The Punishing Signal launched Mumbai Traffic Police: Mumbai is one of the noisiest cities in the world. And a lot of this noise can be traced back to cacophony at the signals. Mumbaikars honk even when the signal is red! Needless to say, this noise pollution is making the city alarmingly unhealthy to live in. To tackle this honking menace, the Mumbai Traffic Police, in partnership with FCB Interface came up with an innovative solution called The Punishing Signal.
This is how it works. Special decibel meters were connected to traffic signals across the island city. When the decibel exceeded a dangerous 85dB, the signal timer would reset itself… forcing the people to wait longer at the signal! Thus ‘punishing’ them for their impatience with the message, honk more, wait more!
“Honking is a bad habit and an act of traffic indiscipline. Unfortunately, many Mumbaikars indulge in reckless honking. Honking causes noise pollution, hurts the eardrums, increases heart rate, creates traffic confusion and causes stress. Unnecessary honking is a menace that everyone recognizes but does little to curb. This small experiment is one of many attempts by Mumbai Police to create better road discipline in Mumbai. Hopefully, it will encourage Mumbaikars to honk less, and create a noise-free and stress-free commute” said Madhukar Pandey, Jt. Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Mumbai Police.
Horn not okay, please!
Find out how the @MumbaiPolice hit the mute button on #Mumbai’s reckless honkers. #HonkResponsibly pic.twitter.com/BAGL4iXiPH— Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) January 31, 2020
As a part of the campaign, the first leg of activation was tested in Mumbai at important junctions that are most prone to heavy traffic such as CSMT, Marine Drive, Peddar Road, Hindmata and Bandra. And the film gives one glimpse of the confused honking Mumbaikars who honked, waited, honked and learned it the hard way, that honking is not the way out.