Updated – Mumbai: The Mumbai Police’s traffic division’s intention to crack down on blaring music in moving cars is another step towards ensuring road safety in the metropolis.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Traffic, (Suburban) S M Sabde, the man behind the initiative, is clear that the police force is not out to harangue car owners, but that the Mumbai simply intends to strictly enforce the section 190 and 190(2) of The Motor Vehicles Act, which prohibits loud music in vehicles plying on the city roads.
While reports that appeared in the media on Tuesday reported city cops saying that loud as well as soft music would be forbidden and offenders would be fined Rs 500 under the said sections of the Motor Vehicles Act, Sabde told Radioandmusic.com, “When a person talks on the mobile phone, that is soft volume but it is distracting.” He further added, “The person who is in the driver’s seat should be driving and not listening to music – his job is to drive.”
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Sabde was clear in his directives. “Our officers will not bother those who are listening to music at lower levels, we are only being firm because right now we want to create awareness – we will be considerate,” he added.
Since many car drivers depend on traffic updates from FM stations, banning music outright or forbidding listening to FM stations would have meant that drivers would not be updated in crises situations. Sabde’s directive is however targeted at young rash drivers, who play loud music and often ignore basic rules of driving.
Media reports that hinted at a complete ban on music in cars on the move had shaken up the radio industry earlier on Tuesday. A significant chunk of FM radio listenership in metros is in-car listenership and programming is often woven around peak drive times, in the mornings and evenings.
When contacted, Big FM’s national marketing head Anand Chakravarthy had expressed his surprise, saying “It will be surprising if the government bans music completely, because, music is heard by drivers not only in India, but all over the world.”
Chakravarthy had however reasoned that the ban would not have impacted radio stations, because as per RAM ratings, a very small percentage of drivers listen to the radio while driving. “If the ban is against ‘loud blaring music’ then it’s justified and we would certainly support them in this drive,” he added.
