Bengaluru: While few bikers may think it cool for their bikes to make vroom sounds, and get their bikes altered for the purpose, the loud sound may be a nuisance for several others, especially the pedestrians who may silently curse them under their breath for adding to the noise pollution.
On Monday, these bikers were in for an unruly shock as the Bengaluru traffic police held a keen watch on those who had attached modified silencers to their bikes in a drive to create awareness about the consequences of tampering with a motorcycle’s silencer.
The traffic police, however felt that monetary fines may not guarantee that violators will not repeat the offence, decided to crush these silencers using road rollers. Around 100 silencers of Royal Enfield motorcycles, that were found to have tampered exhausts were gathered by the personnel of the Adugodi Traffic Police and crushed by a road roller. In few cases, the bike owners were themselves asked to crush the silencers with a stone so that they realize their offense.
The Cubbon police, on the other hand have decided to put to use these confiscated silencers to make barricades for purpose of traffic diversion.
Repeat offenders may even have to part with their precious Royal Enfield bike, warned the police.
In this year itself the Bengaluru Police have confiscated and destroyed over 5,000 exhausts of motorcycles, said a police official adding that other measures to avoid resale of these illegal silencers are being taken up.
According to the Motor Vehicles Act, if a vehicle’s silencer emits over 80 decibels it is considered to be causing noise pollution.Tampering with silencers is a violation of the MV Act’s sections 119 and 120, and invites a penalty of Rs 1,000 for the first offence and Rs 2,000 for repeat offences.
