Bangalore transport authorities fining superbike riders on charges of noise pollution, is it justified?

Owning an exotic, high-performance machine in India is a task in itself, let alone finding proper roads – if not a track – to even enjoy a third of the performance these motorcycles have to offer, without hampering the safety of other road users. Owners of these high-performance machines shell out quite a sum, firstly to buy the motorcycle and then to run and maintain it. But it seems like the superbike owners in Bangalore have another chore, besides the regular ludicrous maintenance tasks, at hand. Superbike riders are being fined in the city on the charges of noise pollution in the first instance, with a warning that the bikes will be seized if they commit the ‘offence’ again.

Our conversation with a few of the members of a superbike group privy to the incident stated that superbike riders, especially those riding in groups, are being stopped and fined by law enforcers on the city’s outskirts. The officials carrying out this supposed ‘drive’ during one of the incidents weren’t allegedly equipped with decibel meters to substantiate the charge against the riders. Our sources have also revealed that this specific superbike group wasn’t comprised of a bunch of youngsters. Some of the riders in the group are top honchos with multinational corporates, they are responsible, highly knowledgeable people, whom you cannot imagine acting like hooligans on street.

Here is the story of Chennai cops stripping down bikers to underpants for being kitted up in riding gear

The person in spotlight behind this entire episode is the Joint Commissioner of Transport (Enforcement) Narendra Holkar who is said to be targeting premium, high-performance, large capacity motorcycles. The complaint? The motorcycles are producing noise over 200 decibels while the permissible limit for bikes stands at 80db. Let us remind you that most of these motorcycles – if not all – have been approved by ARAI after a thorough homologation process. Those motorcycles have been approved by a government body to roll on the streets, the owners have paid a hefty price for it, a substantial bit of which has gone into filling the government coffers. How apt, then, is it for the law enforcing bodies to fine these riders? Why were these motorcycles allowed to ply on the streets if the decibel levels were higher than permissible limits in the first place?

We had a brief word with one of the superbikers – who wishes to remain anonymous – in Bangalore, and he informed us that the transport authorities are cracking down more actively on Harley-Davidson and Royal Enfield motorcycle riders, models they presume are creating higher levels of noise pollution, even in the stock form.

To be fair, some (not all) of these bikes are outfitted with aftermarket exhausts and/or some other enhancements which may have an effect on the noise produced. However, it doesn’t appear as though the cops who are after these superbikes are even noticing the anomaly. The drive seems to be a part of a mindless blanket order to stop any and every person who is riding a superbike, irrespective of the speed he is riding it at, or the engine revs. In effect, every rider on a superbike is presumed to be a noise pollution offender by default and is expected to pay a fine. If the same motorcyclist is caught again, his bike will allegedly be seized by the authorities.

What does the man behind the action think about this issue? Well, the department does not want to get into a legal tussle with the manufacturers with top lawyers on board. Instead, they are targeting individual motorcyclists who might not have such great connections. Holkar thinks he is in the right, and in fact wants to intensify the drive. “We will intensify the drive after the civic polls. Issuing notices to bike manufacturers is not on our agenda, because we do not have time for legal battles. We have a strong weapon called enforcement (and) that is enough,” he said in a statement.

Advocate KV Dhananjay somewhat concurs with the views of Holkar but is against penalising and threatening motorcyclists with fines and penalties. The Supreme Court advocate added, “Under the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, two-wheelers generating sound of more than 80 dB cannot be registered. But if these are already registered, the RTO should revoke the registration and not scare the bike owners with fines and penalties.”

So is this what law enforcement in the world’s largest democracy has come down to? The internet is filled with numerous instances which make us believe that there really isn’t much to stop government officials from harassing citizens if they so decide. We live in an era where law enforcers arrest consenting adults from hotel rooms on charges of public indecency, where porn is banned in the name of culture and where in a megalopolis like Mumbai, you need a license to drink or you may be arrested in compliance with an archaic law. There really isn’t any clear definition to what a citizen is or isn’t entitled to do. This lack of clarity eventually plays in the hands of empowered officials who often sometimes use it as a tool to harass citizens who more often than not aren’t really doing anything offensive.

It is understandable if a superbike owner is fined for creating noise pollution in a neighborhood at an ungodly time, or in a silent zone. It is also understandable if a superbiker is caught and fined for over-speeding, or over-revving in areas where low speed limits are mandated by law. But to fine any and every superbike on the road, presuming its a cause of noise pollution is mindless to say the least.

What’s your take on this issue? Do let us know your thoughts and opinions through the comments section below or through one of our social networking pages. Also, if you are aware of this issue, and know someone who has been fined or apprehended, do let us know.  We would do out bit to dig deeper into the issue.

Images used in the article are for representation purpose only.

Source: ET Auto