Motorcycles with modified exhausts have been a menace due to their loudness. State police forces from many Indian states have taken strict actions against such modified bikes in the past, including breaking and destroying the exhausts. Punjab’s Environment minister Om Parkash Soni has said that bikes with such loud exhausts will be seized, if found on the road.
The minister said that any bike that creates a thumping sound due to the modification of silencers will be impounded. The decision was made after a high-level meeting of the officials from Punjab Pollution Control Board (PCCB) and Environment Department officers. The Punjab region sees a number of modified motorcycles, especially bikes from the Royal Enfield brand. Special silencers are installed on such bikes to produce a high decibel noise that exceeds the legal limits. A few modified bikes also make the fire-cracker sound that can be heard from quite a distance. Such extremely high noise disturbs the peace and increases the noise level drastically.
Punjab Police, in the past, have run special drives to bring down the number of such modified bikes on the road. There were many challans issued to the rule breakers. However, this time around, the cops will seize the bike completely, which means that it cannot be on the road with the modified silencers at all. Details like how much fine an owner will have to pay to the authorities for the violation are not known.
It is possible that the bike will be allowed on the road once again after a legal exhaust is fitted on the bike. However, no such announcement has been made yet. The new rule will bring down the number of such modified bikes on the roads and will bring down the noise pollution level as well. The government has banned such aftermarket exhausts with high decibel outputs, but there are many markets and shops from where such exhausts can be easily sourced.
State police forces from Kerala and Karnataka have even removed such exhausts and destroyed them using hydraulic cutting equipment. There have been instances where the exhausts were destroyed with road rollers too. Such a move in Punjab will definitely bring down the use of the extremely loud exhausts in the state.
Also Read: Upcoming Honda Jazz facelift revealed completely before official launch