[mayankjha1806]

I don't think there are any honk db levels that manufacturers stick by, also after market fitment of horns are worse. They actually are not horns and create quiet a racket when blown (actually scaring folks away).

Although i try to honk at the minimum but sometimes there is general need to honk as well, as folks never give way and sometimes don't see oncoming traffic before crossing the road, especially on highways.

[cingsman]

Honking for safety has never been discouraged on this thread! By all means, honk the horn's life out if that means saving a life. But to honk at a corner pedestrian, a slow moving vehicle because it cannot go faster in the first place, honking generally because you don't know what else to do, honking at a signal hoping for it to change, honking at the car that just got stalled before you because the driver was pressured by your honking in the first place are some of the situations wherein sanity can prevail and the noise pollution reduced!

[harishpr]

I end up honking almost at every intersection more as a 'Proactive' way of alerting the traffic from perpendicular roads. Not every intersection in India is manned or have speed breakers.
I live in JPNagar 8th phase and there are more than 50 intersections that i have to pass from MGRoad to JPNagar. Intersections can be small or large.
I don't honk at the Signal as many opt to do, but I 'do' honk while approaching an intersection or blind curve.. and i may not get an option to clarify this to every pedestrian on the road who happens to be at the intersection.
Also, i honk at all those fellows who put their vehicle in Neutral to save fuel on even roads and end up causing huge traffic pile-up.
I end up honking at those private buses who damn care for the fellow drivers on the road. Many a times i honk just to tell them that "hey, im the little guy right next to you, don't run over me !!!!".

It's tough to drive (survive) in Bangalore traffic without honking. People may curze me but i don't think i have a choice.

[drmohitg]

Since my suggestion to reduce honking by connecting with your FE has found a lot of enthusiasm from other members I think we should take it one step further. Along with honking even High beam should be connected with your fuel usage somehow. "Ek teer se do shikaar"!

[MARCUS_520i]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Since my suggestion to reduce honking by connecting with your FE has found a lot of enthusiasm from other members I think we should take it one step further. Along with honking even High beam should be connected with your fuel usage somehow. "Ek teer se do shikaar"!

Disagree!

1. I've spent my hard earned money in buying my car and maintaining it.
2. I've been spending and will keep spending my hard earned money on the ever increasing fuel costs without which my car would be futile!
3. The manufacturer of my automobile provided the horn with the car when I bought it. Meaning, it had a purpose!
4. Unfortunately, the people in my country, which includes pedestrians, hawkers, scooterists, three wheeler riders, car owners, bus drivers, truck drivers, crane operators, eighteen wheeler drivers, etc. lack basic road manners. That is not my problem! I'm sure there are many like me who fall prey to road rage everyday, but can't do anything about it.
5. To prevent anything bad happening to me, my car or my time, I have to honk, honk away to glory till I'm out of shark territory! Here's a link to something I'd posted in the 'Accidents in India' thread a couple of weeks back:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post2482674

Any suggestions to deal with the above situation are welcome!

One last question though: What's the significance of a train's horn?

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by MARCUS_520i

4. Unfortunately, the people in my country, which includes pedestrians, hawkers, scooterists, three wheeler riders, car owners, bus drivers, truck drivers, crane operators, eighteen wheeler drivers, etc. lack basic road manners. That is not my problem! I'm sure there are many like me who fall prey to road rage everyday, but can't do anything about it.
5. To prevent anything bad happening to me, my car or my time, I have to honk, honk away to glory till I'm out of shark territory! Here's a link to something I'd posted in the 'Accidents in India' thread a couple of weeks back:

Honk when its necessary! Thats the motto of this thread. With our new found passion with the horn we have started to really liberalise our views regarding when to honk and when not to. Its become so bad now that we honk at everything these days. Trust me half the time it can be avoided. I drive in Delhi. Whenever a car or bike is cutting across I honk. But do you think it serves its purpose 100% of the time? No. They will still go ahead with these lane changing atleast 50% of the time. Honking relentlessly at a car or a bike which has suddenly got stalled again doesn't make it move anytime faster. Infact it just adds to the chaos and makes the other driver nervous and irritated. I can quote innumerable situations in our daily lives when we honk without any real reason. Most of these instances its just to mark our PROTEST! But then it doesn't serve any real purpose.

And yes excessive honking increases your BP and hence your anger and anxiety levels. Thats a proven medical fact. This explains to some extent the ever increasing number of road rage incidents in every city. Driving today is more of a war!

[SDP]

Originally Posted by cingsman

I was walking along the edge of the road - since the footpaths were all taken up by street vendors - and smashing their unsold veggies did not seem too prudent! There was a upcoming left turn that both I and the ANHC wanted to take.

Now this Honda City guy (MH 45 xxxx) decides to think that all pedestrians walk on the middle of the last lane, so decides to honk me in the rear (ahem!). So I turn back and just move my lips in the most appropriate manner so he can 'read my muted lips'! PLUS, to add to the whole misery of the situation, his left was blocked by incoming Santro and a Indica!

Dear cingsman, this is what I was afraid of when I asked the question in my first post on this thread.
In my opinion, it does not matter if you are in the middle of the road or the edge of the road. As long as you are on the road, you are in the car's territory and to a large extent a car driver is justified to honk in order to ensure that you don't suddenly change direction or decide to cross the road.
The loudness of the horn, its duration and the driver's intentions are debatable, but not necessarily the act itself.

Just because the vegetable and fruit vendors encroached on your right to use the footpath, does not mean that you should encroach the right of the drivers to use the road. If one has a problem with the street-vendors, he/she should take it with the right authority. Doing one wrong in response to another wrong is not the correct way to solve problems.

PS: Nothing personal buddy. I am pretty sure a significant majority of tbhpians (including me) are related to industries which give you extended period of global exposure and the inevitable comparison of cultures and practices is a given. I have struggled myself to come to terms with the 'Indian' reality after returning.

As you are aware, US recommends 'defensive' driving in which you are constantly alert and watching out for risky situations and taking corrective actions before they happen. Although, I have a strong dislike for people with loud horns and people who honk unnecessarily, you will find me honking much more frequently than overseas to keep other vehicles, animals and humans out of the car's way. I call it the 'aggressive' defensive style of driving

[honeybee]

Dr. Mohit, I for one don't agree with the idea of linking horns and high beams to the fuel consumption. Also I think including the high beams in this discussion would be off topic.

Defensive driving is what we need to learn, so that we can completely 'unlearn' the bad habits of honking that we have acquired. I am seriously thinking of doing this, as I haven't replaced the blown horn fuse even yet, and drove to office today morning. I find that while there still are irritants, I am actually being forced to be patient, apart from reducing some noise around me.

[PVS]

Originally Posted by MARCUS_520i

One last question though: What's the significance of a train's horn?

Interesting thread, and about the significance of a train's horn. Here are some of the reasons why locomotives honk:

• When they are about to leave a station.
• When they approach a level crossing so as to warn the road users.
• When an alarm chain is pulled in a passenger train - they follow a pattern of sounding the horn here - two short and one lound horn.
• When they are passing through a crowded station platform.

[SDP]

Today morning I actually noted down how many times I use the horn.

Mulund to Powai

Distance -> ~12 kms
Time taken -> approx 1hr 10 mins
Mulund via Eastern Express to JVLR junction -> 7-8kms -> 7-8 minutes
JVLR junction till Gandhi Nagar flyover start -> 1-1.5Km -> 50 mins
Gandhi Nagar flyover till Powai -> 3-4 kms -> 10-12 minutes

Honk log->

1. Honked once on the eastern express highway as an Ikon in the 2nd lane was too close to the lane-marking and I was not sure whether the driver has seen me in the rightmost lane. Was doing around 80km/hr, a short beep and overtook caustiously.

2. Honked for the second time on the easter express highway while waiting for my turn to take right onto JVLR. Although 2 official lanes (3 unoffically) turn right from under the flyover, a Swift in the second lane was trying to squeeze into the rightmost lane right in front of me. I do not understand these people, who change lanes in stand-still/crawling traffic. Again a short beep and closed the 3 feet gap between me and the next vehicle.

3 & 4. In the next 1.5 kms spanned over 45-50 mins, honked twice. It is bumper-to-bumper traffic in the true sense. You move a few inches each time. First time, it was a WagonR in front of me which left 20 feet gap and let another vehicle in front. A longish beep to communicate my displeasure to the WagonR guy. The second instance of me honking on this stretch was purely subconscious. No obvious reason or provocation.

5. Taking left into Powai, I am in the leftmost lane, the signal is green and the road in front is empty. Except for the auto in front me who has slowed down to less than 5 km/hr without any signal. I slow down wondering what's the matter and then he stops completely (again without signal) apparently so that his passenger could get off. I gave a long BEEEEEEEP and THEN got a hand-signal from the auto guy to overtake. After a quick glance to the mirror, I pass him, give him a disgusted look and notice the passenger getting off.

So, that's it. 5 beeps in 12 kms.

I guess, since I was conscious of the fact that I am noting my usage, the usage came down a bit. I distinctly remember 1-2 instances today when on any other day I would have honked.

PS: Drove my sis's car from Thane to Andheri (around 35kms) without horn yesterday as the horn was not working.
Also completed a 2 day trip (1025kms) about a month back without a working horn. Not having a horn definitely improves your patience and forces you to drive more defensively.

[MARCUS_520i]

Originally Posted by PVS

Interesting thread, and about the significance of a train's horn. Here are some of the reasons why locomotives honk:

• When they approach a level crossing so as to warn the road users.
• When they are passing through a crowded station platform.

Exactly my motive behind asking that question! No matter how many cars and bikes we own or how big a petrolhead we are, we've all traveled by train at least once in our life(if not that then we have seen what the scene at a typical Indian railway station is like to say the least).
One always sees and hears the "Crossing railway tracks is dangerous" notice being put up on walls and announced on the speakers respectively. Yet we know that there are several orangutans who run for their lives across the tracks running, jumping, hipping and hopping just seconds before the train rushes into the station! Their time is so important that if they do not cross the tracks and take the bridge instead, Steve Jobs would appoint someone else as chairman of Apple!

And then comes the case of railway crossings. The cars and the rickshaws wait (like they have an option! ), but the pedestrians and the cyclists have to rush over and under the barricades even when the red signal, read stop sign is 'on' which in this situation is common to both on wheels and foot. If we Google 'Vikhroli railway crossing deaths' we get a clearer picture of what I'm talking here.

Honking, in our country is inevitable! Be it a bike, car, bus or even a train in this case. Forget road manners, people here lack common sense! As long as their minds do not abide to the rules our palms will continue pressing that big button on the steering wheel!

[bullboy]

The first mod i did to my car when bought .
No its not alloys or seat covers.Its Roots megasonic with relays and a change over switch.
Even that is inadequate .Fewer Taxi, Cabs give way with constant Honking.No private bus will give way even though it is crawling.
Couple of times i was able to scare twowheleer guys ,I felt sorry for them ,but because they were dangerously close to my car.Scaring is better that a hit.
The best part that i like in my bike is that bajaj gave it a twin horn.

[libranof1987]

Horns-irrelevant-India.. I don't quite think these 3 words would ever be synchronous for decades to come.

You have to honk for the stray cyclist who think he's on a stroll in a park; for the cab that is swerving at it's will; for the bus that doesn't believe in lanes; for the stray animals that are fighting for their right to use the roads.. the list is endless.

The closest 2 replacements for honking :

1) discipline - not something we Indians are good at
2) flashing - nobody gives a damn. All cabs and bus drivers flash when they see their friend coming in the opposite lane; a lot of idiots drive with headlights on; flashing is hardly respected otherwise; most don't even acknowledge it/think it carries a meaning.

Moral of the story - you need to honk!

[honeybee]

Trains have the right of way on the tracks. Cars/any other vehicles don't have the right of way on roads except on specially marked stretches (such as the Expressway where two and three wheelers, tractors, bullock carts etc are not allowed). So just because someone is in your way does not necessarily mean he should yield.

I have had the fortune of travelling by all practical means in and around Mumbai, including BEST buses, autos, taxis and private vehicles (driven as well as chauffered). I don't think people enjoy stopping in the middle of the road just to inconvenience others. Yes, I do agree they need to signal their intentions and minimize hindrance to other road users, but a majority of times this is not an intentional act.

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by honeybee

I don't think people enjoy stopping in the middle of the road just to inconvenience others. Yes, I do agree they need to signal their intentions and minimize hindrance to other road users, but a majority of times this is not an intentional act.

+1. Most of the times when we are stalled, the first thought that comes to mind would be to start the vehicle and move ahead. Not about the honks or the irate vehicles around. Hence we have to excuse people who are stalled and not honk the hell out of them if they forget to signal the vehicles behind to move on.

Honking ONLY when necessary is absolutely required on Indian roads. There are just too many unknowns in the form of blind intersections, T-Junctions, Cows, Dogs, pedestrians oblivious to traffic and hooked to their mobiles/ipods and what not, etc. As quoted by earlier members, its a crime not to honk at intersections and turns since the car owner will be blamed even if the biker/cyclist/pedestrian is in the wrong.

Got to try and observe how many time i honk in my journey of 12kms back home today from office.