Drivers who honk continuously will face fines of 148 soles ($50) in central Lima, Mayor Susana Villaran said Tuesday in announcing a measure that may be difficult to implement.
Villaran said that police will give drivers until Sunday, Aug. 25, to stop unnecessary honking or face the fines, state news agency Andina reported.
“Honking creates stress, irritation and violence. We can avoid all of this if we comply with the norms,” Villaran said. “From Monday the 26th [of August] the transit police will start to give fines.”
The measure is the latest step, albeit a small one, to try to clean up Lima’s chaotic traffic. Since taking office in 2011, Villaran has tried to improve traffic, including measures to regulate taxi drivers and reroute buses.
Traffic has always been a problem in Lima, with speeding buses, taxis and private vehicles ignoring traffic regulations.
However many residents say that it has become worse in the last decade as an economic boom has led to an increase in the number of cars on the road as middle class workers buy their first vehicle. At the same time, the infrastructure hasn’t kept up to meet the growing traffic.
The Discovery Channel recently aired a program on driving in Lima, called “Don’t Drive Here.” Check it out here.
