Bus horn
Posted by John on April 28th, 2006
Noise pollution is one of the biggest problems in SH, and it’s mainly caused by car horns. Every driver feels the needs to honk at everyone no matter what the situation is. Enter this experimentation:
THREE buses on route No. 36 had their horns disengaged in an experiment to reduce noise downtown but some officials are concerned it could lead to more accidents. The city’s traffic law clearly states that vehicles can not use the horn on streets inside the Outer Ring Road. Most drivers routinely ignore this ban, especially bus drivers, police said. The fine for breaking this law ranges from 50 yuan (US$6.23) to 200 yuan. Traffic police said it is very difficult to enforce this law and have singled out bus drivers as a starting point.
Why is it difficult? Just start stopping every car that does that, sooner or later people will learn the lesson!
“Buses are usually the biggest vehicles on the road,” said Pan Luoyi, head of the Luwan District traffic police. “Bus drivers that frequently blare horns shows that they feel more powerful than other vehicles. “Once my own car was moving slowly and a bus behind kept honking the horn crazily,” Pan continued. “The bus driver was only showing his impatience since he knew as well as I that I could do nothing to make way for him.”
There’s no actual reason for them to honk, it’s just a way to shout at someone saying “get out of my way!!” or “you’re too slow!!”.
However, some authorities raised concerns about safety issues resulting from the experiment. Officials with the Shanghai Public Transport Administration said that they were worried buses without horns could lead to more accidents. “A horn is necessary equipment on a bus and is needed to deal with emergencies,” said Lu Gaosheng, an official with the administration.
The only time you would need to honk (that I can think of) is when you’re driving on a mountain, and you cannot see if there’s a car behind the curve. You don’t need it in the city.
But Pan disagreed. “It is illegal for buses to blare horns inside the Outer Ring Road,” Pan said. “Our experience shows blaring horns only serves to inform others. The first and almost only effective action is to brake when a bus is about to hit something on the street. Blaring the horn will not help avoid a collision in emergency cases.”
Exactly!! Someone is smart enough to understand this!
Luwan District police said they would encourage more buses in the district to remove horns if the experiment proved safe and effective.
I surely hope so!! Next they’d have to test taxis…