No more wheeling, drag racing of two-wheelers on Ring Road

Mysore/Mysuru: Noise-happy bike enthusiasts who have been modifying their two-wheelers by replacing the muffler for a louder silencer have come in the line of fire of Mysuru City Police. Following many complaints and incidents of accidents, all the Traffic Police Stations across the city have launched a drive to penalise modified silencers.

According to Traffic Police, special teams were constituted to keep a watch on motorcycles with modified and noisy silencers. They are inspecting bikes including bullets and other popular brands of bikes whose silencers have been altered.

Police said that they had been receiving complaints about bikers speeding in the localities with modified silencers and creating noise pollution. The drive began at V.V. Puram Traffic Station last evening and it has been extended to all traffic stations today. Apart from senior citizens, patients admitted in hospitals were also affected by the loud noise of modified silencers.

Yesterday alone, over 30 vehicles were seized in V.V. Puram, Siddartha, Devaraja, Narasimharaja and Krishnaraja Stations and today, the number is likely to go up to 50 or more. Interestingly, after the bikes are seized, mechanics are called to the stations who will restore the silencers back to their original shape.

The bike owners with modified silencers have to bear the silencer and mechanic cost and at the same time, pay the prescribed penalty. These bikes were returned only after the bike owners brought the original silencer and installed it.

Recent years have seen demand for loud silencers among youngsters go up, attested by the fact that many first choose the silencer type before purchasing the bike. Traffic police say sound levels above 65 decibels is injurious to health while levels above 75 decibels can cause hypertension and anxiety.

According to section 190(2) of the amended Motor Vehicle Act, causing air and noise pollution can now attract a fine of up to Rs. 10,000 instead of Rs. 1,000 earlier according to the old Act (1988).

The Police are also keeping a watch on reckless activities of stunt drivers, speed maniacs in bikes doing wheelie to prove their daredevil skills. The Ring Road and even wide roads in residential areas are the usual locations for these stunts.

In the past, wheeling has claimed lives of several youths between the age of 12 and 20. They are increasingly becoming addicted to wheeling on the outskirts and Ring Road and are found dangerously riding between big trucks, putting the lives of other road users in danger.

Now the city Police have decided to crack down on youths indulging in wheeling. In case the wheeling youths are minors, cases will be booked against their parents for allowing their wards to indulge in dangerous stunts.