Silence Zones, Horns and Firecrackers

In one line

Rule 5A bans horns, firecrackers and construction equipment at night and in silence zones, and rule 6 lists the five things nobody may do in a silence zone at all.

In exam wording: rule 5A of the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules 2000, inserted by S.O. 50(E) of 11 January 2010, provides that no horn shall be used in silence zones or during night time in residential areas except during a public emergency, that sound emitting firecrackers shall not be burst in a silence zone or during night time, and that sound emitting construction equipment shall not be used or operated during night time in residential areas and silence zones; and rule 6 provides that whoever, in a place covered under a silence zone, plays music or uses a sound amplifier, beats a drum or tom-tom or blows a horn or sounds any instrument, exhibits a performance of a nature to attract crowds, bursts sound emitting firecrackers, or uses a loudspeaker or public address system, shall be liable for penalty under the Environment (Protection) Act.

Rule 5A: three prohibitions, and a table is the way to hold them

The rule is short and its value is in the pattern, which is not the same for all three.

Read the differences carefully, because they are examined.

A horn is banned in a silence zone at any hour and in a residential area only at night. In a commercial or industrial area it is not restricted by this rule at all.

A firecracker is banned in a silence zone at any hour and everywhere at night. Sub-rule (2) says "in silence zone or during night time", so the night ban is not confined to any zone. That is much wider than the horn rule.

Construction equipment is banned at night in two zones only, residential and silence. Night work in a commercial or industrial area is not caught by sub-rule (3).

And only the horn rule has an exception. A public emergency excuses a horn. Nothing in sub-rules (2) or (3) is subject to any exception.

The reason firecrackers are dealt with by a prohibitionrather than by a level was given in the chapter on measurement: a burst of a second or two contributes almost nothing to an Leq over any useful period, so a standard expressed as an average cannot catch it. This is a rule-maker choosing the instrument that fits the physics, and it is worth saying so.