THE TRAFFIC on Indian roads has been a matter of deep concern for a long time. With more and more people buying vehicles for commuting and for status symbols, the problem is getting worse.

Measures taken to curb the problem have been in vain. The very mention of traffic rules makes some people frown and rebel. Every morning thousands of people drive to work, definitely none of them would want to get late. If only the roads were clear, people would steer through effortlessly. Smartly enough, people have already found a way to avoid the traffic nuisance, they honk all the way.

Though it doesn’t have any relevance to the traffic regulations, phrases like ’Horn OK Please’ and ’Wait for Side’ are commonly painted behind commercial trucks and buses. The purpose of painting these phrases is to presage the driver of the vehicle coming behind from blowing the horn. In case he wants to overtake he can blow the horn and wait for a side.

Sadly, as per the typical Indian mentality, people have misinterpreted the actual intention of this phrase and have resorted to honking as one of the mandatory rules of driving. People have become so accustomed to honking that they blow the horns gratuitously even at traffic signals or on empty roads. These days even ambulances have started blowing horns instead of using the siren.

Has anyone ever thought how annoying it is when you are standing at the traffic signal and waiting patiently for the stop sign to go green, the people behind you start honking as soon as the countdown reaches 10 seconds. And if you don’t budge from your place they will honk wrathfully or even start shouting. There is nothing much you can do about it but either break the traffic rule by moving ahead or stand there listening to all those angry insults hurled across to you, or revolt.

The latest trend that has been noticed in today’s driving habits is that one hand of the driver seems to be glued to the horn. And the funniest part is that sometimes they don’t realise how many times they have actually honked whereas some drivers feel that there is nothing wrong in honking. People seem to be so lackadaisical at times that they even honk at the ’No Honking’ zones like hospitals. And if it was only for the normal warning horns, we could still bear and grin, but the problem is people have also fitted those nerve wrecking foghorns and sometimes also blast a variety of film tunes. Anyone would vouch for the fact that there is unremitting background music of blowing horns, when you drive on Indian roads.

Driving is a test of concentration and the thumb rule is to exercise forbearance and respect the rights of other commuters. Imagine driving at a crucial turning on the road and suddenly someone comes from the back and honks your heart out. You will definitely loose your concentration and probably face an accident. Yes, it’s true - one might even loose his/her life because of other peoples’ negligence.

Shamefully, such things happen in most of Indian cities disrupting the calm and peace of the nation. On the contrary, the streets in the west are much quieter where you can rarely get to hear the horn of any vehicle. When we are greatly influenced by the western culture, why don’t we incorporate some good things from them as well? Ask any person staying in the United States or The United Kingdom about their ‘honk score’ and you will be surprised to know the answer. They probably might have honked 8-10 times in years together. Those people seem to be more organised and disciplined enough to follow the social norms.

It is not the system or the government to be blamed every time for everything that goes wrong. It is us, the citizens, who have forgotten our civic sense and behave like illiterates. Government makes the rules but we ‘break’ them.

How would you feel if car manufacturers came up with gadgets like ‘honk meter’? If you honk more than 10 times a day, the meter will automatically charge a penalty from you. This will surely condense the honking to an extent, as no one would want to loose money needlessly. Or they can have rechargeable battery-operated horns fitted separately, so that if a person honks more than desired, the battery will get discharged.

It is imperative for all of us to limit the usage of horns. The phrase ’Horn Please’ was meant to be a request, but the continuous and sharp honks from the vehicles behind are regarded as orders whereby the driver is actually commanding the front vehicle driver to get out of his way.