1,124 booked for honking in five days

Kathmandu, April 19

Traffic police today said they took action against as many as 1,124 motorists for needless honking over a period of five days.

The Metropolitan Traffic Police Division has imposed ban on needless honking in the Kathmandu Valley with effect from April 14. Inspector Madhusudan Silwal at the MPCD said on-duty cops had booked 1,124 motorists for defying the ban until yesterday.

“We issued a public notice regarding ban on needless honking on April 14 and did not initiate action against anyone that day. Traffic police started booking violators from the next day when only 19 faced action and the number of drivers getting ticket is on the increasing trend with each passing day,” he said.

The offenders were fined Rs 5,00 each under Section 164 (c) of the Motor Vehicle and Transport Management Act, 1993.  “No one shall blow horn in circumstances other than the invisibility of vehicles coming from the opposite direction and the higher chance of accident in the event of not blowing the horn,” said the MTPD. This provision shall be complied with by all public, private, tourist and government-owned vehicles, both two-wheelers and four-wheelers.

Emergency vehicles, ambulances, fire engines and police vans/jeeps shall not be obliged to follow the rule. Needless honking is a major factor causing noise pollution in the Valley where more than 850,000 vehicles ply daily. With increasing number of vehicles and limited road length in urban settlements of Kathmandu Valley, the problem of traffic congestion, accidents, air and noise pollution have become serious issues.

Noise pollution in commercial places, new and old residential areas and tourist spots of Kathmandu Valley exceed the Guidelines for Community Noise set by the World Health Organisation, according to Environmental Statistics of Nepal released by the Central Bureau of Statistics.