For the week ending 27 June 2009 / 4 Tammuz 5769
Noisy Radio Nuisance
Question: During a recent ride on a bus in Israel the driver had the radio blaring away at a volume that I and other passengers found very disturbing. What is the right thing to do in such a situation?
Answer: A bus company in Israel was recently fined 15,000 Shekels because one of its drivers refused to lower the volume on his radio after being asked by a passenger to do so.
This shows that passengers have a right to protest and that the offender faces punishment.
You must, however, take into account that the driver uses the sound of the radio to keep him alert and not to disturb passengers. It is proper, therefore, to politely ask him to lower the volume and to report him to the authorities only if he stubbornly refuses to do so.