SUMA TEKUR

It’s only seconds after the light turns green that the chorus of horns takes off. And if you are in the way, your ear drums pay for it. Loud horns have become a part of life in a metropolitan city.

Buses form the major chunk of vehicles that contribute to noise pollution. Almost every bus makes a grand announcement of its arrival into bus-stands by incessant honking.

The noise pollution here may be more obvious than it is on the roads because the buses are all parked in a line and there is closer proximity of the passenger to the bus, which is absent on the city roads. When they merely pass by, the loudness of the noise is drowned to a large extent. “Exposure to sudden loud noise will have an effect on the ear drums if the person is standing very close to the source of noise. Bus engines or horns do not cause immediate damage to the eardrums, but people who are sensitive tend to get irritated,” says ENT specialist Dr Mercy Sabu and adds that in the long run, continuous exposure to such loud noise causes increase in stress levels.

In the city limits, the permissible noise limit from horns is 91 decibels (dB). “There are four zones, residential, commercial, industrial and the sensitive zone. The sensitive zone includes areas where there are hospitals and schools,” according to a senior official of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB).

Since air horns exceed the permissible decibel limit, they are banned by government policy. “Particularly in the last five years, there has been increase in awareness about noise levels and, therefore, none of the BMTC buses use air horns.
Once in three months, the BMTC buses are checked in the depots and the horn is one of the things that is checked,” says the KSPCB official.

But private travel operators use air horns. At the time of getting the vehicle checked for the fitness certificate every year, these operators change the bus horns and after the check-up, they install air horns again, says the official. It is noticed that the buses travelling towards Anekal, Kunigal, Tumkur, Magadi and other places use blaring air horns. Sharma Travels admits that their fleet of 64 buses use air horns but outside city limits on the highway. “However, within city limits, we use only electric horns,” says Mr H R Srinivasan, Works Manager at Sharma Transport. Mr Badrinath of Sri Satya Sai Tourists says that only their inter-state buses are fitted with air horns. National Travels also says that air horns are used only outside city limits and are used sparingly.

Transport Commissioner I M Vittal Murthy clarifies that air horns are not allowed within and outside city limits. Approximately 300 cases are booked by the Transport Department every month for not conforming to the rules of the type of horns used in vehicles. There are so many more vehicles that are going unpunished and the result is the ever-increasing noise levels. “A fine of Rs 700 is charged for using loud horns and the drive against noise pollution has been strengthened during the courtesy month,” he says.

The special drive has a two-fold objective - to create awareness and check noise pollution. There are 25 police squads stationed in different areas of Bangalore to check pollution of any kind, including noise pollution, says Mr Murthy. However, a handicap faced by the department is the absence of sound meters to gauge the noise levels. It is long pending and the department officials and inspectors continue to check noise levels with their ears!

The department also finds it difficult to book cases against noisy vehicles due to the lack of parameters to judge them. “Vehicles need to possess the ‘Under Control Certificate’ for air pollution, but there’s isn’t an equivalent for noise pollution,” he says.

But, till the department concerned decides to control and manage noise on the roads, spread of awareness seems to be the answer to control noise. “During the training sessions, we are taught about safety and also about saving fuel. We are also told that we should not use the horn near hospitals and schools,” says Anil Kumar, BMTC driver (Route No. 171).

The first step towards controlling noise pollution through blaring horns is to wait for the vehicle in front of you to move before you blow the horn. Remember that there is someone behind honking at you as well.