Horn not okay, please!
Find out how the @MumbaiPolice hit the mute button on #Mumbai’s reckless honkers. #HonkResponsibly pic.twitter.com/BAGL4iXiPH— Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) January 31, 2020
This stroke of genius from the Mumbai Police Force in India has got me a bit awestruck. In essence, the setup is simple, but it looks like it would work. If you weren’t aware, Mumbai is one of the most packed cities in India, and there’s always a jam somewhere. Trust me, I’ve been there. I grew up in Delhi, India, so this makes a bit more sense to me and I can relate to the problem. But you can’t argue that you haven’t experienced the same here, in Malaysia.
The video’s premise is quite simple. They talk about how Mumbai is the “Honking capital of the World” where drivers even honk when the signal is red.
“Maybe they think that by honking, they can make the signal turn green faster” the narrator said, in a very stereotypical Indian accent.
Reminds me of home.
And that, looks to have been the final straw for the Mumbai police, as they then put their plan into place. They installed decibel (dB) meters to signal poles around the city. If the decibel meter went over 85 dB, the signal would reset and people waiting at the traffic signal have to wait longer.
The video then showed a bunch of drivers and on-lookers looking puzzled and annoyed, but eventually, laughing at the situation.
It even caught the attention of YouTube star, Casey Neistat, as he posted this to Twitter:
this is the kind of problem solving I’m here for — HOW TO GET DRIVERS TO STOP HONKING THEIR HORN https://t.co/8jLRCaMYeN
— Casey Neistat (@Casey) February 4, 2020
Okay fine, it isn’t a foolproof plan to stop people from honking, but it’s better than doing nothing. It’s quite a problem in India, so I’m not surprised that they would think up such an initiative. I’m just surprised they hadn’t thought if it sooner.
