Honking a lot at signals? Be ready to wait longer to leave

An initiative to reduce sound pollution was announced on social media by Mumbai Police on Friday, but it is still at an experimental stage and yet to be implemented

An initiative to reduce sound pollution was announced on social media by Mumbai Police on Friday, but it is still at an experimental stage and yet to be implemented on ground.

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According to a video uploaded on the official Twitter handle of Mumbai Police, decibel-measuring meters were installed at four traffic signals in the city.

Nicknamed “the punishing signals”, at these spots, the video showed that the light would continue to be red for longer if noise levels exceeded 85 decibels (db).

In the video, decibel meters were shown at CSMT, Marine Drive, Hindmata (Dadar) and SV Road (Bandra). Additional commissioner of police (traffic), Pravin Padwal said the police are in the process of installing the meters.

Madhukar Pandey, joint commissioner of police (traffic) said, “The decibel level has been set to 85 db. If the meters detect decibel level higher than that, the signals timings would increase [double the waiting seconds], punishing drivers to wait longer for unnecessary honking.”

Applauding the decision to install decibel meters, activist Sumaira Abdulali said, “This is an enforcement initiative rather than awareness campaign. I hope they take it forward so that drivers refrain for unnecessary honking.”