry at other road users for not behaving in ways that conform to their own beliefs and expectations.
'Watch out!' type: These people never use the horn unless they want to warn someone of impending danger. By the way, this is an example of appropriate use of horn.
So, tell us what type you are? Why do you honk while driving? Comment below about your honk-experience.
(This article is a takeaway from our column Everyday Health by Dr Rajeev Jayadevan. To read the complete articles click here)
