Pune Traffic Police has decided to crack down on manufacturers and sellers of modified motorbike silencers and noisy horns that cause considerable noise pollution. So far, the traffic police has been taking action against owners of bikes with these modifications, but that does not seem to have done the trick.
Figures show that there has been an increase in the number of bikes, sporting modified silencers, being caught by the Pune Traffic Police. In 2017, traffic police had caught 97 such bike riders and collected Rs 86,600 as penalty from them.
The number for just the first three months of 2018 (January-March) was 430 bikes and a collection of Rs 3.91 lakh in cash penalty. The police have also caught individuals with bikes that sported “extremely noisy horns” and penalised them. Last year, 1,586 such cases were recorded, while in the January-March period of 2018, the number was 1,019.
Many young bikers in the city opt for silencers on motorcycles, especially on Royal Enfield bikes, to enhance the thumping sound from the two-wheelers. Modified silencers of different shapes and sizes installed on motorcycles, especially Royal Enfield bikes, have become a nuisance across the country, especially in Punjab. Besides noise pollution, the enhanced thumping noise from the bikes also reduces their efficiency and is a big safety hazard.
Last week, the Pune Traffic Police and the Regional Transport Office announced to observe September 12 as “No Honking Day” in Pune district. “Use of pressure horns, unnecessary honking and the use of modified silencers for bikes are offences punishable with imposition of cash fines or impounding of the vehicles,” said a senior official with the traffic department. “Apart from penalising the riders, we are also taking an affidavit from the violators taking information about the sellers of the equipment. Following this, we will penalise the sellers as well so that this menace can be curbed,” said the official
