Loud warnings seem to be the police’s latest tool to rap traffic rule violators in the city.

Helping the men in uniform in their mission are hooters or portable microphones attached to a speaker slung across the shoulders of traffic constables posted at major roundabouts. On their radar are people parking their vehicles wrongly or breaking any other traffic rule.

Twenty such hooters belonging to the department, so far lying idle, have been distributed among traffic constables.

At the Boring Road roundabout on Tuesday evening, some autos were parked haphazardly on the road towards the high court to pick up passengers.

A constable warned on the hooter: “All you autorickshawdrivers, immediately clear the area and get going. Else, you all would be fined for blocking the road.” Hearing the announcement, the autorickshaws cleared off immediately.

Explaining how the system works, a traffic police officer said: “Such speaker-fitted microphones have been given to constables at major roundabouts like Income Tax, Dakbungalow and Boring Road to serve dual purpose. If a constable spots motorists parking vehicles in a no-parking zone from a distance, he can warn the violator. When traffic is heavy in the evenings, a constable can announce the registration number of the wrongly parked vehicle over the hooter. If the motorist hears it, he/she can remove the vehicle immediately and escape paying a fine. Else, the person must pay it.”

Traffic constables agree the idea works wonders. “It’s almost a week since we began using hooters, mainly in the evenings. The high-pitched warnings work great,” a constable said.

“In the evenings, wading through busy traffic and reaching a wrongly parked vehicle is difficult. So, the hooter helps the constables warn the offenders. Hooters are used to stop people, including autorickshaw drivers, from parking their vehicles wrongly or haphazardly,” another traffic cop said.