Bangalore, March 5, 2013:
Honking seems to be a favourite pastime in never-ending traffic jams (or even otherwise…for today’s impatient world). The “I Won’t Honk” campaign, a citizen’s initiative, was launched today by the Police Commissioner Mr. B G Jyoti Prakash Mirji and Cricketer Rahul Dravid at Coffee Day Square. This campaign has been initiated to create public awareness about the problem of honking and to bring about a conscious and attitudinal change amongst individuals towards this issue.
The density of traffic in Bangalore has increased tremendously over the years, along with the unnecessary use of the horn by motorists.
According the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), the legal level of noise pollution in the city for a legalized residential area is 55 dBA. However, several congested areas in the city record double the noise level – Kempegowda bus stand- 110 decibels, MG Road- 105 decibels and Marathahalli Junction- 105 decibel.
Speaking at the launch, Additional commissioner of police (traffic) M A Saleem, said, “Noise pollution in the city is currently at its peak and one of the major causes of this is honking. There is a need to increase awareness and instill a personal responsibility in each driver to reducing honking. Each driver in Namma Bengaluru must resist
the urge of honking unnecessarily and this can be achieved by adopting a more disciplined approach to road traffic. The “I Won’t Honk” campaign aims to bring together the common man, Traffic Police, State Transport Agencies, Taxi and Auto associations, schools and colleges and Corporate houses to work for a common cause.”
The campaign will partner with various communities and will be owned, promoted and driven by individual citizens to orchestrate the necessary change. The main objective is to create public responsiveness in the hope that it will be able to influence a change in approach of vehicle owners and that it will bring down the need to horn incessantly.
Present at the launch, cricketer Rahul Dravid said, “In a city like Bangalore, everyone is in a rush and the traffic jams increase frustration. However, honking is not the answer! The noise generated by a few people honking soon turns chaotic and disturbs the peace of mind of everyone in the area, potentially causing more accidents. The mantra for safe driving is to be patient and not honk, unless absolutely necessary and the “I Won’t Honk” campaign will ensure that we all take a step in the right direction.”
The initiative will ensure that guidelines are drawn up for the installation of horns that are within the permissible limit and efforts will be made to create awareness amongst drivers on the ill-effects of noise pollution and honking.
Some of the pledges and highlights of this campaign are:
– A pledge to not honk unnecessarily
– The driver makes a pledge to himself or herself. Rather than somebody else saying “stop honking” – this is a voluntary pledge.
– It is a citizen’s initiative. So, the campaign is not owned or driven by any individual or company. EVERYONE owns it.
– The campaign is self-driven and promoted through technology (individuals take a pledge through web site, Facebook, Twitter, SMS etc.)
Individuals who would want to take the pledge can –
a) Sign up on the IWH website – www.iwonthonk.com
b) Give a missed call on – 080 3008 8638
The BMTC, KSRTC, BIAL Taxis, a few Auto Unions, FM Zone, Trident Motors, Fever 104, and individual from various walks of life were a part of the launch.
