[graaja]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Even if you are a non-honker by nature, in India, you will have to honk anyway. No go.

+1. I usually like to avoid honking. However, there are situations when I have to resort to honking.

1. A two wheeler that looks like it is going to drift into your lane. I give a short honk to let them know of my presence. This works most of the times.
2. A moron passing from the left and turning right (or vice versa). A long honk to vent my frustration. But most of the times this falls on deaf ears. I also risk being labelled rude by other benign motorists.
3. A vehicle suddenly changing into your lane (especially a bus or a lorry), length of honk directly proportional to the size of vehicle and inversely proportional to the the distance.
4. A vehicle in front suddenly decides to stop with no warning whatsoever. Long honk, hit the brake hard and pray God you are able to stop on time!

[Guite]

Originally Posted by graaja

1. A two wheeler that looks like it is going to drift into your lane. I give a short honk to let them know of my presence. This works most of the times.

This is an absolute necessity. Applies to cars also. What ever occasion you choose to make a resolution not to honk, this always has to be an exception.

[luvDriving]

Do not like unnecessary honking at all. However the horn is a very essential tool in today's traffic.

1. To warn pedestrians walking on the road (inspite of there being an unobstructed footpath available).
2. A short tweet at blind corners, even those that I am familiar with.
3. While overtaking trucks/buses or other large vehicles.
4. To warn any vehicle coming too close for comfort.
5. A long blast to people speaking on the mobile while driving their vehicle bang in the middle of the road and that too at very slow speeds.

I restrict my honks to one or at the most two short tweets. OTOH I do not honk at :

1. People (specially elderly folk) crossing the street. I have seen impatient nitwits doing this too.
2. Again elderly folk driving two wheeler when I am closer since I have seen these guys panicking or getting startled due to the sudden honking.
3. Buses halting at bus stops and me having to stop behind the bus. Again I have seen people honking at buses halting at a stop.
4. Inside housing societies or residential premises. It is generally not required though I have seen moron parents letting their children (<2 years old) run amok even when they see a car coming towards them.

In general I avoid honking or keep it to a minimum. This applies equally whether I am driving a car or a bike.

[Dieseldunk]

Why do you honk. good one there

I honk only on the below occasions
Pedestrian jaywalking on the main road (seems to be indulging in a catwalk or dog walk rather)
the moron ahead of me is on cell phone/does not give side inspite of road ahead being clear and he is travelling at speeds less than 10kmph.
I just honk sometimes to check if the horn is working alright as do not want to be a Mute Spectator especially during rains as sometimes the water splashes can cause horns to malfunction (personal experience).

OT story
Alternatively this reminds me of the below anecdote the analogy is loosely similar to why we should or should not honk since it is based on response to incident.
two friends were travelling through a jungle stretch and suddenly a tiger appears and
Friend 1
tells the other chap Keep still and look into the eyes of the tiger and it will go away
Friend 2
how do you know
Friend 1
have read in a book
Friend 2
but has the tiger read the book.

[dass]

I hate to Honk or be Honked at, but there are certain times when I am forced to Honk.

1. When the pedestrian walking with the traffic towards his back, on the road and with music plugged in.
2. When people are busy on their mobile phones while driving/riding and are on the fast lane going slower than the speed required on the slow lane.
3. While negotiating a blind turn, in the hope that if someone is around the other side, they would honk too.

[sswaroop]

I usually reserve honking to the following
1. Two wheelers who are driving parallel to one another and talking among each other or just not moving ahead when there is a lot of room ahead.
2. At signals if I'm close enough to the front row, when the lights turn green to wake people up who are up in the front row and make them move soon enough. A lot of people start their engines after the lights turn green and they take at least 5-7 seconds of a 35 second green light to just move from the front row.
3. Usually honk at intersections especially at night and late night at signal free intersections just to make sure no one is coming in at high speeds.
4. Pedestrians and other vehicles occupying lanes by traveling slowly either being distracted on phones or just being plain slow.

I usually allow pedestrians stuck in the middle of the road to pass through if I'm in traffic. Honking here is more of a necessity because so many people are unaware of lane and speed rules. I drove in the U.S. for 4-5 years and the number of times I honked can be counted on one hand.

[Inquilab28]

I am very conscious of honking. I try and avoid as much as possible and its a definite NO near hospitals and schools. However, the Hyderabad traffic forces me to use it at least once or twice a day (total journey of 40 kms). Use the horn for the following,
1) Most used option, Honk to warn the guy (mostly truck or bus) to not back up a lot at the signal. They always come back a good 2 feet before moving forward.
2) Honk to warn the Auto guys of my presence when they try to take the sudden left or a sudden right turn for no proper reason.

One more thing,
I always make it a point not to honk @ the guys whose first gear or bike failed to start and they themselves are frantically trying to get the engine started for the fear of some one honking on them.