Using Reverse Horn. Good or Bad?

gd1418 · 8th October 2006, 20:47

In the condo where I live, a lot many cars have this reversing horns/chimes that makes a lot of funny noise and some even belt out film songs and some more squak in a strange metallic voice - "this car is reversing"..etc. etc. This gets actually quite irritating when these cars back-up when therir owners return past midnight. You tend to wake up with a start; especially those on the lower floors.

Though I am on the 14th floor, I too get to hear those sounds in the dead of the night quite clealry. People using them should install some switch or device that could shut those speakers at ungodly hours. Such a suggestion was even put on the notice board but to no avail.

Now the condo RWA has directed that the reverse horns be deactivated as it is causing trouble and I am happy to post here that most of them have complied with.

Su-47 · 9th October 2006, 14:18

I wish that this topic had words like "Using Reverse horn: Good, Bad or Ugly?". To use it (esp. at night) shows utter insensitivity and I wonder if it serves any purpose.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nispatel

Also having reverse horn is very much associated with taxi or rural vehicle where reverse horn seems to be preceived as trendy stuff.

I will inform people the rural people in my apt-complex, that they may be mistaken for taxi-drivers if they keep using it.

5u3zEr0 · 9th October 2006, 15:51

DEFINITELY BAD!!!!! I cant stand them and will never use them or suggest them to anyone.

ownerofazkaban · 9th October 2006, 16:03

In the US, I observed the CARs don't beep when you lock or unlock, but beep only when you repeat it (like it's locked and you tried to lock again).

Back in India I heard couple of Car dealers refusing to install these reverse horns, saying that it is not an authorised product. I think same goes with autocop beep for lock/unlock. If we try to convinse ppl etc it's not really a efficient appraoch to solution, best would be to take it up with Manufacturing or lay down strict rules...

A) Central/remote locking should not beep under normal operation, but can sould a beep to convey "wrong operation" to users
B) All reverse horns must come with user controlled off switch. (like the head lamp level adjuster),

I think the ARAI can drive these things to manufacturing on the lines of the headlamp level adjuster which is now a required std.

Anything like these, driving them at bottom level with public may not be effective way. Few things work well bottom-up and few top-down.

svel · 9th October 2006, 23:22

I feel reverse alarm should be banned. In India it is more abused rather than used properly. There is always normal horn is there if someone is not noticing the car reversal. Most of the time it is useless (means no one will be there behind the car).

elf · 10th October 2006, 01:04

Simple solution:

1. Go out & buy a horn - a regular one (like the one connected to your horn button), as soft as possible.

2. Have that horn installed under your rear bumper or wherever one normally installs a 'reversing horn'.

3. Hook it up to your reverse switch or your tail lamps, so power is only supplied when your reverse gear is engaged.

4. Reverse normally.
If you have somebody behind you that doesn't see you reversing, a simple toot should take care of the problem (remember, the rear horn is now active if installed correctly).
If it doesn't, give a longer blast.
If it still doesn't work, put your car in neutral, pull the handbrake, get out & thrash the living crap outta the deaf moron behind. Feel free to abuse at will.

Should work. QED.

abhibh · 10th October 2006, 01:45

would love to do this and playing GTA experience will come in handy doing this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by elf

If you have somebody behind you that doesn't see you reversing, a simple toot should take care of the problem (remember, the rear horn is now active if installed correctly).
If it doesn't, give a longer blast.
If it still doesn't work, put your car in neutral, pull the handbrake, get out & thrash the living crap outta the deaf moron behind. Feel free to abuse at will.

But frankly if talking about the reverse horns i think the security system reverse horns are good advantage and can be turned off at night if you want by just pressing 2 keys. Where as those after market reverse horn fitments spcially the ones with bollywood tunes etc are crap and very irritating.

nevertouchme · 10th October 2006, 02:09

Hey people,
I stay in the first floor and on the basement, one of the tenent's park a Sail with a loud reverse horn in it. every day morning 5 AM he leaves for work, and wakes up the whole building.

I told him to remove the Horn 2 or 3 times, he never bothered to do so. 1 week down the line, he was washing the car on a sunday morning and me just got to the basement. as soon as he saw me, he said, some one flicked his horn. I gave him a smile and walked away ( u know who was de culprit, i did not flick de damn thing, well it went to the thrash can )...

prabuddhadg · 10th October 2006, 10:02

The problem with reverse horns is that they are automatic and they hoot their heads off even if you reverse in the middle of the night with not a soul around.
Granted that the regular horn is a lot less audible from the back of the car than the front, so if one just has to have a reverse horn, why not have a press-button on the dashboard that you can press to operate the reverse horn as and when you need it.

supremeBaleno · 10th October 2006, 11:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by nevertouchme

I told him to remove the Horn 2 or 3 times, he never bothered to do so. 1 week down the line, he was washing the car on a sunday morning and me just got to the basement. as soon as he saw me, he said, some one flicked his horn. I gave him a smile and walked away ( u know who was de culprit, i did not flick de damn thing, well it went to the thrash can )...

Well, you gave life to a new quote, "Haathon (as in, using hands to flick) ke bhoot, baaton se nahin maante".

Now that we are on this noise pollution topic, has anyone had problems with the remote locking feature noise ? We have a guy in our apartment, who it seems likes to hear the beeps made by the car's remote lock. He works in IT and comes in late at night (midnight or later), switches off the car, gets out, locks it (beeps), unlocks it (beeps again), locks again (another set of beeps). Sometimes, the sequence is repeated another time or so. By this time, he has woken up most of the guys in the complex. What do you think is his problem ? I have never had remote locking in my cars, so is it that I am missing some genuine issue that he might be having with the system ? Or is he just plain insensitive to others ?

suman · 10th October 2006, 11:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

What do you think is his problem ? I have never had remote locking in my cars, so is it that I am missing some genuine issue that he might be having with the system ? Or is he just plain insensitive to others ?

Maybe he's just plain paranoid....probably read a lot about cars getting stolen irrespective of remote locking so he just repeats the sequence to make sure he's got it right

!

Maybe you guys should stay up one night when he comes in and clap together....that might make him suitably ashamed of the whole thing and he'll stop making a racket thereafter!

elf · 10th October 2006, 11:10

err prabuddhag: Please view post #68 of this thread... Great minds...?

directinjection · 10th October 2006, 15:25

Some years back, the Tata Sumo (and even some Tata trucks) used to have factory-fitted reverse horn that had a soothing, continuous sound (not the intermittent type). The horn served its purpose well, without really disturbing anyone.

Don't know why they've stopped fitting it now.

Yes, most of the these devices are majorly irritating. There should be a law regarding how much decible level sound such devices can be permitted to produce.

mithun · 11th October 2006, 07:30

The pros & cons of Reverse Horn are already laid out by everyone, so I don't have anything more to add up. BUT I feel that the Reverse Horn is really needed in the crowded areas.

And if the folks here are so much concerned about the nose pollution emitted by the Reverse Horn then why they are not venting their angers against horn-type speakers of religious centers/political parties etc ? And what about the millions of fire-crackers usedduring festivals ?

supremeBaleno · 11th October 2006, 10:38

Primarily because we are an auto forum and not an organisation working against environmental pollution. And also because this thread has in its scope only noise pollution caused by reverse horns.

P.S.: Ofcourse, I am sure most of us who voted against pollution caused by reverse horns would also be abhoring the pollution caused by speakers / crackers etc. Start a thread and you will find us venting our anger there too.

8th October 2006, 20:47	#61
gd1418 Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 3,577 Thanked: 729 Times View My Garage	Reversing Horn In the condo where I live, a lot many cars have this reversing horns/chimes that makes a lot of funny noise and some even belt out film songs and some more squak in a strange metallic voice - "this car is reversing"..etc. etc. This gets actually quite irritating when these cars back-up when therir owners return past midnight. You tend to wake up with a start; especially those on the lower floors. Though I am on the 14th floor, I too get to hear those sounds in the dead of the night quite clealry. People using them should install some switch or device that could shut those speakers at ungodly hours. Such a suggestion was even put on the notice board but to no avail. Now the condo RWA has directed that the reverse horns be deactivated as it is causing trouble and I am happy to post here that most of them have complied with.
	() Thanks

9th October 2006, 15:51	#63
5u3zEr0 BHPian Join Date: May 2005 Location: Madras Posts: 379 Thanked: 3 Times	DEFINITELY BAD!!!!! I cant stand them and will never use them or suggest them to anyone.
	() Thanks

9th October 2006, 16:03	#64
ownerofazkaban BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: BLR Posts: 458 Thanked: 82 Times View My Garage	Take it up with Manufacturing... In the US, I observed the CARs don't beep when you lock or unlock, but beep only when you repeat it (like it's locked and you tried to lock again). Back in India I heard couple of Car dealers refusing to install these reverse horns, saying that it is not an authorised product. I think same goes with autocop beep for lock/unlock. If we try to convinse ppl etc it's not really a efficient appraoch to solution, best would be to take it up with Manufacturing or lay down strict rules... A) Central/remote locking should not beep under normal operation, but can sould a beep to convey "wrong operation" to users B) All reverse horns must come with user controlled off switch. (like the head lamp level adjuster), I think the ARAI can drive these things to manufacturing on the lines of the headlamp level adjuster which is now a required std. Anything like these, driving them at bottom level with public may not be effective way. Few things work well bottom-up and few top-down.
	() Thanks

9th October 2006, 23:22	#65
svel BHPian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 45 Thanked: 0 Times	I feel reverse alarm should be banned. In India it is more abused rather than used properly. There is always normal horn is there if someone is not noticing the car reversal. Most of the time it is useless (means no one will be there behind the car).
	() Thanks

10th October 2006, 01:04	#66
elf BANNED Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,035 Thanked: 16 Times View My Garage	The "Now, why didn't I think of that" Post. Simple solution: 1. Go out & buy a horn - a regular one (like the one connected to your horn button), as soft as possible. 2. Have that horn installed under your rear bumper or wherever one normally installs a 'reversing horn'. 3. Hook it up to your reverse switch or your tail lamps, so power is only supplied when your reverse gear is engaged. 4. Reverse normally. If you have somebody behind you that doesn't see you reversing, a simple toot should take care of the problem (remember, the rear horn is now active if installed correctly). If it doesn't, give a longer blast. If it still doesn't work, put your car in neutral, pull the handbrake, get out & thrash the living crap outta the deaf moron behind. Feel free to abuse at will. Should work. QED. Last edited by elf : 10th October 2006 at 01:05.
	() Thanks

10th October 2006, 02:09	#68
nevertouchme BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 302 Thanked: 62 Times	Ban it ! Hey people, I stay in the first floor and on the basement, one of the tenent's park a Sail with a loud reverse horn in it. every day morning 5 AM he leaves for work, and wakes up the whole building. I told him to remove the Horn 2 or 3 times, he never bothered to do so. 1 week down the line, he was washing the car on a sunday morning and me just got to the basement. as soon as he saw me, he said, some one flicked his horn. I gave him a smile and walked away ( u know who was de culprit, i did not flick de damn thing, well it went to the thrash can )...
	() Thanks

10th October 2006, 10:02	#69
prabuddhadg BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 811 Thanked: 82 Times View My Garage	The problem with reverse horns is that they are automatic and they hoot their heads off even if you reverse in the middle of the night with not a soul around. Granted that the regular horn is a lot less audible from the back of the car than the front, so if one just has to have a reverse horn, why not have a press-button on the dashboard that you can press to operate the reverse horn as and when you need it.
	() Thanks

10th October 2006, 11:10	#72
elf BANNED Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,035 Thanked: 16 Times View My Garage	err prabuddhag: Please view post #68 of this thread... Great minds...?
	() Thanks

10th October 2006, 15:25	#73
directinjection Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Faridabad/Delhi Posts: 1,717 Thanked: 830 Times	Some years back, the Tata Sumo (and even some Tata trucks) used to have factory-fitted reverse horn that had a soothing, continuous sound (not the intermittent type). The horn served its purpose well, without really disturbing anyone. Don't know why they've stopped fitting it now. Yes, most of the these devices are majorly irritating. There should be a law regarding how much decible level sound such devices can be permitted to produce.
	() Thanks

11th October 2006, 07:30	#74
mithun BANNED Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Cochin Posts: 2,195 Thanked: 268 Times	The pros & cons of Reverse Horn are already laid out by everyone, so I don't have anything more to add up. BUT I feel that the *Reverse Horn is really* needed in the crowded areas. And if the folks here are so much concerned about the nose pollution emitted by the Reverse Horn then why they are not venting their angers against horn-type speakers of religious centers/political parties etc ? And what about the millions of fire-crackers** usedduring festivals ?
	() Thanks

11th October 2006, 10:38	#75
supremeBaleno Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chennai / Kochi Posts: 5,677 Thanked: 2,909 Times View My Garage	Primarily because we are an auto forum and not an organisation working against environmental pollution. And also because this thread has in its scope only noise pollution caused by reverse horns. P.S.: Ofcourse, I am sure most of us who voted against pollution caused by reverse horns would also be abhoring the pollution caused by speakers / crackers etc. Start a thread and you will find us venting our anger there too.
	() Thanks