Mumbai Police Test Traffic Signals That Won't Turn Green If Someone Honks Their Horns

We all know that honking your horn at a red light will not make it change to green faster. However, for some reason, many of us still do so, which may irritate lots of people.

Mumbai police have a solution for this behavior and what they are testing is prolong the time of red light if the drivers insist on sounding the horns.

The measure is called the punishing signal and it has been applied at multiple busy junctions in the city. Decibel meters are attached to the traffic signal poles and when they detect sound level larger than 85 decibels, the timer on the pole will be reset to 90 seconds, keeping everyone stuck there.

Mumbai is dubbed “the honking capital of the world” by the local police. They even came up with a catchphrase for the solution: “Honk more, wait more.”

A week ago, Mumbai police made public a video of the system in action on Twitter and it has accumulated over three million views and 89,000 likes ever since.

This system might work to make Mumbai less noisy in the short term but in the long term, solving traffic congestion is a more welcoming act.

In 2019, Mumbai ranked fourth on the list of most congested cities in the world. Bengaluru also appeared on this list, occupying the top spot, followed by Manila, Philippines, and Bogota, Colombia. The least congested city is Abu Dhabi, according to TomTom’s ranking.

For now, the punishing signal is still a test but if it can prove its festiveness, the system might be applied in other junctions in the city, even in other cities in India.

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