Traffic police going deaf - Easy Drive Forum

manoj · 20-03-07, 09:21 AM

SIGNAL STUDY - Horn not okay please, traffic police going deaf

TRAFFIC CONSTABLE Vikas Vairavar admits he can not hear too well. It has been so for a few years now.

His inability to hear properly hits him harder when he is with his family “I feel everyone . around me is talking softly he says. “When I re ,” spond, it seems like I am yelling.” The 46-year-old Vairavar has spent 20 years exposed to blaring horns at busy road junctions across the city His plight is a common one . among traffic policemen. A recent sample survey on the hearing ability of traffic policemen conducted by the Society for Clean Environment (SoCleen) with students of geography from Elphinstone College showed that almost all in the age group of 40-50 had partial deafness.

Most traffic policemen also suffered from ear irritation and had high blood pressure.

The study found that the chief culprit is the incessant honking that policemen have to endure the moment a signal opens.

“When a signal turns green, there is no need to honk till the cars before you move. We have also installed timers for this purpose,” Joint Commissioner (Traffic) Satish Mathur says. “Citizens should be more sensitive and aware.” While normal hearing enables us to hear the rustle of leaves (20 decibels in A weightage — also known as dBA — the filter used for human hearing), these policemen can not hear anything below the noise of a moving taxi (65 dbA).

Signals across the city have an average sound level of 90 dbA. Prolonged exposure to anything above 65 dbA is considered unhealthy .

“We did an audiometry for 10 policemen across major junctions. The results were strikingly similar, which is why we concluded that the sample was representative of Mumbai,” project in-charge Lakshmi Vyas says.

Traffic policemen shift junctions every two years. “Elphinstone, Haji Ali, Mahim, Opera House are very noisy junctions,” Laxmikant Tiwari, a Mahim traffic constable, says.

Possible solutions are making signals nohonking zones just like hospitals, sensitising people about the impact of needless honking, even punishing those drivers who break the law against noise pollution. But until all this can be implemented, the study recommends that the work hours of traffic policemen be reduced from eight to six hours a day .

Are you listening?

In Mumbai, 52 per cent people above the age of 40 are partially deaf.In fact, a 20-year old in the city hears as much as an 80-year-old Masai herder in Africa.
The average noise level during the day is 78 decibel in weight age A, which is the filter used for human hearing (dbA) in Mumbai and Kolkata. Chennai follows with 76dbA and Delhi with 75dbA
High noise levels can cause rupturing of the eardrum, cardiac changes and stress.

Source: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com (Mumbai Edition)
Date Of Publish: 20-Mar-07

suguna · 21-03-07, 10:23 AM

It is really bad news. All of us blame them for taking bribe but they stand on traffic cross sections whether it is hot, cold or rainy season. Their job is not an easy job. We feel stress in our minds due to traffic jams but they face such situations whole day. Vehicular pollution also affects their health very much.

20-03-07, 09:21 AM	#1
manoj Easy Drive Forum Veteran Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 355	Traffic police going deaf SIGNAL STUDY - Horn not okay please, traffic police going deaf TRAFFIC CONSTABLE Vikas Vairavar admits he can not hear too well. It has been so for a few years now. His inability to hear properly hits him harder when he is with his family “I feel everyone . around me is talking softly he says. “When I re ,” spond, it seems like I am yelling.” The 46-year-old Vairavar has spent 20 years exposed to blaring horns at busy road junctions across the city His plight is a common one . among traffic policemen. A recent sample survey on the hearing ability of traffic policemen conducted by the Society for Clean Environment (SoCleen) with students of geography from Elphinstone College showed that almost all in the age group of 40-50 had partial deafness. Most traffic policemen also suffered from ear irritation and had high blood pressure. The study found that the chief culprit is the incessant honking that policemen have to endure the moment a signal opens. “When a signal turns green, there is no need to honk till the cars before you move. We have also installed timers for this purpose,” Joint Commissioner (Traffic) Satish Mathur says. “Citizens should be more sensitive and aware.” While normal hearing enables us to hear the rustle of leaves (20 decibels in A weightage — also known as dBA — the filter used for human hearing), these policemen can not hear anything below the noise of a moving taxi (65 dbA). Signals across the city have an average sound level of 90 dbA. Prolonged exposure to anything above 65 dbA is considered unhealthy . “We did an audiometry for 10 policemen across major junctions. The results were strikingly similar, which is why we concluded that the sample was representative of Mumbai,” project in-charge Lakshmi Vyas says. Traffic policemen shift junctions every two years. “Elphinstone, Haji Ali, Mahim, Opera House are very noisy junctions,” Laxmikant Tiwari, a Mahim traffic constable, says. Possible solutions are making signals nohonking zones just like hospitals, sensitising people about the impact of needless honking, even punishing those drivers who break the law against noise pollution. But until all this can be implemented, the study recommends that the work hours of traffic policemen be reduced from eight to six hours a day . Are you listening? In Mumbai, 52 per cent people above the age of 40 are partially deaf.In fact, a 20-year old in the city hears as much as an 80-year-old Masai herder in Africa. The average noise level during the day is 78 decibel in weight age A, which is the filter used for human hearing (dbA) in Mumbai and Kolkata. Chennai follows with 76dbA and Delhi with 75dbA High noise levels can cause rupturing of the eardrum, cardiac changes and stress. Source: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com (Mumbai Edition) Date Of Publish: 20-Mar-07 __________________ Nothing is fool-proof to a talented fool.

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21-03-07, 10:23 AM	#2
suguna New Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 35	It is really bad news. All of us blame them for taking bribe but they stand on traffic cross sections whether it is hot, cold or rainy season. Their job is not an easy job. We feel stress in our minds due to traffic jams but they face such situations whole day. Vehicular pollution also affects their health very much.