KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 15

Traffic police have launched action against persons riding loud exhaust bikes in Kathmandu valley. They warned that it had not only increased noise pollution but was also contrary to the provisions of the Motor Vehicle and Transport Management Act.

According to Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, seven loud exhaust bikes were held for further investigation and legal action today. This crackdown follows complaints from valley denizens against such two-wheelers that they were terrorising road users.

SP Abadesh Bista said traffic police had been cracking down against drivers of such motorcycles to ascertain if their silencers were factory-made or modified.

Silencers of many fancy motorcycles were found to have been modified in violation of the existing law. Traffic police can bring to book the modified bikes, but not in the case of persons riding two-wheelers whose silencers are fixed by the company as per their cubic capacity. However, the authorities may decide to prohibit the entry of such bikes inside certain prescribed areas. Mechanical modification of original shape of any vehicle is punishable under the law. Loud exhaust bikes are contributing to noise pollution.

'The sound levels of some bikes were over 110 decibels against the maximum limit of 84,' a traffic police official said.

Noise pollution has become one of the serious urban issues. Many places of the valley exceed the Guidelines for Community Noise set by the World Health Organisation.

According to the recent Environmental Statistics of Nepal released by the Central Bureau of Statistics, most of the traffic areas exceed the limit or permissible level of 70 decibels for road traffic noise during the daytime. The human ear can tolerate only up to 26 decibels of sound with ease, says the WHO.

A version of this article appears in the print on October 16, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.