[riturajsharma19]

While unnecessary honking is surely irksome, the importance of horns cannot be ruled out. I drive on roads where rickshaw pullers try to compete with cars, not to mention bicycles and bikes. These rickshaw pullers think they can cross the road whenever they want and the oncoming car would easily be able to stop in a jiffy. As someone else mentioned earlier, the horn comes in when it is necessary to alert that idiot (pedestrian, rickshaw, cycle walla) who is about to jump into the road without giving a damn.

[zenx]

Don't agree. I have consciously decided to not use the horn at all and might have used it maybe 2-3 times in the last few months. I have learned how to use the ABC better, have better control over the vehicles I drive/ride, am not slower through traffic that before, and am far lesser stressed. Works very different in practice than in theory/imagination - try it out.

[chandrda]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Talking of honking, I think we could introduce a new sticker in the TBHP sticker-set which says something on the lines of "Honking reduces your car's mileage & battery life" and have it plastered on the rear of our cars. Given that we are an FE-obsessed nation, this could have an impact.

Originally Posted by zenx

Hehe - good idea. The word just needs to get around, and we'll be seeing quieter (and by virtue of that, slightly less chaotic) roads pretty soon!

My horns are not working from 3 weeks after I had to honk hard at a water tanker for more than 30 seconds as he was taking a U turn from extreme left all off a sudden.

And, know what, its not that difficult to drive without a horn in Bangalore City. Also I drive in one of the most crowded roads on Bangalore City for 70 KMS everyday.

If there was a meter to measure how much honking has been done for every KM of driving, most of the drivers would be on the higher scale.
I will not be surprised at all even if so called moderate user are also found using excessive horn on this measure.

I think its become a culture or we have grown up with it now and its in our gene to honk/shout at everything. Its thought to us that we have to make our own way in life and over come any obstacle. It reflects in driving also.

One experiment which I would life all TBHPians to do is to disconnect their horns for a month and drive, then share their view.

There is a reason why pedestrian do 'what they do on road'

1. Take 1 step forward and 2 steps back
Don't we floor the accelerator when we see someone trying to cross the road. Now if the pedestrian has to deal with 5-6 vehicles each behaving differently on seeing them trying to cross, there will be some indecision and it has happened to me while crossing

2. Occupying half of the road because all of them have to walk shoulder to shoulder
I never allow my 14 year old niece to walk in front or behind me, I am always on her side. This atleast will deter errant hands of some men/boys on the foot path and walking on opposite directionThis I see the main reason for college girls, garment workers (girls), ladies walking side by side..(or should I say hip by hip)
Really not sure when men walk shoulder to shoulder, must be afraid for the same reason

3. The ones who prefer to walk on the road even when a footpath is freely available
There is lot of reason for this
- Footpaths are never even, half constructed, open drains,
- There is all kind of things on footpath – , garbage, sh*t, pee, dogs, vendors, cycle, bike, Romeos etcs. It becomes difficult to walk on footpath
- I have seen lot of labourers without slippers walk right on the edge of the road one behind the other, because foot path is in such pathetic condition that it will hurt their legs
- Recently saw a pregnant lady walking on edge of the road in Jayanagar and then saw the foot path which was freely available, she was correct in walking on edge of the road. Otherwise she would have delivered
- Also when you are carrying something, its easy to walk on road than an uneven footpath and break your leg

4. The ones who keep talking on the mobile with no awareness of the surroundings
May be they are talking to god to see if they can check in early

5. The ones who cross 3/4th of the road at great speed, then take their own sweet time to cross the remaining 1/4th
Not every one is Usain Bolt, imagine if a elder person has to cross a 6 lane road with a high divider

But then are always those irresponsible and idiotic pedestrian who do all sorts of things on road

I am neither supporting pedestrian or Driving/riding lot, but trying to retrospect why every one behave they way they behave on road "which I am afraid is totally different to there characteristic"

Regards

[vasoo]

I completely agree with the point that using horn frequently is a sign of weakness. It shows lack of confidence in driving skills and inabilty to control the vehicle properly with the given control mechanisms. Using horn is a way of expressing all these weaknesses to others and warning/informing them about his inabilities. They expect that others in the road take their own method to protect themselves from his incompetency.

I have had very heated arguments with some of my neighbors in my apartment complex who regularly use high powered horns inside the apartment complex and in the basement, irrespective of the time of the day. They end up with asking me if "I" will take responsibility if he goes and hit somebody while not using horn. I used to tell them to use the existing controls available in the car and their own senses to avoid any incidents and not by warning others of His arrival. After all it is not a dog let loose, its a car with controls operated by a human being with senses.

I used to challenge taxi drivers who ferry me to/from airport not to use horn for the entire trip and even offered them extra money for the same. But none of them ever made it through.

Btw, I think there are other threads in this forum on the same subject. This one is a good place to discuss, though not specific to pedestrians.

And one more thing I worry about is "not using headlights even when it is dark". I used to tell my wife that these people seems to be scared of getting an "electricity bill" if they switch it on... They dont seem to realize that using lights while driving will in no way harm the longevity of batteries or any other parts in the car.

[apachelongbow]

dear all forum members: kindly explain this please

pedestrian aimlessly walking on the road, with his back to the traffic flow. When I am nearing him, he suddenly 'drifts' into my lane. Panic braking and swerving maneuvers completed, with me coming to a stop, the pedestrian turns behind, looks at me and says... 'sirji aap ke paas horn nahi hai kya? aise hi dara diya'

So how can we drive without using the horn? please explain

[noopster]

@apachelongbow- The example you have cited, when very valid, cannot be treated as a typical case. The original poster has raised the very valid point that needless honking is a menace and that it is especially so in the case of a pedestrian who is exposed to it with far more intensity than the average driver who is after all well insulated in his closed cabin.

Nobody is suggesting we eliminate horns completely- after all, there is a reason they are there and there's no denying they are an important safety feature. But a little kindness and consideration to OTHER users of the road than oneself is what is the crying need. Hope that point is coming through.

[zenx]

Found an interesting link in the context of the tangential discussion that the thread broke out into multiple times: Copenhagenize.com - Bicycle Culture by Design: Jaywalking and the Motor Age

and a nice follow up : http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/transp...-no-jaywalkers

Edit : wanted to add a bit of news and related facts that explain the scenario across the world : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6251431.stm

[jaygeetee]

I used to think that I could do without honking, especially when I used to ride my bike. I have done it personally and not honked at all for upto a week, without any issues but after I started driving it all went downhill and now I honk at the slightest doubt in my mind when I am driving.
Let me list the situations
1) The rickshaw/ car/bike on my left suddenly decides to turn right when half my vehicle is alongside him
2) The car/bike/rickshaw parked on the side of the vehicle suddenly decides to merge into traffic without checking if there are any vehicles coming
3) The bike rider behind me decides to overtake me from the left when I am taking a left turn: I don't understand how they judge it
4) A pedestrian crosses my side of the road looking at traffic from the opposite direction or while checking his BBM on his phone

What do you suggest I do each time? BREATHE DEEPLY!
Trust me I have tried that too but after some time enough is enough.

Just the other day, a guy on an activa ran into me when I was crossing the road. There were 5 other vehicles and he decided that he had the right of way even though I was halfway through the turn and he was about 20 mts away when I started the turn, all because I didn't honk. Best part: He started abusing me for not looking and driving.

I have had each of those situations come up and I have seen the reaction each time, with honking and without. And when I honk everything works just fine so now I honk (once only) when I see the possibility of such a situation.

Like someone mentioned in a post earlier, the problem is that people expect to hear a horn and I would much rather honk that have someone ram into my car or vice-versa and then have him ask "Horn maar nahi sakta tha kya".

Saves a lot of headache, heartache and keeps my temper in check.

I know it's not a solution but frankly after the near-miss(es) that I have had, I don't care.

Sound pollution is better than an accident.

PS: I still don't honk at all when I ride my bike, actually the horn doesn't work

[RadiantKarma]

Originally Posted by jaygeetee

I used to think that I could do without honking, especially when I used to ride my bike. I have done it personally and not honked at all for upto a week, without any issues but after I started driving it all went downhill and now I honk at the slightest doubt in my mind when I am driving.

This means that it's not the situation that demands honking, but your own insecurity / state of mind that demands it! No offence meant. In my case, I had driven for years with barely a few honks. Now comes along my new ride, and I am ridden with anxiety on the road, forcing me to honk frequently (by my standards). Now that I have come to terms with my new car, the honking frequency has sharply going down again.

Just the other day, a guy on an activa ran into me...

There are always situations when you must honk. But believe me if you are willing to be more circumspect on the road and willing to slow down as against competing with the rest of the folks, those occasions would be fewer and fewer.

[suhaas307]

I had spent the last week in Calcutta and I must say, I've never seen so much chaos in one city. Pedestrians have no respect for vehicles on the road. They not only dart across the road without looking, they simply saunter across the road like they own it, and if you're in a vehicle, you dare not express your displeasure, for you might be thrashed by the general public on the road, who themselves look like zombies as they walk across the road.

No offense to anyone, but Calcutta is not the place to be if you enjoy driving. Because you will soon begin to loathe it. The traffic is insane. People driving vehicles have no respect or compassion for people walking on the road. And people walking on the road believe that it's their birth-right to walk on the road in which ever way they please.

In the 7 days that I spent there, I saw as many as 10 accidents, and I was in 3 of them. I'm glad I made it out alive.

I have new found respect for Bangalore now. Where people don't walk on the roads like that. Where people don't drive their vehicles into pedestrians and threaten to send them to orbit at every traffic junction.

Phew.

[mitrajdeep]

^^ You are absolutely right , and I am glad that You got away without any major mishap.

Traffic in Calcutta is absolute chaos and one better be careful. I hate driving here and it gives me high BP and too much tension. The pedestrians will not walk on footpaths and cross the road wherever they want to , and it is the responsibility of the motorist to keep them alive.

The pedestrians know that they can break the car if one comes in contact with them and that is why they behave this way. They have no idea of the damage that they can face if they come in front of a fast moving car. I am sure that the day is not far off when driving a car in Calcutta will be impossible because the pedestrians, cyclists, cycle rickshaws, hand pulled carts just refuse to give way and hog the middle of the road.

[supremeBaleno]

While sound-pollution is indeed a pain in the r(ear) and we should do all that is possible to reduce it, there are atleast 2 things we need to be aware of to put things in context:

1) The horn should not be abused, but there does exist a need for it. If not, you would not find it in cars. Especially in the west where it is almost never used in the car's lifetime, yet comes with the car. The idea is to use it judiciously without inflicting pain on other's ear-drums - a short beep for warning/signalling. So, saying that we should not under any circumstances use the horn or that it is a sign of weakness or indicates bad driving skills, is pointless. I would rather use the horn to warn someone and thereby inflict a bit of pain in his ear than not use it and risk bodily injury to him.

2) Not just the traffic density, but our infrastructure including mainly roads/pavements are no match for those in the west where they dont honk. So, we cannot just straightaway apply the no-honking-at-all rule here. To give an example, in the west, pedestrians walk on the pavement and thus drivers dont need to worry about them. Here our roads mostly dont have pavements. And where they do have, it is encroached by shops & street-vendors, forcing pedestrians to spill onto the streets. As if this itself was not a risk, mobile-phones have added to the risk by making them oblivious to traffic. And with cars getting silent, I do not see any other way but to honk to warn pedestrians.

And for those that mentioned that they abstained from using the horn since it did not work on their car/bike, that is the easiest way to do it because when you dont have a working horn, you slowly get used to not using it. My bike did not have a working horn for years and I never felt the need for it while riding in Chennai. But the car has it working and I use it when needed - could easily switch from one to another without issues.