[Chillout]

Like others have quoted, it's absolutely possible to drive without honking in India,I drove down from Chennai to Kanyakumari a distance of over 700kms and used the horn only on 3 occasions that too due to stray cattle. It's a change in mindset that is required and nothing else.

[whitewing]

Originally Posted by prakash_ajp

I do it every single day.

Originally Posted by Chillout

Like others have quoted, it's absolutely possible to drive without honking in India

Totally agree! I hardly ever need to touch the horn, and in the few times I do it is usually to vent my frustration at a moron trying to perform vehicular calisthenics.

The ability to keep both hands on the wheel has largely got to do with one's driving style and temperament.
I can't recollect a circumstance, where having a horn bailed me or made any situation better.


That said, a horn should be 'audible'. i.e. a horn to be a horn should be able to alert riders, including two wheelers with helmets on and 4 wheelers with windows closed, with music running.


The said rule makes sense, if the ambient road noise is well below the honking dB. Other wise it is a shortsighted, ill thought out rule that ought not be implemented.

[ach1lles]

Originally Posted by meetgds

Sometime back, I actually tried driving a 25 km Delhi - Gurgaon stretch without honking even once. While it is possible for a few kms, on Indian roads there will always be drivers/pedestrians that will make you blow the horn, or else an accident is certain. In an ideal scenario, no horns can suffice, but we are far from ideal unfortunately.

I actually do it every single time I do that stretch, or any stretch. Horns are just for emergencies, and if you're patient and competent enough, you can get by without needing to press horns even here, in India.

This started quite a few years back, when I was one of those press-horn-at-thedrop-of-a-hat kinda guys. Then one day, something magical happened. The horn in my car broke down. It just won't sound. As horn loving as I was, I was lazier, and so I didn't get it fixed for a couple of weeks. While I don't recommend anyone to drive without a working horn, that's all it took. 2 weeks. I realised I didn't really need the horn, and if I just allowed that bit of perspective to stay with me, I'd be horn free.

Now, it is extremely rare, and unless I see a legitimate emergency happening if I don't press that hooter, I don't use it.

Your mileage may vary, and I and my brother are fanatical about this, because we absolutely abhor horns. Anytime our driver is driving us, he has strict instructions to not press the horn. And you know what, after protesting the first few times, they get by too, without using the horn. Even once. Every single one of them.

I request Uber drivers right when I get in to not use the horn, and their standard reply, every single time is: "sir abhi kya karega, idhar to aise hi karna padta hai". But then they realise that I'm sitting there in the front seat, watching them, using the horn when it wasn't needed, getting annoyed, and slowly they start to taper off. After the third (gentle) reminder, they get by too, without using the horn during the rest of the ride.

The point is, we think that it's not possible, but it really is.

[meetgds]

Originally Posted by ach1lles

The point is, we think that it's not possible, but it really is.

We're going off topic but I'll share my opinion. It may be possible to drive without a horn with that extra dose of effort, but in my opinion, it demands way too much patience and adds unnecessary risk. In Delhi NCR (and most of India I believe) people often walk in the middle of the roads, so do dogs/cows. I can drive at the speed of 10 kmph to avoid honking but is that advisable?

[deadguy25]

Most of the car horns are of lower decibels.Would anyone have an idea?

During the earlier days of Maruti 800, Zen, Esteem; most of us would fix-in additional horns because the OEMs would be very low.

[TaurusAl]

I have the Habit of counting the number of times I honked each day. Mostly its less than 3 times in my 20 km stretch in Mumbai. But I wont hide the fact that I have installed Bosch Symphony on my XUV for emergency situations as I drive interstate many times and just to caution bikers and pedestrians on National Highways.

The problem is we Indians honk 10 times without any need in 10 minutes without realizing we haven't saved even a minute by doing that. Bikers are a big menace in this. Because of their high maneuverability and speed, they feel everyone is in their way hence the habit of honking incessantly I guess.

[AutoNoob]

Originally Posted by meetgds

Sometime back, I actually tried driving a 25 km Delhi - Gurgaon stretch without honking even once. While it is possible for a few kms, on Indian roads there will always be drivers/pedestrians that will make you blow the horn, or else an accident is certain. In an ideal scenario, no horns can suffice, but we are far from ideal unfortunately.

In Feb 2010, I drove from Pimpri, Pune to Sahar International Airport, Mumbai (and back) in a test vehicle without working horn.

During whole journey, only once I felt need of honking as a lady jumped in front from the median.

Defensive driving and some patience are great substitutes of need for honking. I prefer not to honk unless absolutely necessary. But there were times, when I almost decided to install two pressure horns on my vehicle (facing backwards with warning on rear glass).

[prakash_ajp]

Originally Posted by meetgds

We're going off topic but I'll share my opinion. It may be possible to drive without a horn with that extra dose of effort, but in my opinion, it demands way too much patience and adds unnecessary risk. In Delhi NCR (and most of India I believe) people often walk in the middle of the roads, so do dogs/cows. I can drive at the speed of 10 kmph to avoid honking but is that advisable?

Yes, no question it puts a lot of stress on one if you have to do it that way. And no point if you keep cursing (but without honking), which I do sometimes. But the trouble is, sooner or later, people will stop responding to the horn if everyone is honking for all kind of reasons. We don't want to go there, do we?

[gkveda]

Originally Posted by prakash_ajp

Yes, no question it puts a lot of stress on one if you have to do it that way. And no point if you keep cursing (but without honking), which I do sometimes. But the trouble is, sooner or later, people will stop responding to the horn if everyone is honking for all kind of reasons. We don't want to go there, do we?

I think the other way. People have already cultivated the habit of giving way only when they listen to horn. So, without honking, it is almost impossible to drive normally. If you do not honk, someone else behind you will honk at you

[nikhilck]

I can't wait for this. Govt, please introduce this ASAP. I am a part time youtuber (but I don't earn money out of it yet) and it's so hard to record in a quiet environment because all of the background honk noises.

I resort to wearing headphones when walking in the streets. It's passive noise cancellation. I feel that most drivers honk in lieu of slowing down because that involves changing gears, applying clutch etc... Most people are lazy. I almost never use honks.

[whitewing]

Originally Posted by gkveda

I think the other way. People have already cultivated the habit of giving way only when they listen to horn. So, without honking, it is almost impossible to drive normally. If you do not honk, someone else behind you will honk at you

True that most people use the horn indiscriminately. However, it is a myth that honk-less (or less-Honking) driving is not possible.

I hardly ever use the horn and have driven extensively in many major cities in India.