印度孟买：等红灯时狂按喇叭？小心红灯越等越长

印度的司机们总是在等红灯时狂按喇叭，以为这样就可以让交通灯尽早变绿。为了惩治这种行为，孟买警方新推出了一套交通灯系统，当汽车喇叭声超过85分贝时，红色交通信号灯就会被重置，司机需要等待更长时间才能通过。

There is a truth universally acknowledged by drivers in India: honk your horn loud enough and the traffic lights will surely change to green.

在印度，司机们普遍认为：只要你喇叭按得足够响，交通灯就一定会变成绿灯。

honk [hɒŋk]：v.按汽车喇叭

But, fed up of impatient drivers inflicting a deafening roar every time they are forced to stop, police in Mumbai have come up with a new system to punish those who cannot wait at traffic lights in silence.

但是，孟买警方受够了不耐烦的司机每次被迫停车时制造的震耳欲聋的喇叭声，因而打造了一个新系统来惩罚那些不能在红绿灯前安静等待的人。

The new system, said the police, was quite simple: “Honk more, wait more.”

警方表示，新系统非常简单：“按喇叭次数越多，等待时间越长。”

Known as “the punishing signal”, Mumbai police installed a rigged traffic light system to tackle the problem of “reckless honkers”, which resets the red traffic signal every time the sound of car horns goes above 85 decibels. For particularly honk-happy drivers, it could mean a very long wait at the lights.

孟买警方安装的这个新系统被称为“惩罚式信号灯”，用以解决“不耐烦的鸣笛者”的问题。在新的信号灯系统下，每当汽车喇叭声超过85分贝时，红色交通信号灯就会被重置。对于特别喜欢按喇叭的司机来说，这可能意味着在红绿灯前要等很长时间。

In a video, which has since gone viral, Mumbai police explained why they had been driven to tackle Mumbai’s cacophony of car horns.

在一段广为流传的视频中，孟买警方解释了他们处理孟买汽车喇叭声的原因。

cacophony [kəˈkɒfəni]：n.刺耳的音调；不和谐音

“Welcome to the honking capital of the world,” said Mumbai police. “People here honk even when the signal is red. Maybe they think they will turn the signal green faster. We, the Mumbai police, were itching to do something about this.”

孟买警方称：“欢迎来到世界鸣笛之都。即使是红灯，这里的人也会按汽车喇叭。也许他们认为可以更快地把信号灯转为绿灯。作为孟买警方，我们一直想要解决这个问题。”

Mumbai was recently ranked as the fourth most congested city in the world, according to the TomTom traffic index, with 65% congestion and drivers spending an average of eight days and 17 hours in traffic each year.

根据TomTom交通指数，孟买最近被列为全球第四大拥堵城市，拥堵率达到65%，司机每年平均堵车时间长达8天零17小时。

Speaking to local media, Mumbai traffic police commissioner Madhukar Pandey said: “Sadly, many Mumbaikars indulge in reckless honking which not only causes noise pollution, but hurts eardrums, increases heart rate, causes stress and adds to traffic chaos.”

孟买交通警察局长马杜卡-潘迪在接受当地媒体采访时说：“可悲的是，许多孟买人盲目地按喇叭，这不仅造成噪音污染，还会伤害耳膜，增加心率，造成压力，加剧交通混乱。”

He added:“All recognize it, but do little to curb it. With this, hopefully we may create better road discipline and ensure honk-less, noise-free and stress-free travel on Mumbai roads.”

他补充道：“所有人都承认这一点，但几乎没有采取任何措施来遏制。有了这个新系统，希望我们的行车规矩能更好，确保孟买的道路上喇叭声减少，无噪音，无压力。”

The idea, which was trialled in November and December, has already gained momentum and there is talk of rolling it out in other cities in India. Across the country, Indian cities have the worst traffic in the world. Bangalore was recently named as the world’s most congested city, with drivers spending an average of 10 days stuck in traffic, while both Delhi and Pune were also in the top 10.

这个新系统在去年11月和12月进行了试行，收效良好，有传言称将在印度其他城市推广。纵观全印度，城市的交通状况是世界上最糟糕的。班加罗尔最近被评为世界上最拥堵的城市，司机每年平均堵车时间长达10天，而德里和普纳也在拥堵城市前10名之列。