Car horns

[gim]

Are you an regular auto horn user?  My wife thinks I'm crazy for using my horn when I think someone is in the wrong on the road.  She refuses to use hers at all costs.  She thinks that the next person I honk at is going to turn out to be a hot head and blow my head off.

[MN Fisher]

If they're being an idiot...of course I'm gonna let them know it with my horn.

[casts_by_fly]

Yes, but usually only in ‘stupidity’ scenarios and not safety ones. Safety scenarios I’m more of a two hands on the wheel and get out of dodge type. No room to honk, just drive. 
 

I have no problems honking at stupidity. Monday night I was driving home on a 2 lane through town doing 30 with a car in front of me. The car in front of my just stops completely to let a car turn in front of us. I had to jump on my brakes.  We didn’t have a stop sign and it was clear behind me for the car to turn. Thats just the latest. In NJ it’s about every 20 miles driven I need to do that. 

[Tennessee Boy]

I only honk to let someone know I'm there.  It doesn't happen often.  It's not my place to judge other drivers.  I try to control my anger and honking just proves I failed.   Road rage can end very badly and it usually starts with a honk.

 

Also,  listening to your wife is usually a good idea.   They don't have as much testosterone as we do which makes them superior to us in many/most ways. 

[T-Billy]

15 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Also,  listening to your wife is usually a good idea.   They don't have as much testosterone as we do which makes them superior to us in many/most ways. 

She reads your posts huh? Man, that's rough.

[Dwight Hottle]

The horn is standard equipment for a reason. Just like turn signals.

[A-Jay]

Not really a 'blow the horn' kind of driver, anymore.

Couple reasons I guess.

One, except for a few weeks in the middle of the summer,

most folks 'Up North", are actually courteous drives.

So there really isn't many horn blowing opportunities.

And two, since selling my GTO, I've adopted a much more defensive driving style.

I operate at or below the speed limit, especially towing my rig

and I try to abide by most all of the traffic regs.

Most importantantly, I will let EVERY Yahoo that wants to,  pass me.

And I mean Every One.

I'll pull right off the road for these special humans. 

Safest place for them to be  - is in front of me.

Then I have ALL the Control.

Finally, the faster one drives a minivan, the cooler they look.

A-Jay

[Bird]

I use the horn every time I have to run into a town with a stoplight.

The light turns green and nobody is moving, why ? Because they're playing on the cell phone.

Happens every time ?

[BigAngus752]

It's illegal in most states.  Here's Illinois: 

 

"The driver of a motor vehicle shall when reasonably necessary to insure safe operation give audible warning with his horn but shall not otherwise use such horn when upon a highway."

 

Warning them that you desire to control other people's actions and have an unregulated temper does not count as a "reasonably necessary" warning.  Honking because someone is obstructing the flow of traffic (green light and they are on their phone) or because they are dangerously violating lane restrictions (cut you off) is reasonable.  "Letting them know they are wrong" is a moving violation on your part.  

[Darth-Baiter]

I did today and regretted it.  first it did nothing to mitigate the situation.  second, it was a waste of time.

 

I rarely use it..almost never in anger or aggravation.   just not worth even wasting any emotional energy to most situations.  a few hours later, I am not even remembering the details.  so why waste juice on it then?

 

I will however honk at the flocks of Turkey that mosey around in front of me.  again..waste of time.  

[12poundbass]

I rarely do except on the rare occasion someone sits at a green light more than four seconds staring at their phone. If someone ticks me off I just yell at my steering wheel. 
 

My wife on the other hand she uses that thing all the time. She’s reached  over while I’m driving to honk the horn. 
 

Then her, her sister, and my mother in-law always honk several times when they arrive or leave each other’s house. That drives me nuts! My brother in-law and I have vowed to pull the fuses on every vehicle so we don’t have to hear them anymore. 

[DitchPanda]

I find myself using it mostly for critters I.E. deer, geese and my neighbors dumb dog.

5 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I only honk to let someone know I'm there.  It doesn't happen often.  It's not my place to judge other drivers.  I try to control my anger and honking just proves I failed.   Road rage can end very badly and it usually starts with a honk.

 

Also,  listening to your wife is usually a good idea.   They don't have as much testosterone as we do which makes them superior to us in many/most ways. 

while I understand the sentiment I disagree. If somebody is endangering you or others with there actions I believe it is your place to give them a toot.

[Skunkmaster-k]

Sometimes when I’m happy and I know it I honk my horn.  

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, Skunkmaster-k said:

Sometimes when I’m happy and I know it I honk my horn.  

That’s how they roll in the Bahamas . Everyone is just driving around honking and smiling. I was jumping back 10 feet off the sidewalk everywhere we went 

[GreenPig]

If you're infront of me at a redlight, you'll get a 3 count from green before I hit my horn. A few of our lights are green for 8 seconds. 

[throttleplate]

My honda has a very loud weird sounding horn for its size.

When in a left hand turn lane yielding to oncoming traffic, the bozos who let wide gaps open up but still dont turn drive me nuts.

I may be the 3rd car in line waiting to turn and i will lay on the horn to where the 2nd car in line gets nervous thinking the first car bozo thinks its him. Just watch them in their rear view mirrors.

[Jigfishn10]

I've been side swiped twice in the past 5 years by people texting and driving. If I wasn't paying attention to the other car from a distance, I would have been hit head on.  SOOO....if a driver is wandering into my lane then the horn shall sound. 

 

The only other time I honk is when I'm driving by neighbors out in the yard and I give them a friendly quick honk-honk.

 

8 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

That’s how they roll in the Bahamas . Everyone is just driving around honking and smiling. I was jumping back 10 feet off the sidewalk everywhere we went 

In my experience, that's pretty much S.O.P. in the Caribbean. 

[Skunkmaster-k]

10 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

That’s how they roll in the Bahamas . Everyone is just driving around honking and smiling. I was jumping back 10 feet off the sidewalk everywhere we went 

I don’t do it in town anymore. I accidentally honked at a Fed Ex driver delivering a package and he dropped it and gave me the stink eye while I waved at him. 

[TOXIC]

I guess it depends on your locality.  Bigger metropolitan areas I find use their horns as a means of communication along with hand gestures.? We used to be considered the sticks but are now a bedroom community to Washington, DC and I’ve noticed that with the increase of population and the influx of drivers, they are much more hostile.  When I was commuting to DC and Northern Virginia on a daily basis I could tell the closer I got by the attitude of the drivers.  As for honking at me for delaying at a green light, I don’t care because it’s a standard rule in my family to do a standard 3 count before accelerating.  For some reason there are a plague of red light runners here that may be due to the long commutes but it’s also common with semi’s, dump trucks and construction equipment haulers. We have no shortage of red light t-bones here weekly.  I only honk to avert a collision.  I lost all aggressive driving when I latched a $50,000 piece of fiberglass to the rear of my truck.  It carried through to my everyday driving as well.  

[Choporoz]

I am not a reluctant honker, but I will honk for safety or excessive green light sitting.

  I find I don't use the horn as often when when driving my wife's Toyota as I do in my Dodge.  That RAV4 has the weakest lame horn I've ever heard.  I'm almost embarrassed to use it.

[roadwarrior]

For the most part I only honk the horn behind some silly woman on her cell phone

for not turning on a light. I mean "What are you waiting on!"

 

                                                    

[Kev-mo]

On 9/14/2022 at 3:52 PM, BigAngus752 said:

It's illegal in most states.  Here's Illinois: 

 

"The driver of a motor vehicle shall when reasonably necessary to insure safe operation give audible warning with his horn but shall not otherwise use such horn when upon a highway."

 

Warning them that you desire to control other people's actions and have an unregulated temper does not count as a "reasonably necessary" warning.  Honking because someone is obstructing the flow of traffic (green light and they are on their phone) or because they are dangerously violating lane restrictions (cut you off) is reasonable.  "Letting them know they are wrong" is a moving violation on your part.  

I let someone know Monday they were wrong for thinking the stop sign didn't apply to them...

[BigAngus752]

3 hours ago, Kev-mo said:

I let someone know Monday they were wrong for thinking the stop sign didn't apply to them...

@gimruis's wife says your gonna get your head blown off!

21 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

That’s how they roll in the Bahamas .

And Jamaica!  Love that place...

[Columbia Craw]

I have zero faith in the motoring public. Regulation without enforcement achieves nothing.

[Bankbeater]

Last weekend I had to lay on the horn big time.  The stupid deer still wouldn't move and just stared at me.