Do You Toot?

[target2019]

Not legally, but I doubt you'd ever be prosecuted. But I hate that myself, because it startles me. I had a neighbor who used to honk every time he drove by and see me running, even if I was on the edge of a road with a steep drop off. I'd be running against traffic so I could see cars coming, but if I hear a horn behind me my reaction to the horn is that there is a danger and my instinct is to step off the road, which would be in a ditch or down an embankment. Finally I told him to stop, and he did. If you really want to greet your neighbor, slow down as you pass and wave.

If my neighbor slows down and waves, and I don't notice, does that send a signal back to them that they should beep?


That followup is tongue in cheek. We live in a neighborhood that is very quiet, and people seem to be very private and guarded. A new neighbor seems intent on beeping every time she drives by, when I am on a walk. I am not really focused on neighbors driving their cars when I am out on a walk with doggie. There seem to be a lot of technically-illegal behaviors that are no longer discussed or enforced.

I think if I ever get pulled over for a short toot at the moron who is texting in the car in front of me, I would be very irate. But technically I was in the wrong.

 

[DrRoy]

Yes, I will give a quick toot. I would also contest the ticket.

 

[Cricky]

Pretty odd to see someone named "Kaneohe" advocating the horn. Drive with aloha brah--you'll get there.

 

[kaneohe]

Pretty odd to see someone named "Kaneohe" advocating the horn. Drive with aloha brah--you'll get there.

Eh, brah. You no can read or what? OP says DW is the tooter, not me.
Not that I'm w/o sin here tho

 

[braumeister]

I think a definition of "1 second" is the time it takes from a traffic light turning green to the sound of the first horn.

Actually, that's the definition of a nanosecond in many places I've lived.

Also, a "New York second" which is the same thing.

 

[Cricky]

Well, I said "advocating" (not "using"), but even that was probably too strong. Should have said I'm surprised someone named Kaneohe even thinks this is a question.

Not that I'm w/o sin here tho

Yeah, me either. I live on the mainland now, in Atlanta, and I'm afraid I'm picking up local customs.

Anyway, if this happened on Oahu, I'm not sure I'd count on HPD not showing up.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

I clicked on this thread cause I though it was about eating beans or something similar.

heh heh heh - let em eat bacon.

I resemble that remark.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

I am not sure where the button for my horn is. I had a Ford long ago that put it in a funny place and I got it confused with the wipers, to the amusement of my passengers.

 

[Ronstar]

I used to beep the horn at drivers sitting at a green arrow or light, but not since I retired. I can sit behind them all day now.

 

[Tree-dweller]

Seems to me the driver parked at a green light on their cellphone or day dreaming should be the one receiving a ticket. Never heard of blowing ones horn at a traffic offender causing a ticket.

Me neither. If that was a ticketable offense, I would have to take out a loan to pay them off. I do it when someone in front of me is obviously oblivious to the green light in front of them, not thinking twice about whether a cop is there. Maybe I've been lucky.


"The future's uncertain and the end is always near. Let it roll, baby, roll!" - The Doors

 

[ownyourfuture]

I will toot, but I try to wait 2 or 3 seconds before doing so.
I'm just not in that big of a hurry.

Besides, I'd be willing to bet everyone posting here has been on the other side of the argument. ((the one that was distracted & didn't see the light change))

I despise people that think their time is so damm valuable.
You know, the ones that begin pounding on the horn when someone is a nanosecond late.

As a matter fact I have a saying which is sort of a contradiction, but applies to those extremely impatient types.

"Life's too short to be in that big of a hurry"

 

[HFWR]

I will toot, but I try to wait 2 or 3 seconds before doing so.

I'm just not in that big of a hurry.



Besides, I'd be willing to bet everyone posting here has been on the other side of the argument. ((the one that was distracted & didn't see the light change))



I despise people that think their time is so damm valuable.

You know, the ones that begin pounding on the horn when someone is a nanosecond late.



As a matter fact I have a saying which is sort of a contradiction, but applies to those extremely impatient types.



"Life's too short to be in that big of a hurry"

While I agree in principle, in most major metro areas we're trying to get a million or two from here to there, so at least some minor attention to signals/signs, proper lane protocol, traffic flow/speed, etc., makes the commute faster AND safer for all involved.

 

[Big_Hitter]

yeah I toot, hard

replaced the stock horns with these

http://www.amazon.com/HELLA-003399801-Supertone-High-Bracket/dp/B000CRZXPI

 

[Options]

In Los Angeles, the only people who don't get tail-gated or honked at are those on foot, and even they get honked at (or nearly--if not actually--run over).

 

[ls99]

No, but I brake hard.

 

[Badger]

Try to keep up here. Using a horn is not against the law if you use it for safety reasons. To say maybe there should be a class action suit is like saying there should be a suit against baseball bat makers because some might use them illegally to beat other people rather than for their intended use. I know it was (hopefully) tongue in cheek but it wasn't very clever.

My apologies for not being clever enough for you. Shame on me. I'll try harder next time.

Cheers!

 

[jim584672]

I think my brothers did some "tooting" in the 1970s, I was too young at the time.
Taking the thread in a whole new direction.

 

[HFWR]

To more directly answer the question, no, the dog did it...

 

[Scarecrow]

This reminds me of a comedy show I heard on the radio years ago. The "interviewer" was interviewing an "esteemed scientist".

Interviewer: "Dr. Esteemed Scientist, what is the smallest amount of time you have ever measured?".

Esteemed Scientist: "Why, that would be the time from when the light turns green, and the idiot behind you honks his horn."


Myself, I don't like to honk, but it is becoming more necessary with all these people fiddling with their phones. I usually wait a few seconds, and a lot of times the person behind me (third car in the chain) honks his horn, since in his opinion I took too long to honk.

Each time, I always wonder if it will be my "last honk". There are so many kooks in our society, I always think the person will get out of the car, walk back to my car, and empty a 357 into me. And from the comments above, he would probably dodge the murder charge, since I broke the law by honking my horn, and he was just making a "citizen's execution"...

 

[kaneohe]

Just to update. The trial was yesterday. The officer showed up and spoke first (narrative) . The accused (DW) then has a choice of telling story (narrative) or questioning officer. She chose narrative.

It was a war of words. He chose "Honked" and "repeatedly". DW chose
"tooted" and "twice" . He said DW was behind the slow car. She said slow car was behind 7 other cars who went through green light normally.

Perhaps my observation is clouded by the conclusion but I thought the judge was very fair and listened very carefully. He noted that he had never seen a prior citation for that code but then read the code aloud. There were a few suspenseful moments as the judge summarized his findings and reasoning.
DW felt compelled to say a few more things but the judge interrupted and said
"Mrs. K.............you won". Fortunately DW was listening and then shut up.
I wanted to thank and hug that judge but he had more business to attend to.

As a mere observer, it was an interesting and amusing experience tho I am sure it was stressful for DW. I was on a high the rest of the day.......made sweeter by the fact that the officer actually showed up.......and lost.

Lesson...........avoid using the horn if you can. If you can't and not in immediate danger, toot twice , don't HONK repeatedly.

 

[Big_Hitter]

Just Lesson...........avoid using the horn if you can. If you can't and not in immediate danger, toot twice , don't HONK repeatedly.

I usually just sit on mine until I see movement.

 

[MRG]

Just to update. The trial was yesterday. The officer showed up and spoke first (narrative) . The accused (DW) then has a choice of telling story (narrative) or questioning officer. She chose narrative.

It was a war of words. He chose "Honked" and "repeatedly". DW chose
"tooted" and "twice" . He said DW was behind the slow car. She said slow car was behind 7 other cars who went through green light normally.

Perhaps my observation is clouded by the conclusion but I thought the judge was very fair and listened very carefully. He noted that he had never seen a prior citation for that code but then read the code aloud. There were a few suspenseful moments as the judge summarized his findings and reasoning.
DW felt compelled to say a few more things but the judge interrupted and said
"Mrs. K.............you won". Fortunately DW was listening and then shut up.
I wanted to thank and hug that judge but he had more business to attend to.

As a mere observer, it was an interesting and amusing experience tho I am sure it was stressful for DW. I was on a high the rest of the day.......made sweeter by the fact that the officer actually showed up.......and lost.

Lesson...........avoid using the horn if you can. If you can't and not in immediate danger, toot twice , don't HONK repeatedly.

Congratulations.

I've always been impressed with most judges ability to sniff out and expose bs.

 

[MichaelB]

Congrats to Mrs. K

 

[audreyh1]

Great news! Thanks for the update.

I was in Hawaii with rental car after your OP and made sure that I didn't toot once.

 

[Payin-the-Toll]

I never 'toot', but I bet Trombone Al does....oh wait, that's a different kind of 'toot'. And as jim584672 said in post #42, back in the 70's & 80's 'tooting' had a whole different meaning and was probably more illegal than hitting your car horn.