Honking can be a health hazard

The AAUI President urges you to lay off the horn – for everyone’s benefit, including your own!

Blaring horns and incessant honking is the norm on Indian roads – particularly in the metros. Regrettably, honking is a mind-set – and our collective mind-set seems to be to honk like nobody’s business.

While most Indians are habituated to this kind of noise pollution, motorists in many other countries are not legally and socially permitted to honk unnecessarily. In many nations, honking is likened to verbal abuse.
Unfortunately, in our country, such senseless and rather violent action is not restricted to just the less educated. Even the well-educated, with established status, seem to take a fancy to this kind of rowdy behaviour.

During a visit to Cape Town, South Africa, I witnessed an incident in which a motorist was enraged when another motorist – a seemingly educated professional – provoked him by blowing his horn continuously. Hot words were exchanged, and then the driver flew into a rage and punched the honker! I couldn’t stay to witness the entire incident, but the honker appeared to have sustained a serious eye injury. The aggressor was likely sent to prison, as the road rules in Cape Town are quite stringent. But, in the case of the victim, one can’t help but sympathise with his bewildered family whose world must have suddenly been turned upside down – all because of a car horn.

Excessive honking can be annoying, but it can never be an excuse to punch someone. But, then again, there’s no reason for anyone to blow his or her horn continuously either. If motorists show patience, or honk just once followed with a smile or a wave, most unpleasant incidents can be avoided.

A horn, whether of a car, lorry, bus or truck is really meant for emergency use, but more often than not it’s used to assert feelings of hostility. We know how easy it is to blow the horn prematurely, unnecessarily, or, worse, in anger. It is indeed an act of mounting aggression, which is harmful for both the honker and other motorists, besides causing noise pollution.

I really doubt whether anyone would want to be punched, or be indirectly responsible for getting someone jailed.

We have to recognise the fact that it’s rather simple to exhibit uncivilised behaviour once behind the wheel, treating other motorists as combating enemies rather than fellow road users. And it’s easy to be provoked by other drivers too.

Rule 119 of the Central Motor Vehicles (CMV) Rules does not permit any vehicle to be fitted with a multi-tone horn of any kind. This category includes horns that produce musical notes, are unduly harsh, abnormally loud, shrill, or create alarming and irritating noises.

Health Hazard
Relentless use of the horn is a major source of noise pollution, causing stress to fellow road users and is a health hazard. It affects one’s health in the following ways:

•    Exposure to excessive honking can cause high blood pressure and is bad for the heart
•    Exposure to excessive honking leads to loss of hearing and causes digestion problems
•    Loud noise is harmful to babies, old people and people who are sick
•    Honking causes irritation, tension and sleeplessness

It’s an offence to blow the horn without any justified reason. Then why not keep our tempers in control, strive for patience, and lay off that horn?

T.K. Malhotra is the President of the Automobile Association of Upper India (AAUI).