Technology

Traffic Lights with a Decibel Meter to Make Drivers Honk Responsibly by Mumbai Police

Traffic Lights with a Decibel Meter to Make Drivers Honk Responsibly by Mumbai Police
Annoyed by the noise pollution, the Mumbai police have decided to take action. Described as the “honorable capital of the world”, Mumbai’s Soundscape is a beacon of beeps. Even at red signals, impatient drivers toot their horns in anticipation of green light. In November and December of last year, the “Dandling Signal” was tested. Decibel meters were connected to traffic lights at several important junctions in the city.

If the sound level exceeds 85 dB, the average level of a food blender, the clock that goes down from red to green, is reset. At first, it almost felt like Catch-22 – the more people waited for the green signal, the more likely they were to shout. However, eagle-eyed drivers may look for a sign above the light that displays the “Honk More Wait for More” message. As people watched the message, they told other drivers to stop respecting them. There was a serious issue with this. The limit of 85 dB was chosen because if you have been in contact with this level for a long time, permanent hearing loss may occur. Mumbaikars (natives of Mumbai) need Honk Responsibly very much.

To put it in context, at that time you could watch 185 episodes of “Game of Thrones”, listen to John Lennon’s “fantasy” 4,012 times, and (with kind of ridicule) planted 209 trees. Mumbai ranks fourth in Tomtom’s Traffic Index 2019, which ranks urban areas around the world. It was estimated that drivers lost a total of 209 hours (8 days and 17 hours) during rush hour in Mumbai throughout the year.

“Unfortunately, many Mumbaikars have indulged in reckless honors,” said Mr. Madhukar Pandey, Jet. Mumbai Police Commissioner (Traffic) told local media. “This small experiment by the Mumbai Police is one of the reasons for creating honorable noise pollution, disturbing earrings, increasing heart rate, causing traffic confusion, and creating stress.” The test tagline “Feel free to feel free, if you don’t mind waiting”, probably doesn’t sound very appealing to drivers in this city. In fact, other states in India have also taken this initiative. Regarding Mumbai, Pandey confirmed that” it is an ongoing practice that we will work randomly for the next few months until the citizens are aware of the citizens to avoid chaos.” For now, at least drivers need to turn on the volume when listening to John Lennon on a regular drone sinking.