Mumbai with a population of over 12.8M has drivers and riders on the streets with just one thought - “When in doubt, HONK!!”. For some reason people think honking will solve all the traffic problems. Suddenly the traffic will clear or maybe the cars will just disappear. The most frustrating times are those when you are at a traffic light with the red light on and an auto rickshaw will keep honking right behind you and you wonder, “Is this rickshaw driver blind or are you halucinating a red light for a green one?”
50% of the stress is experienced by a commuter while commuting as every single person on the street is fighting against time. People going to work want to reach work, finish it, leave and come back home so they can relax. Most of the frustration is experienced while travelling either standing in the bus or train or if you are driving, you spend hours waiting in traffic where it seems honking is the only solution to get to your destination quickly. Maybe people enjoy irritating others by honking or they just love the sound of the horn. Or simply, they are trying to show off their vehicle horn.
I just want people to ask themselves, “how does it feel when there is some one standing right behind me blowing a horn right into my ears for no particular reason? Is it fun or irritating?” People please understand, honking is not a solution to getting through traffic. Look at traffic in other countries like USA and UK, honking is considered rude. Please honk only if necessary. Honking is something which should be done only in cases of emergency. Besides noise polution honking even causes stress, high blood pressure and hypertension. Help yourself by avoiding to honk unnecessarily.
One of my colleagues from Los Angeles came to Mumbai for the first time and it was quite embarassing when he called home the first evening and I overheard him say “Here in India, people honk at anything and everything that moves”. Sadly, this is the impression thats created among visitors to the country. I request people to curtail their honking habits. It will help them, others and the country. Remember, honk only if its necessary or an emergency. Honking is to alert someone rather than clear traffic.
So next time your hand goes towards blowing the horn, think again, do you really need to honk? Is it an emergency? Change the way you think and it will change the way you or anyone looks at your country.