The family next door honks every time they leave or arrive to let others in their house know... that they're leaving (YOU JUST berkeleyING LEFT) or are coming home (YOU'RE ABOUT TO SEE THEM). I hate it and want to install a train horn in response.
So I guess I'm passionate about it because I hear horns at all hours for a really stupid reason.
Wife “Were you able to make my brakes work better”
Me “No, but I did make your horn louder”
In my area, (central Florida,) the horn etiquette has a mode that I've named the "Horn of Death." If you're old enough to have grown up watching the original Star Trek TV show, the horn is like the Enterprise firing her Phasers.
Example: A person going about their day turns right onto a 4 lane highway, into the right lane. About a block away, in the right lane, is someone in a giant SUV talking on the phone driving 11 mph over the speed limit. The left lane is clear.
Karan, in her SUV, deploys the "Horn of Death" for at least 8 seconds, by which time the person that entered the road in front of her has reached the posted limit, and meanwhile Karan has thrown out the anchor so much that at least 100 feet separate the two cars. She now has people behind her doing Fast & Furious moves trying not to plow into her.
I read a book a while back called traffic that compilled a lot of research on vehicle traffic.
The book took the stance that, in general, more horn honking (and taking less offense to a honk) in an area meant the drivers in that area were collectively better - less crashes, fewer injuries, fewer deaths, per vehicle mile.
The reason is that a horn honk is feedback. It's not very nuanced, but some feedback is better than no feedback. Many drivers drive hundreds of thousands of miles without any feedback on their driving, except maybe the occasional ticket. And that makes them suck. In general.
Also, if you take offense to a honk, are you likely to learn anything from it?
Robbie said:... a horn honk is feedback. It's not very nuanced...
This is a very good point. That lack of nuance is the problem with horns, because people tend to automatically think of an ambiguous "BEEP!" as criticism. I would like to propose a solution.
I think auto manufacturers should at the very least offer a "Nuanced Horn" option. This could be implemented in a number of ways, but in it's most basic form would consist of a highly amplified computer-generated voice. The driver would have a choice of at least three different horn buttons. The first could be "Hi! Have a nice day!" The second a cautionary "Excuse me!" and the third button, to be used only when necessary would be something like "Hey! BerkeleyWad! Learn to Berkeleying DRIVE!"
I think this would serve to make the roads safer and at the same time, more entertaining.
Length of born blast, to me, is nuance.
Beep beep = hey...buddy.
Hoooooooonnnkk = FUUUUUUU!!!!!!
1988RedT2 said:Robbie said:... a horn honk is feedback. It's not very nuanced...
This is a very good point. That lack of nuance is the problem with horns, because people tend to automatically think of an ambiguous "BEEP!" as criticism. I would like to propose a solution.
I think auto manufacturers should at the very least offer a "Nuanced Horn" option. This could be implemented in a number of ways, but in it's most basic form would consist of a highly amplified computer-generated voice. The driver would have a choice of at least three different horn buttons. The first could be "Hi! Have a nice day!" The second a cautionary "Excuse me!" and the third button, to be used only when necessary would be something like "Hey! BerkeleyWad! Learn to Berkeleying DRIVE!"
I think this would serve to make the roads safer and at the same time, more entertaining.
Have a Nice Day = Dolly Parton
May I Suggest a Better Approach = Morgan Freeman (sorry for the resolution creep)
Excuse Me = Clint Eastwood
Berkeleywad = Darth Vader but he would actually say "I find your lack of skill disturbing"
Robbie said:Also, if you take offense to a honk, are you likely to learn anything from it?
I'll add too, that if you really take offense to the honk of a horn in your direction, you are likely the problem
I don't always honk my horn, but when I do, I am activating a "coaching moment to help the other driver develop some rudimentary situational awareness skills". It is my gift to society. I am trying to move a fellow driver from below the Darwinism cutoff line to above it.
Having gotten into an accident where somebody backed into me while I was almost finished backing up. I think there should be a horn on the back of the car that only works when the car is in reverse.
T.J. said:RIn reply to iceracer :
Yes, but also a courtesy when there is no reason not to go. How about left on red when there are two one way streets? Where I typically drive that is a rare situation and I wouldn’t honk if behind someone figuring they do not know they could go, but right on red? Come on.
I believe very firmly that if it's optional, it's optional. I certainly will feel compelled to avail myself of the option if there's someone behind me, but I'm never going to honk at someone for not taking an option. You can wonder WTF they're thinking, but it's fundamentally their call.
I had a funny one this morning; I drop my wife off at her office most mornings, usually on a very small one way street, just before it turns left, teeing onto a larger one-way. When it's not going to hold anybody up, I wait for her to cross and we wave at each other (silly, but we like it). If there's someone behind me on the small street, I won't hold things up like that. Today, there was nobody behind me, but there was a longer than normal red and a larger than normal group of pedestrians waiting to cross along with my wife. One pedestrian walks over to point out to me that I can turn left on red there.
All I could say was "I know; thank you." He seemed a little weirded out. I was a little weirded out. All that said, it's very common for pedestrians to cross against the light there when there's nobody coming, and I'm pretty disinclined to try the turn for fear a pedestrian will get fed up and start walking.
I was thinking about this again today as I got stuck behind another ignorant driver waiting at a red with his right signal on and zero traffic coming the other way. He waited it out until it turned green as I expected him to. So I was inclined to do a little research on this yesterday and pleased to find out that in this province you can be ticketed doing what I described, the ticket being for failure to proceed, esentially holding up traffic.
To be honest, I'm a little weirded out by people who choose not to go when they can in any of the above mentioned situations, right or left. Is the purpose of your drive not to actually go somewhere, and does sitting idle when totally unnecessary make any sense? It doesn't to me.
The absolute worst driver that I know uses his horn several times every time that he drives. He also uses his four-way Hazard blinkers quite often. I have come to the conclusion that piss poor drivers put themselves into situations that require frequent horn use.
Suprf1y said:I was thinking about this again today as I got stuck behind another ignorant driver waiting at a red with his right signal on and zero traffic coming the other way. He waited it out until it turned green as I expected him to. So I was inclined to do a little research on this yesterday and pleased to find out that in this province you can be ticketed doing what I described, the ticket being for failure to proceed, esentially holding up traffic.
To be honest, I'm a little weirded out by people who choose not to go when they can in any of the above mentioned situations, right or left. Is the purpose of your drive not to actually go somewhere, and does sitting idle when totally unnecessary make any sense? It doesn't to me.
In several European countries, "Right on Red" is against the law, and ticket-able. So, they might have learned to drive over here, and either can't/won't unlearn that (or they're a tourist). I've had some fun conversations with Germans/Europeans about this issue.
I actually used my horn yesterday, for the first time in ages...I was sitting behind some guy at a stop light; he had ducked down out of sight to apparently to pick something off the floor of his car when the light turned green, so I gave the horn a tap to get his attention. Fortunately, he quickly stopped whatever it was he was doing and took off so he didn't delay me or any of the people behind me.
I've thought car horns should have a second button that provides just a little courtesy beep for situations like that. 
sleepyhead the buffalo said:Suprf1y said:I was thinking about this again today as I got stuck behind another ignorant driver waiting at a red with his right signal on and zero traffic coming the other way. He waited it out until it turned green as I expected him to. So I was inclined to do a little research on this yesterday and pleased to find out that in this province you can be ticketed doing what I described, the ticket being for failure to proceed, esentially holding up traffic.
To be honest, I'm a little weirded out by people who choose not to go when they can in any of the above mentioned situations, right or left. Is the purpose of your drive not to actually go somewhere, and does sitting idle when totally unnecessary make any sense? It doesn't to me.
In several European countries, "Right on Red" is against the law, and ticket-able. So, they might have learned to drive over here, and either can't/won't unlearn that (or they're a tourist). I've had some fun conversations with Germans/Europeans about this issue.
In the U.K. at least we were always required to pop it in neutral at a full stop in traffic at a stop sign or yield if we had to stop and pull the handbrake - if not you failed your drivers test.
I remember getting into it slightly with a female pax who was drunk - be quiet back there you ain't drivin' right now. 
In reply to sleepyhead the buffalo :
In which case I'm doing them a favour then, no?
Suprf1y said:I was thinking about this again today as I got stuck behind another ignorant driver waiting at a red with his right signal on and zero traffic coming the other way. He waited it out until it turned green as I expected him to. So I was inclined to do a little research on this yesterday and pleased to find out that in this province you can be ticketed doing what I described, the ticket being for failure to proceed, esentially holding up traffic.
To be honest, I'm a little weirded out by people who choose not to go when they can in any of the above mentioned situations, right or left. Is the purpose of your drive not to actually go somewhere, and does sitting idle when totally unnecessary make any sense? It doesn't to me.
I think a lot of these drivers that you so kindly refer to as "ignorant" are overly cautious, elderly, or visually impaired drivers. If they are to proceed and make a right turn against a red light, then they must have confidence in their ability to determine whether or not it is safe to do so. If they wait for a green signal, then they may be fairly sure that it is safe to proceed.
While a young driver in a quick car might see a car-sized hole in traffic moving at 35 mph a clear invitation to romp a right turn on red and proceed, an elderly person could conclude that even a much larger gap is still insufficient for them to make a right on red.
The point is, the roads are for all drivers who possess a driver's license, and their inclinations and abilities might not be the same as yours.
Oh, and kindly get off of my lawn. Please.
Maybe if every single driver went no more than five over there would be a learned consistency about turning right on red into moderate to heavy traffic.
Many times you can see a huge gap a little ways down the road only for some/many twat(s) doing 20/30 over to fill it right up.
Same with merging allthough those 20/30 over berkeley heads can suck it lately I'm gonna merge behind that guy doing five over and you can sit behind both of us rather than just him only. 
Suprf1y said:In reply to sleepyhead the buffalo :
In which case I'm doing them a favour then, no?
Maybe?
Suprf1y said:
I'm a little weirded out by people who choose not to go when they can in any of the above mentioned situations, right or left. Is the purpose of your drive not to actually go somewhere, and does sitting idle when totally unnecessary make any sense? It doesn't to me
Maybe not?
Sitting there at an intersection and waiting for the signal can make sense. I’ve given one example, 1988RedT2 has given another. I’ve also watched a Z3 completely mis-judge a left-turn gap, and get T-boned by on-coming traffic at 60-ish mph. So, it makes sense to me.
So, go ahead and give them a honk, but if they don’t move... don’t get bent out of shape about it. Maybe they’ll get a ticket, or a nice talking to by a cop. They have a different set of reasons and backgrounds for their risk assessments. None of that has weight on you, and the only thing you have control over is your car, and reactions to the situations at hand.
Is it more dangerous, and a bigger fine to go around them? Can you go down and take a different route?
Has the buffalo been eating too much clover again, and getting all zen-weird?
Clover or not, in either event, you're (both) making assumptions. It should be noted that I will typically only honk if I believe the malfeasance to be particularly egregious, as in the first case I thought I described.
Right only turn lane
Zero traffic coming from the left
Dedicated lane after the turn that merged after 250m
Lifted truck making gobs of power, as was displayed in retaliation for my generous reminder
For some reason searching about getting a one-way put on the street out front to save my side-view mirrors the search spat out an article about left turn on red. Va and Md legal after a full stop. DC illegal $150 red-light violation. 
mad_machine said:Having gotten into an accident where somebody backed into me while I was almost finished backing up. I think there should be a horn on the back of the car that only works when the car is in reverse.
So...like everyone piece of heavy equipment for the last 30 plus years? I agree.
In reply to Robbie :
We used to own an awesome class A motorhome. It had a "City" horn, which you could tap and jauntily wave to someone or draw the attention of people to a situation. The other option was the "Country" horn, which when deployed could be felt by ships at sea. It usually slowed us at least 10 mph just from using it..
Appleseed said:mad_machine said:Having gotten into an accident where somebody backed into me while I was almost finished backing up. I think there should be a horn on the back of the car that only works when the car is in reverse.
So...like everyone piece of heavy equipment for the last 30 plus years? I agree.
I wasn't thinking of a beeper.. more along the lines of two regular horns. One in front and one in the rear. The rear one only working when the car was in reverse. So if you hit the horn while backing up, the horn in the rear would work
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