Car Horn Pet Peeve: An Aggressive Rant

[Greg Bernhardt]

<rant> I rarely rant, but this one really bothers me. I absolutely hate how Americans use the car horn. It's almost always aggressive and unhelpful. I can understand using the car horn when someone callously wrongs someone else or for helpful communication, but far too often it's aggressive and unhelpful. Just today I got put into a bad position where I ended up blocking traffic until I could get free to another lane. Cars proceeded to honk their horns at me. As if I didn't realize I made a mistake and was blocking traffic. Yes thank you for reminding me with your horns. But it wasn't even one horn blast of frustration which I could at least possibley understand, they proceed to keep honking their horns. I was trapped until I could let other cars past me so I could get in the next lane. There was nothing I could do. I even put my hand up to signify I was sorry. They still blasted their horns as if I could do anything about it. It boggled my mind. What exactly did they expect me to do. Yes I understand I made a mistake, yes I understand I am inconveniencing you and I am sorry, now please be patient as there is nothing either of us can do at the moment. Far too often I see this happen to other people. Others will honk their horns like crazy at people who block traffic temporarily or make an innocent mistake. The horn in that case really serves absolutely no value. Yet people just do it as an "F You". arrrrrgh I hate it! </rant> :)

 

[BobG]

If you couldn't keep going in the lane you were in, how could you possibly be blocking traffic and why would they be honking their horns?

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

If you couldn't keep going in the lane you were in, how could you possibly be blocking traffic and why would they be honking their horns?

Two lane downtown city road turning left, I pulled out and a few cars came out of no where and I had to stop half way pulling out, blocking the right lane, I couldn't reverse as another car was behind me.

 

[turbo]

Honking is generally unhelpful. There are people that blast their horns when the person ahead of them at an intersection don't move immediately when the light turns green. I could understand that if the driver ahead of you is clearly talking on their cell phone and distracted, but there are plenty of drivers who are a bit slow on the uptake. There is no excuse for blasting some grandmother because she didn't get a drag-race start on green.

The only time that I use my horn is to make a very short "beep" when I overtaking another driver and intend to pass. I also flash my high-beams briefly. It's just common courtesy. Courtesy seems to be in short supply on the roads, these days.

 

[arildno]

Honkers are bonkers!

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

If you don't like the way I drive, stay off the sidewalk.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Many years ago the horn in the zoobiebrushmobile began to sound non-stop for no apparent reason when I was parked in a parking lot. Bashing the switch did nothing. The fuse turned out to be shared with something else I needed, so the only way to shut it up was to open the hood and disconnect it.

I have not had a horn for years now. This has made me a patient careful driver. I've learned to sit with equanimity behind people dreaming at stop lights, waiting kindly for them to finish their naps and notice the light's now green. I slow down for jaywalkers, and have learned to be satisfied merely thinking bad thoughts about people whom I would otherwise have honked at.

Horns are intended to warn, but that actual effect they have is to startle and anger. It's often impossible to tell who's honking and at whom, and everyone in the vicinity ends up on edge.

I think car manufacturers should get together with psychologists and rethink the sound horns produce. As is, they nearly always make the problem worse.

 

[arildno]

Honking is a guilt absolving ritual.

 

[jedishrfu]

you should've gotten out of your car and kicked the tires like it was broken.

 

[Borek]

There should be two horns in every car - a nice one, and a ROARRRR one.

they proceed to keep honking their horns

Try to stop, leave the car, go to see the trunk, then proceed to the honker and ask in a concerned voice what have happened, as you can't see anything wrong and you are afraid of even a scratch, as it is not your car.

 

[jim hardy]

Disney caught it ~ 1950 in "Mr Walker & Mr WHeeler"

 

[BobG]

Two lane downtown city road turning left, I pulled out and a few cars came out of no where and I had to stop half way pulling out, blocking the right lane, I couldn't reverse as another car was behind me.

So there was something you could have done. You could have quit inconveniencing the people wanting to travel in your lane and inconvenienced the cars coming the other way by pulling out right in front of them.

Kind of depends on what type of vehicles were coming the other way as to which would have been the better option. If the vehicles coming the other way looked like this, then pulling out in front of them would probably hardly inconvenience them at all. They probably wouldn't even bother to honk their horns.

http://www.paramountgroup.biz/uploads/assets/pictures/General_Site_Pictures/Products/Land/Marauder/marauder.jpg

 

[Ben Niehoff]

The only time that I use my horn is to make a very short "beep" when I overtaking another driver and intend to pass. I also flash my high-beams briefly. It's just common courtesy. Courtesy seems to be in short supply on the roads, these days.

Are you kidding? I would find that highly offensive. First you blind me and then you want to complain that I'm driving too slow? If you want to pass, pass. If you need me to slow down in order for you to pass, maybe you don't understand the point of passing.

If you're talking about two-lane mountain roads, I know the rules and I'll pull into the next turnout if I'm in front of three or more cars who want to go faster. But not you, by yourself. And if you're following me too close in a truck, blinding me with your high-beams, I can't see whether there are more cars waiting behind you. So sit tight.

The thing that really gets me in LA (not sure how much this happens elsewhere) is honking at pedestrians (who have the audacity to get in the way!). As if scaring the living crap out of them is going to make them get out of the way faster. Car horns are loud. I have a personal rule never to honk at pedestrians no matter how much they inconvenience me, even if they are wrong.

 

[AlephZero]

The only time that I use my horn is to make a very short "beep" when I overtaking another driver and intend to pass. I also flash my high-beams briefly. It's just common courtesy. Courtesy seems to be in short supply on the roads, these days.

In the UK, that usually means you are inviting the car in front to have a race. So expect to be driving on the wrong side of the road for quite a long way when you pull out to overtake, if it's "game on".

The "civilised" meaning of a headlamp flash in the UK is to show you will give way to another car, (that wants to merge into your lane, or turn across your path, or whatever) even though "the rules" say you don't need to do that.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Honking is a guilt absolving ritual.

That describes what happened to me just a few minutes ago on a three lane. I was in the left lane passing someone in the center lane. As I did, another car came up to my rear at about 80 mph. He had to slow down while I completed passing. I started to go into the center lane when I saw that there was another car in the right lane also moving into the center lane. I had to abandon my lane change for a second while that car went ahead of me and then I was able to get into the center lane myself with the accompaniment of a one-horn band. It was his way of telling me that he hadn't been paying attention to what was going on and almost rear-ended me. Thanks for letting me know.

 

[Curious3141]

It amuses me to see what passes for boorish road behaviour in the US. I've actually driven in the US - San Diego, to be exact, and I found it to be a refreshingly peaceful change from the driving patterns in my native Singapore. Even making allowances for the fact that you guys drive on the wrong side of the road (despite driving on the "right" side ), most US drivers are paragons of politeness compared to the average Singaporean driver.

Here, lane changes with prior signalling are an exception rather than the norm. It's not necessarily rudeness, a lot of it is just survival instinct, because if you signal, seven times out of ten, the idiot behind will actually speed up to block you. And people consider it a weakness if they allow turning traffic to encroach (as is their right) into a marked yellow box junctions, so they often block it (even though it's illegal). Horns punctuate the on-road soundtrack almost everyday. Accompanied by the frequent flashes of high beams, of course.

So if you think the US is bad, try Singapore.

And if you think Singapore's bad, try Thailand.

And if you think Thailand's bad, try India.

...etc. There's always someone in a crazier situation out there.

On a positive note, I've found that drivers in the UK generally have the best road manners I've seen anywhere.

 

[turbo]

The "civilised" meaning of a headlamp flash in the UK is to show you will give way to another car, (that wants to merge into your lane, or turn across your path, or whatever) even though "the rules" say you don't need to do that.

In Maine (lots of truck traffic on main roads) the high-beam flash is meant to tell truck-drivers that their vehicle is safely by you so that they can can pull back into your lane or to signal to a driver up ahead that you intend to pass them. Nobody is getting blinded by such a headlight flash, and the truckers surely appreciate the courtesy. Except for I-95, almost all the main roads here are 2-lanes and we need to observe some common courtesy so we an all be safe.

 

[DaveC426913]

There was nothing I could do.

I believe that the message in the incessant honking is that there was something the driver could do: not make the mistake next time.

The honking is an attempt to shame people into being less aggressive in general.

 

[Jimmy]

The honking is an attempt to shame people into being less aggressive in general.

Generally, that just pisses people off and makes them more aggressive. I've used my horn a number of times to keep other drivers from crashing into me only to get the finger or angry fist. Driving is stressful and a shamed or embarrassed driver will often become angry. These days, you're liable to get shot in such circumstances.

Horns are to be used to warn other drivers or pedestrians that they are about to do something dangerous, not to admonish them after making a mistake. Although it rarely happens, you can be ticketed for improper use of a horn.

 

[chiro]

I tend not to use my horn unless necessary because it sounds like a clown horn (seriously). Might as well just have the music playing in the background and get someone who can juggle while I'm at it.

 

[Monique]

I believe that the message in the incessant honking is that there was something the driver could do: not make the mistake next time.

The honking is an attempt to shame people into being less aggressive in general.

I think so as well, a while ago we were almost driven off the road by some driver not looking over his shoulder when changing lanes on the freeway. A collision was avoided by smashing the breaks, the squeaking tires alerted the driver that something was going on. Of course you then sound the horn, even though we were safe at that time: that driver should be aware of his massive mistake.

Having a car pulled half-way onto a road with on coming traffic sounds dangerous as well, you could have backed up and the car behind you should have given way. With all the honking, the car behind you just stayed put? At least no accidents happened, that's what matters.

 

[Danger]

I think so as well, a while ago we were almost driven off the road by some driver not looking over his shoulder when changing lanes on the freeway.

I didn't realize that der Nederlands was large enough to have a freeway. That's about... what... a couple of hours drive coast to coast?
It might be different for Dave, being in the clutches of Hogtown, but in most of Canada it's illegal to use the horn in the method described by Greg. It can legitimately be used only as a warning device or a brief communication such as to get the attention of a friend that you then wave to. Any aggressive use thereof constitutes disturbing the peace.
I used the one in my Roadrunner fairly frequently for fun, but it could never be taken as an aggressive gesture because it actually goes "Meep meep" just like the cartoon character.

 

[Monique]

I didn't realize that der Nederlands was large enough to have a freeway. That's about... what... a couple of hours drive coast to coast?

Der Nederlands is a new word for me.. what language is that?
It takes two hours to drive from the west coast to the east border, there are even express lanes without any exits.. can you imagine that?

 

[BobG]

I believe that the message in the incessant honking is that there was something the driver could do: not make the mistake next time.

The honking is an attempt to shame people into being less aggressive in general.

Except when the honking is an attempt to find out if the bad driver has a gun.

There's no message in honking. It's just a release of frustration. I imagine there's at least a hope the honking makes the bad driver feel worse, but I don't think that's as important as how honking makes the honker feel.

Maybe Greg should have smiled and waved excitedly at the people that were honking, as if he suddenly recognized who they were and why they were trying to get his attention.

 

[arildno]

It is, by the way, refreshing and exotic, to read about how a strange culture handles or mishandles, quarrels in the day-to-day transports&communication sector.
We have a simpler way to manage differences here in NOrway:
We just loosen the reins of our polar bears if we feel mistreated by others.

 

[DaveC426913]

Try to stop, leave the car, go to see the trunk, then proceed to the honker and ask in a concerned voice what have happened, as you can't see anything wrong and you are afraid of even a scratch, as it is not your car.

My father did this once. At a right turn, the guy behind him was in a Corvette and was way too impatient. He blasted my father with the horn. My father got out of his car, went around to the back, checked his lights and trunk, and looked at the guy questioningly.

The 'vette roared around him, up on the curb, scraping his underside all the way.

 

[ThinkToday]

<rant> I rarely rant, but this one really bothers me. I absolutely hate how Americans use the car horn.

IMO, you are over reacting. If you screwed up, you deserve a honk on the horn. As someone that has been behind the wheel for more than 40 years, I've had the horn blown at me more than a few times. I don't like it either, but for the most part, I don't like it because I got caught being wrong and I hate being wrong and caught. So is it the horn or being caught red handed ? The only time I really hate the horn is when traffic is backed up, a light is red, or some idiot thinks you going 5 mph over the speed limit is to slow and wants you to move.

So, IMO, if you screw up, get caught and ticking other drivers off in the process, don't complain about the horn... learn the lesson. I just kind of smile and think "oops, damn, busted".

 

[Hurkyl]

Two lane downtown city road turning left, I pulled out and a few cars came out of no where and I had to stop half way pulling out, blocking the right lane, I couldn't reverse as another car was behind me.

If you shift into reverse, the sight of your rear lights might prompt the guy behind you into backing up to give you room.

 

[Danger]

Der Nederlands is a new word for me.. what language is that?

That was a pitiful attempt at faking a Dutch accent...

It takes two hours to drive from the west coast to the east border, there are even express lanes without any exits.. can you imagine that?

That is truly frightening. It would work only for motorhomes here. Our regular cars don't have toilets or refrigerators. Depending upon weather conditions, the mood of local wildlife, and whatnot, it takes about a week to drive across Canada. You people with pocket-size countries just weird me out. (By the bye, I didn't mean to imply that you're on an island; North Americans use the term "coast to coast" to mean "border to border", simply because our east and west borders actually are ocean coasts.)
You give me an idea here. Maybe you should twist one of your exitless freeways into a Mobius strip and see if you can achieve time travel...

If you shift into reverse, the sight of your rear lights might prompt the guy behind you into backing up to give you room.

If there is no other traffic in the immediate area and some idiot tailgates me, I lock the brakes for a fraction of a second, then romp on the throttle to get out of the way of a collision. The guy generally has to go home to change his pants. (And no, I don't care if he goes off of the road and possibly gets killed. Evolution in action.)
An acquaintance of mine who drove a pick-up truck was taught a neat trick by her husband. She would hammer the brakes and throttle at the same time, again for less than half a second. The whole ***-end of the truck, tires and all, would jump off of the ground without the vehicle actually slowing down. It was particularly effective since the bed was usually full of loose stuff like shovels, wheelbarrows, etc. that they used for work.

 

[nitsuj]

I agree with the OP.

Even assuming that there was a "maneuver" the OP could have done what will honking the horn do for the situation at hand...other than let the driver & others that you are upset and/or notice a driver error.

I was in my late twenties by the time I learned I share the road with people. People who can and will make mistakes, drive how they feel comfortable.

blocking a lane causing a comparatively short delay (a light cycle or less) in my opinion is hardly reason to point out the obvious in an obnoxious way, let alone get upset.

Said different getting emotionally upset because of an others diving error is my issue to deal with, honking the horn obnoxiously at an obvious error seems moot to me. Perhaps it makes others feel better about the traffic situation they are in.

Somewhat related, in order for my horn to work I need to press a very specific place on the steering wheel. I swear that specific place on the steering wheel moves around.
So I don't bother with trying to use the horn, and you know what I still get from point a to point b. Fancy that.

 

[Danger]

in order for my horn to work I need to press a very specific place on the steering wheel. I swear that specific place on the steering wheel moves around.

Depending upon what you drive, it might be a good idea to have that checked out by a mechanic. If there's an electrical fault, it could adversely affect anything from your cruise control or turn signals to your airbag.

 

[DaveC426913]

IMO, you are over reacting. If you screwed up, you deserve a honk on the horn. ...

So, IMO, if you screw up, get caught and ticking other drivers off in the process, don't complain about the horn... learn the lesson. I just kind of smile and think "oops, damn, busted".

Did you read the OP's entire post?

...But it wasn't even one horn blast of frustration which I could at least possibly understand, they proceed to keep honking their horns...
... I even put my hand up to signify I was sorry. They still blasted their horns...

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

IMO, you are over reacting. If you screwed up, you deserve a honk on the horn.

So the horn is a device of punishment? It should be for helpful communication. Honking at me served no helpful purpose. It didn't speed up anything. As I said in the OP a small honk of frustration I could handle, but there was a long line of ghetto blasting of the horns as if I could change the situation.

 

[Ben Niehoff]

If there is no other traffic in the immediate area and some idiot tailgates me, I lock the brakes for a fraction of a second, then romp on the throttle to get out of the way of a collision. The guy generally has to go home to change his pants. (And no, I don't care if he goes off of the road and possibly gets killed. Evolution in action.)

I don't pull dangerous stunts on tailgaters. But I did do this:

Was driving home on a 2-lane highway through hilly country, I had about 100 miles left to drive. Some guy started tailgating me. There was oncoming traffic, so he could not pass. However, the road was open and straight enough that we could have gone around 70 mph.

My response to tailgaters is "OK, you're choosing what following distance you want, I will choose a speed that is safe at that following distance." I slowed (gently) to exactly 50 mph, where I felt more or less comfortable. Slow enough to drive him nuts, but not slow enough to make him do something stupid.

Then I stayed at 50 mph for about 15 minutes. Watched my speedometer and made sure my speed didn't budge an inch. Even though I had a huge stretch of empty road in front of me. 15 minutes out of my day is no big deal, and the view was nice.

I waited until I thought he had given up hope of going faster. Then I pushed on the accelerator and jumped to 70 in the space of about a few seconds. Left him way behind. He didn't bother following closely again.

 

[turbo]

So the horn is a device of punishment? It should be for helpful communication. Honking at me served no helpful purpose. It didn't speed up anything. As I said in the OP a small honk of frustration I could handle, but there was a long line of ghetto blasting of the horns as if I could change the situation.

Sorry to hear that, Greg. If you come to New England, steer clear of Boston. It's a difficult city to drive in due to its antiquated "hub" layout, and the natives apply the horn quite liberally. Funny thing - the horns work perfectly well, but the turn-signals are all disabled, apparently. It is a whole lot more pleasant driving in Manhattan. No kidding.

 

[nitsuj]

Depending upon what you drive, it might be a good idea to have that checked out by a mechanic. If there's an electrical fault, it could adversely affect anything from your cruise control or turn signals to your airbag.

That is good advice. however the others ain't broke and all have "failsafes" warnings in place of a fault. Just the horn switch/wiring seems to be faulty.

That said, it can be unsafe not having a fully/properly functioning horn.

 

[BobG]

If there is no other traffic in the immediate area and some idiot tailgates me, I lock the brakes for a fraction of a second, then romp on the throttle to get out of the way of a collision. The guy generally has to go home to change his pants. (And no, I don't care if he goes off of the road and possibly gets killed. Evolution in action.)

I don't like to pull dangerous stunts on tailgaters, but I did find something entertaining to do back when I had my Jeep Cherokee.

The hose for the washerfluid for the back window sprung a leak, so instead of spraying my rear window, it emitted a stream backwards onto the hood of any cars too close to my back end.

That was fun enough I didn't even mind having a dirty rear window.

 

[nitsuj]

It takes all kinds I suppose.

My friend told me a story on his way from my house he was following somebody who felt he was too close (and he probably was).

The speed limit on the road is 50km/h, quite slow.

She had brought her vehicle to a complete stop, in the lane, put the car in park, got out and started yelling. Meanwhile traffic was building up behind them and the scene they were making.

My friends reaction was confusion. As in OMG what on Earth are you doing lady.

We still laugh about it.

 

[leroyjenkens]

Honking at me if I do something wrong is understandable, but I've had people honk at me when THEY did something wrong.

Two times I've been driving in the right lane and a car in the merge lane didn't want to slow down to get in behind me, so when they were forced to, they honked at me for either not speeding up or not getting over.
Those are the types of people that make me angry, but I take solace in the fact that their behavior will make their lives harder. I don't have to do anything to them because they'll do it to themselves.

 

[nitsuj]

Honking at me if I do something wrong is understandable, but I've had people honk at me when THEY did something wrong.

Two times I've been driving in the right lane and a car in the merge lane didn't want to slow down to get in behind me, so when they were forced to, they honked at me for either not speeding up or not getting over.
Those are the types of people that make me angry, but I take solace in the fact that their behavior will make their lives harder. I don't have to do anything to them because they'll do it to themselves.

Ah ha ha, yea I can relate to that.

Intersections that are not "straight" lanes, as in one must turn a little to stay in their own lane while crossing the intersection.

This is particular tough if there are no lines painted through the intersection making it obvious which lane is which.

The neighborhood I lived in had such an intersection. Particularly older (70yrs+) people had trouble with this. I've been "honked at" by senior drivers for staying in my own lane on a couple of occasions.

It always made me laugh, senior drivers are so cute sometimes.

 

[DaveC426913]

Honking at me if I do something wrong is understandable, but I've had people honk at me when THEY did something wrong.

Two times I've been driving in the right lane and a car in the merge lane didn't want to slow down to get in behind me, so when they were forced to, they honked at me for either not speeding up or not getting over.
Those are the types of people that make me angry, but I take solace in the fact that their behavior will make their lives harder. I don't have to do anything to them because they'll do it to themselves.

One must be cautious when reading the minds of others. You don't really know what he thought you were doing wrong (that is, assuming you weren't doing anything wrong...).

In fact, are you even sure he was honking at you? Two drivers often experience a single event very differently, and misinterpretation is quite easy.An example - though it is completely unrelated to the above: I once pulled onto a highway from a gas stop. Dusk had come while I'd been filling up and as I accelerated back into the stream, I flicked on my lights. Unfortunately, my high beams happened to be on. I immediately turned them to low as I overtook the first car.

But the guy certainly assumed I'd pulled up behind him, flashed my brights at him, then proceeded to pass him. He indicated his displeasure with a one-finger salute. How was I supposed to let him know that I'd meant him no malice?

 

[zoobyshoe]

Honking at me served no helpful purpose. It didn't speed up anything. As I said in the OP a small honk of frustration I could handle, but there was a long line of ghetto blasting of the horns as if I could change the situation.

I very much doubt all the honking was aimed at you. Horns startle and anger. When one person honks in a collection of stopped cars everyone in the vicinity is put on edge, because no one is sure if it was meant for them or not. It's in the nature of traffic that anyone who hears a car horn has to first assume it's meant for them and they run a panicked check of what they're doing. Once someone determines that someone else is honking in vain, they might honk back at them meaning "Shut the F. up!" That sets everyone else in the vicinity further on edge, and the next person with the lowest tolerance for frustration will join in, trying to shut the other two up. Eventually everyone is honking because everyone else is honking.

Car horns need to be redesigned to alert without startling. I don't have any ideas what form of sound that would take, but the current car horn is over-the-top.

 

[Danger]

The hose for the washerfluid for the back window sprung a leak, so instead of spraying my rear window, it emitted a stream backwards onto the hood of any cars too close to my back end.

My high-school buddy drove a Datsun 510, and kept his regular windshield washer nozzles set to squirt over his roof onto the windshield of the guy behind (if he was too close). It's particularly effective when you replace the washer fluid with ink.

You guys probably don't even want to know about my invention that fires a blob of ignited butyl rubber/magnesium based solid rocket fuel into the following car's radiator...

 

[edward]

My high-school buddy drove a Datsun 510, and kept his regular windshield washer nozzles set to squirt over his roof onto the windshield of the guy behind (if he was too close). It's particularly effective when you replace the washer fluid with ink.

You guys probably don't even want to know about my invention that fires a blob of ignited butyl rubber/magnesium based solid rocket fuel into the following car's radiator...

Don't mention things like that it will give the Arizona State Legislature bad ideas.

They way the law stands now if a person approaches your vehicle on foot during a road rage situation, and you feel threatened, it is legal to shoot said person.

BTW I used to have a 60's Fiat roadster that had two horn settings, one for the city and one for rural areas. It also had a low fuel level warning light. Those are the only two things that were consistantly reliable.

 

[Danger]

I used to have a 60's Fiat roadster that had two horn settings, one for the city and one for rural areas.

Now that you mention it, I think that my '69 DS19 Citroen had that feature as well. I never had a chance to make it road-worthy, so I'm not sure. Somehow, I think that I saw mention of it in the shop manual, though. It's quite a good idea. Around here, particularly, it would be nice to have something horrendously loud to get the attention of a caribou herd crossing the highway. The same thing in town would be unacceptable.

 

[lisab]

There are some regional influences for sure - in the Seattle area, we just don't honk much. If someone in Seattle acted like one of Greg's tormentors, everyone in the area would probably stop in there tracks and stare, thinking wth?

I very, very rarely use my horn, but I had to the other day. I was making a legal U-turn at a light and a woman making a right didn't see me. Since we can't occupy the same location at the same time I had to honk at her before she rammed me with her SUV. That's about the only time I ever use it: just for safety reasons.

 

[ThinkToday]

So the horn is a device of punishment? It should be for helpful communication. Honking at me served no helpful purpose. It didn't speed up anything. As I said in the OP a small honk of frustration I could handle, but there was a long line of ghetto blasting of the horns as if I could change the situation.

IMO, punishment too, in some cases. Ever been behind the idiot reading a book at a stop light that turned green... and they're still reading? I've been a green lights stopped waiting for some guy to figure out whether to turn or not? Ever had someone drift into your lane like a drunk, only to see them texting, putting on makeup, screwing with their GPS, etc.? Yea, I use my horn to say “wake the F up and drive right”, but no, I don't camp on my horn. Punishment, hell ya, people need to wake up and pay attention to their driving or GTFO the road and take care of their business where they don't affect or put others at risk. The main point I’ve made to my kids, as they’ve learned to drive, is that their sole concern behind the wheel is the safe operation of that vehicle, everything else is a distance second, and if there’s something else they need attend to, they find a safe place to pull over and do it. IMO, behind the wheel isn’t the place to multitask, day dream about tonight’s date, etc. Focus, pay attention, obey the law, drive aware of your environment, and you should seldom get the horn.

 

[BobG]

Two times I've been driving in the right lane and a car in the merge lane didn't want to slow down to get in behind me, so when they were forced to, they honked at me for either not speeding up or not getting over.

Almost sounds like two passive-aggressive drivers competing with each other.

I've had drivers in the lane with the right of way speed up just enough that they'll be just past your back bumper so you can't merge at your current speed. That's fine, because you don't have to speed up that much so that you can merge in front of them. But there's some drivers that will keep going the same speed just so they can feel abused at having to slow way down to the let the car with the right of way pass. One driver that knows the other car has to merge, but he has the right of way and likes having the right of way - the other driver with an easy solution, but prefers to be the outraged victim.

Honking horns are pretty rare where I live, too. You certainly have distracted drivers talking on their cell phones, texting, etc, drivers that forget to use their turn signals (or, better yet, the drivers that use their turn signals after a lane change just in case you missed it), and just plain bad drivers, but there aren't that many rude drivers.

But are a few and sometimes they run into each other. There was the road rage incident where a car of 3 teenagers chased a car that offended them, so the chased driver drove into his old neighborhood, parked on a dark side street, got out of his car and shot all three when they stopped behind him to finish the argument they had on the road.

 

[BobG]

I probably should have honked my horn yesterday evening.

I was driving down a side street, approaching the intersection where I needed to make a right turn. A woman was on the street I was going to turn down coming towards the intersection, getting ready to make a left.

She's driving fairly slowly, but cuts the corner stealing my entire lane, meaning I have to pretty much come to a stop to let her complete her turn, and then she still just keeps coming down my lane!

Should have honked, but I just couldn't believe she didn't see me until it was too late to honk. She finally saw me at the last second (I have a Jeep, for crying out loud - eventually she has to notice a Jeep right in front of her!), but couldn't quite come to a complete stop and she hit me.

Of course, having a Jeep, my vehicle is designed to protect the important stuff from getting damaged. And it was kind of hard to tell if she did any damage to my bumper, because that was the same corner of the bumper that I hit a rock with while 4-wheeling (the middle of it is just slightly depressed with the top of it not quite level.

In fact, the trip where I hit the rock is the same one I lost one of the plastic ends to my bumper and didn't notice until the end of my trip. I could have replaced all 4 for about $25 to $30, but decided I liked the look of the bumper better without the milkjugs on the ends. And seeing as how I didn't have those plastic ends anymore, the corner of my metal bumper gouged her plastic bumper.

Pretty strange. Given that it was a side street and she was turning, it was such a slow motion collision where it just took a while to realize she didn't see me.

 

[DaveC426913]

I was driving down a side street, approaching the intersection where I needed to make a right turn. A woman was on the street I was going to turn down coming towards the intersection, getting ready to make a left.

I'll bet she lives very nearby. She's probably gone this way so many times it probably didn't occur to her she might still be obliged to obey traffic laws.