Are You A Horn Honker?

[mountainsoft]

Lately it seems everyone honks their car horn at every opportunity. To me it seems rude, impatient, and unnecessary.

We live on a rural mountain road where deer cross the road often. Nearly every day someone drives by and honks their horn in an attempt to get the deer to move. Of course, the deer just look at the vehicle and move at their own pace anyway. We drive this road too, and if you just stop the deer will move off the road without the honking at all hours.

Last week we took a trip to the coast. We were enjoying a romantic walk on the beach when an older couple in a car pulled up behind us and honked their horn for us to move out of their way. There was literally hundreds of feet on either side of us they could have driven around us, but they expected us to move. So rude.

Then there are all the times people pull out in front of me, then honk at me like I'm somehow at fault. Really? I'm parked in a parking lot and it's my fault you can't slow down?

Sheesh. In the last 30+ years I've maybe honked my horn twice.

 

[aaronc879]

I rarely honk my horn. I'm very sensitive to noise and honking horns bother me quite a bit and I don't want other people to be bothered like I am so I don't use it if it isn't necessary.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Never unless it looks like someone is going to hit me.

 

[RunningBum]

I honk in anger occasionally, but not very often. 2 or 3 times a year, maybe? I try not to, but sometimes I can't help it. I think I'm getting better, but I should try even harder not to honk out of anger.

I've had a couple times when I did a bad thing and honked only to warn another driver to help avoid an accident. I try to wave and point to myself if I catch their eye once we are safe, and hope they know it was a warning honk, not a blame honk.

Just the other day I laid on the horn for about 5 seconds, because on oncoming car was passing on a highway and we were set for a head-on collision that we only avoided because I slammed on the brakes. It was mostly in anger because my life was literally in danger, and also hoping that car would speed up, and the one it was passing would slow down.

One other kind of honker irritates me. I run a lot of the roads in the community. One of my neighbors used to always toot at me when he saw me. If he was coming from behind, it really startled me because 1) it's a sudden sharp noise, and 2) I think might be warning me that they might hit me and I should jump off the road. We don't have much of a shoulder in many places and I've nearly gone off into a rocky drainage ditch. In some places there's a huge drop-off. After a few times I asked him not to and explained why, and it stopped. But then another tooter moved into the neighborhood. Yesterday I was just about finished and he came up from behind and just rolled down his window to say something. I thanked him for not honking and explained that how it was dangerous for me.

Whew, lots to say there.

 

[kaneohe]

People first in the left turn lane often daydream so when the light turns green, they get 2 seconds to wake up or they get a gentle reminder.

 

[ivinsfan]

So if want to see bad driving behavior including horn honking and brake checking (which I didn't even know was a thing) pullup some you tube videos.


It will blow you mind. I don't bother honking at anything 4 legged. I will only honk to warn someone if they don't appear to see me.

 

[street]

I honk to get wildlife off of the roads.

 

[ivinsfan]

I honk to get wildlife off of the roads.

They don't know the meaning of a honk...I have seen countless wildlife out here in the sticks, from dogs to cats to cows to geese to deer. I forgot to mention beavers and coyotes. The only thing that works is stopping till they move it off the road.

 

[street]

^ ya true most times. Lol I just had to think when I actually use my horn, and that seems like about the only times I do.

 

[braumeister]

Canada geese honk at me almost every morning.

 

[Car-Guy]

I live in a very rural area only a few hundred yards from a state highway with "tons" of deer around... It's rare to hear anyone blowing their horns at them... Personally, I learned a long time ago that deer seem to ignore horns, for the most part.. FWIW, deer whistles do seem to help, although I have heard a lot of people say they don't.

For me I rarely blow my cars factory equipped horn... I do have two of my cars setup with truck air horns for when I really need to get someones attention or if they tick me off. But that's rare too.

 

[ivinsfan]

Canada geese honk at me almost every morning.

The worst and then they sit in your field eating all your crops...

 

[Lewis Clark]

In Florida, horn honking is legal only when warning others of an emergency. All those annoying folks honking their horns for other reasons are breaking the law.

 

[easysurfer]

Nope. I've gone years without honking the horn.

 

[FlaGator]

I did on a daily basis while living in SoFla, driving with an immeasurable number of rude, stupid, dangerous drivers.

But in the Panhandle, maybe once a month, if that.

 

[Plantman]

If you're in front of me at a traffic light and it turns green, you've got about 5 seconds before I tap the horn a couple of times to wake you up.

 

[Scrapr]

In the rural place i grew up it was not uncommon to give a couple friendly beeps to a neighbor as you drive by. Esp if they were outside. But sometimes even if they were unseen & inside

 

[Koolau]

I honk only when I think it will prevent an accident. Here in Paradise, honking is relatively rare as it's considered quite rude. There are some exceptions. I notice pick-up trucks tend to honk a lot - not sure why. YMMV

 

[rodi]

I honk if it looks like someone doesn't see me and is about to hit me. (Usually while I swerve to avoid and slam on my brakes.). That happens about once every 4-5 years... Not common. Usually it's someone who didn't pay attention to a light being red.

I also tap the horn if I'm behind someone on their phone who didn't notice the light changed. I give 5 full seconds. (Usually the car behind me honks first). This happens semi frequently at an intersection near our house... and it has a long light cycle (4 minutes or more during rush hour). If you don't tap the horn you risk sitting through another light cycle.

 

[retire-early]

I do honk my horn, but I know it is better if I don't.
You don't know if the other guy has a gun.

 

[MichaelB]

In my experience more horns are honked in NYC and Caracas than all the rest of the world combined. Mexico City is also pretty bad.

Here in South Fl horn noise is common and irritating. Older drivers not only honk frequently, their blasts are long. Very curmudgeonly.

 

[Nemo2]

In my experience more horns are honked in NYC and Caracas than all the rest of the world combined.

I was in Aleppo, Syria, in 1963.....horns going night and day.

 

[braumeister]

In my experience more horns are honked in NYC and Caracas than all the rest of the world combined.

New Yorkers have a well deserved reputation for being kind hearted, considerate people. They will always make the extra effort to lean on the horn to warn you that you're in their way. Ignore the warning at your peril.

 

[Koolau]

I do honk my horn, but I know it is better if I don't.
You don't know if the other guy has a gun.

In some states, it's a good idea to assume that everyone has one. I'm guessing there's a lot less honking in those states but YMMV.

 

[Aerides]

Older drivers not only honk frequently, their blasts are long. Very curmudgeonly.

And they love to honk in Publix parking lots. Which is especially obnoxious if I'm walking to/from my car, and someone honks a few feet away.