You remember that thing on your vehicles? That thing your hand involuntarily presses every now and then like how a toddler plays with his sound inducing toys? Yes, that thing called the “Horn”. Firstly, it’s not a toy. Secondly, it makes loud noises. Thirdly, there is a purpose for it. To be used to convey anger/danger to other drivers. Unfortunately, that message is lost because when you have a hundred different vehicles blowing horn at the same time, who gets any message? But I am not here to preach about the messages lost or won in road battles.

I am here for a simple request. Please, don’t blow the horn unnecessarily. I know you have your arguments for using it but just consider this request from a fellow road user.

When the signal is Red, blowing horns does not magically create additional highways for the vehicles in front of you to fly away nor does the horn carry a magical message that the bike rider in front of you receives and interprets it as asking him to move his vehicle slightly to the left so you can go forward.

We have had the Ice Bucket Challenge taken by millions of people so I suggest you to take the No Horn Challenge. Try driving your vehicle without using the horn excessively for a day and please let me know if it made any difference. I know the answer but would like to hear it from you.

And before I forget another important point road users should consider, in residential areas when you need to take a turn into a by-lane, as a driver you are supposed to slow down and watch before taking a turn and not just blow the horn loudly and take your turn at the same speed. The Horn is not a substitute for your bad driving skills.

Not just does this cause a lot of Noise Pollution, it absolutely helps no one on the road when there are hundreds of vehicles loudly blowing horns. So, Please,No Horn!

Here is a Facebook Page to spread the message and for fellow travelers who share similar thoughts to discuss ways toreduce Horn usage in Hyderabad and also to share your experiences of the No Horn Challenge – NoHornHyderabad