You've seen Mumbai Police's viral video, now get ready for punishment

Mumbaikars have the dubious distinction of being among the worst car honkers with mindnumbing noise amid the citys punishing traffic being an everyday affair In an effort to put an end to this the Mumbai police have decided to install The Punishing Signal mdash a signal fitted with decibel meters that will reset the signal and make red lights stay on for as long as the noise stays higher than 85 dBAfter several test drives at major junctions over November and December last year Mumbai police released a video for the latest campaign HonkResponsibly on its official Twitter handle last week The campaign is based on the simple principle of the more you honk the longer you waitCrawford Market junction will be the first to get the signal Pic Suresh KarkeraAt present Mumbai police have identified 10 noisy junctions in the city mdash Crawford Market BMC head office JJ hospital Worli Naka Dadar TT Marine Drive Haji Ali Bandra court Juhu circle and Andheris Bisleri junctionThe needless honking causes noise pollution Our priority is to install decibel meters at junctions near hospitals and educational institutions in the city We have identified a few junctions suffering from reckless honking A survey is also being conducted to identify more such junctions said an IPS officerJoint Commissioner of Police traffic Madhukar Pandey said The decibel meters will be installed at major traffic signals within a weekJuhu circle is one of the junctions which will get Mumbai polices Punishing Signal Pic Sameer MarkandeDeputy Commissioner of Police operations Pranay Ashok told midday that it is the first time in the world that decibel meters are being connected to traffic signals to discourage needless honking It is a unique model which no country has adopted before I am sure this initiative will be widely adopted by cities and countriesThe campaign is a brainchild of Commissioner of Police CP Sanjay Barve and PandeyCSMT junction will also get the Punishing Signal Pic Suresh KarkeraA senior police officer told midday that reckless honking has been inconveniencing motorists at the traffic signals If the traffic signal is red everyone waits for it to turn green But the moment it turns green motoristsmotorcyclists trailing behind start honking needlessly This often causes verbal fights on the road that led to traffic congestion Now if the reading in the decibel meter exceeds 85 dB traffic signals timer will reset automatically So keep honking if you want but only if you also want to wait longer at the signal said another officerScreen grabs of Mumbai policersquos video for The Punishing SignalAfter conducting trials in November and December we uploaded a video on Twitter to see Mumbaikars response The video was widely circulated and we have received an amazing response from Mumbaikars and even from the international public Once all locations are identified the decibel meters will be connected to the signalling system said AshokScreen grabs of Mumbai policersquos video for The Punishing SignalA senior police officer told midday that the first such device will be installed at the Crawford Market junction near the office of the Commissioner of PoliceScreen grabs of Mumbai policersquos video for The Punishing SignalAnother IPS officer said that noise levels go up especially during festivals We generally receive more complaints during festivals Our officers visit locations after complaints are made to the control room or on Twitter and action is taken against violators Yet we are pulled up by the high court as there are many antinoise activists who approach the court the officer saidActivist speakAntinoise activist Sumaira Abdulali commended HonkResponsibly and Mumbai polices videoA decibel meter was a longstanding demand For the first time I can see the traffic police talking about enforcement I think people will understand now why honking is bad But ultimately polices role is to ensure enforcement They will have to maintain their campaign just the way they have successfully discouraged drunk driving driving without seat belt and helmetless ridingSumaira Abdulali activistAbdulali also said threw light on tackling illegal horns which are too loud Also it is easy to apprehend those who honk continuously at a traffic signal Hence police should devise a mechanism to identify such people They can do a panchnama of the spot to book the offender she added10No of noisy junctions identified by the Mumbai policeScreen grabs of Mumbai policersquos video for The Punishing SignalCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates