Horn OK Please

It was not until I moved to Pune did I realise that it’s not only Bangalore’s junta that has a pathetic traffic sense. First day in Pune and it was easy to figure out that when it comes to roads, there’s worse in store for me to experience. I wonder if the term “rat race” was coined by one of the commuters from these streets. Vehicles overtaking from all sides, ready to trample you any moment if you do not obligate. Crossings are a nightmare. Assuming that this blog will never be read by my manager; when I say I get late to office almost everyday due to that one crossing that’s en route, you know that this time I am not faking.

Well, what I really want to highlight, is a concern more grave than this. Something which has spread and persists like an epidemic in almost all parts of our country. And that ladies and gentlemen, is our heritage- the inherent habit of “Honk At Will” (HAW). There is nothing that I hate so much than the exercise of excessive honking. We all talk about air pollution, water pollution...but nobody gives a shit about noise pollution which is so rampant all over; HAW being the major source.

Rationale and my experience on the streets lead me to few reasons why we Indians love to HAW. One reason is that it gives a feeling of superiority to many if the rider in front of you has to change his track due to the shrill thing that just emanated from your vehicle. They momentarily become the Kings of Their Kingdom. In other peculiar cases, I see a chap honks just because he wants to. Probably due to the utopia he is in, for whatever reasons. Then there are these pedestrians who never like to walk on their designated lanes. They cross the roads irrespective of the state of the traffic light. Worse is that they leave their life at your mercy, somehow sure that you are not gonna bang them. You keep honking, and they keep crossing with their heads turned away from you. Then there is always the bad road sense among riders that I have already spoken of earlier.

I dream of the day when all streets in India, amidst all the crowd will be sans HAW. There are a few ideas I have which if implemented may lead us to achieve this dream(no matter how surreal it may sound). We must make people cognizant of the ill effects of honking. The sad part is that most of us educated folks do not care. We too follow the herd mentality. Just like we have posters all over, “Speed Thrills, But Kills!”; putting ‘abundant’ posters related to awareness about noise pollution could help in this endeavour. We can reach the masses through blogs, posts in the newspaper, mags, television, etc. Unless we all start talking about it, things will remain as they are now. We must educate people that apart from affecting their senses, excessive honking takes a toll on the rider’s pocket too. More honking=more energy consumption from the battery=frequent change of battery=loss of money.

Folks wondering what the title of this write-up has got to do with its content; let me explain. The phrase “Horn OK Please” is predominantly seen painted on trucks in India, seemingly, encouraging us to honk more and more. With awareness of such kinds, its not surprising that we all love to HAW. For actual details, check this.