[watashi75]

Some honking is unavoidable. Sometimes it is not even an option, like blind turns and hills.

How do you guys honk? I have developed different styles for different scenarios -

beepbeep - I am here
beeeeep beeeep - I am overtaking you
beebeebeebeebeep - watch out you!
beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep - you have made me lose it
beeeep - thank you, nice car!

[lohithrao]

i do the same and helps a lot esp on hiway!

have seen people, i mean many people dont stick to there lane and while overtaking honking and dipping really helps!

Originally Posted by aqualeo2040

Why?
Generally, if I have to overtake someone, my first instinct is to dip the lights, be it day or night. Since most people in Bangy hardly care to check their RVMs, this seems like an useless activity. I let out a short honk to get his/her attention and dip my lights again.Finally one more short honk before I overtake.Unfortunately, most of the educated bangaloreans dont know that they have to leave the fast lane to give way, so poor me have to change lanes for all that.
The saddest part : I once had to pull such a overtake on a alto.While overtaking I noticed that the lady behind the wheels is actually a colleague from my floor.Came to office and asked her why she didnt leave the fast lane and her explanation was : "I stick to the right lane and go along with it.If anyone has to overtake,i let them overtake from the left". Now, if most people on road have this attitude, who's to blame people for overtaking from the wrong side?

I generally stop for pedestrians to cross the road. Its better with me stopping and letting them go rather than they being hit by a cabbie who's always racing with time!

No use honking at animals ( my POV).If its a cow/buffalo, it wont budge.If u go slowly, they move away.Dogs and cats are generally very alert. I slow down when I see any quadrupeds on road

[fast_elegance]

Originally Posted by watashi75

Some honking is unavoidable. Sometimes it is not even an option, like blind turns and hills.

How do you guys honk? I have developed different styles for different scenarios -

beepbeep - I am here
beeeeep beeeep - I am overtaking you
beebeebeebeebeep - watch out you!
beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep - you have made me lose it
beeeep - thank you, nice car!

This is nice . I think we should be making some universal rules so that the people know why you are honking.

[amitoj]

sometimes i try to add a musical touch to my honking:
beep..bipbip..bip... bipbip.. beeeeeeeep.

Works in getting the target's attention

[travelwriter]

Did you know that honking in most western countries is considered severly offensive? They opine that "I don't plan to stay on the road forever, friend. Even I have to move forward without you having to remind me." But in India, we have trucks asking us to "Please sound Horn"!!

I have heard of an unconfirmed story that a sikh boy in the US was shot by another car driver because he was honking continuously behind him and that he got away without punishment.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by travelwriter

Did you know that honking in most western countries is considered severly offensive?

Did you know that traffic in most western countries is more disciplined? Specially because of wide, pothole free roads and better traffic management? Riding a bicycle on a highway is a crime in most western countries!! You wont see tractors/autos/buses coming down the wrong way on a divided four lane highway, in the rightmost lane!

Most often, they use the horn when someone else does a stupid mistake on the road, like suddenly changing lanes without indication. Which is one of the reasons for honking in India as well!

[watashi75]

Originally Posted by travelwriter

I have heard of an unconfirmed story that a sikh boy in the US was shot by another car driver because he was honking continuously behind him and that he got away without punishment.

Well, I feel relieved that I live in India and not in the US.

[FastLove]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Did you know that traffic in most western countries is more disciplined? Specially because of wide, pothole free roads and better traffic management? Riding a bicycle on a highway is a crime in most western countries!! You wont see tractors/autos/buses coming down the wrong way on a divided four lane highway, in the rightmost lane!

!

So honking solves all the above listed problems ?!! I didn't know that! Will try !

and sorry if it hurts anybody , but i believe that many people ride Horns and not cars and the rest of the car is just an excuse to be on the road !

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by FastLove

So honking solves all the above listed problems ?!! I didn't know that! Will try !

Well, live and learn, my friend!

[lordofgondor]

Me LoG, me honks in the hope that the blind driver(s) around me are at least not deaf.

[Blur]

I honk because...
It's my birth right.

Just like it's the birth right of the cab ahead to block the fast lane, the auto besides to try and cut in where no space exists, the pedestrian to try an invisible-man road crossing, the car ahead to pull a turn without any warning whatsoever, the bus to try and bully his way into my lane, the deathrider to chance his luck, and mine, coming down the wrong lane at a blind corner, the guy besides to gradually drift into my lane blissfully unaware of my existence, etc, etc, etc.

[breezydrive]

What I don't like is the honking by people as soon as the signal turns green from red.

Why do we honk: Depends upon situations, a small example like say how long can I drive a car without honking in a city like Chandigarh and a city like Ghaziabad ?
One can drive without horn in Chandigarh and it is impossible to drive without horn in Ghaziabad.

[saurabhdadhichi]

Well different people have different views for sure & thats why we all are unique in our own ways. Looking at the habit of honking, in India we are not quite yet there, where we say, that we wont honk come what may, as already mentioned by many of the BHPians some of the unavoidable circumstances.

But I am sure we all agree honking is adding to the noise pollution, the lesser we can use it the better is our own sake.

Looking at the root cause of Honking, comes where some of the drivers, pedestrians etc do not follow the rules, especially learning the way of driving in lanes & understanding the basic rules of the game. India still has a very weak system of obtaining a driving licence, Metropolitan cities do have a bit more stringent measures but overall its below standard. Most of the people obtain a driving licence without ever being behind a steering wheel or to have gone for test of driving at the licencing authority.

If only the process of obtaining a licence could be made stringent as we have in various parts of the world, the driving conditions in India can drastically improve.

However, this is not the only solution. There are more problems, besides obtaining a licence easily from the licencing authority. Most of the Autorickshaw drivers & many commercial vehicle drivers dont even go through the pain of obtaining a genuine licence, they get fake driving licence made & learn as they drive.


Now, back to the original thought of lets say Less Honking rather then No Honking. This according to me is all dependent on how much hurry we are in when we are driving. If we have ample time, even though a car ahead of us might be on the right most lane, we will have patience & wait till the car gives the way or overtake from the left (without honking & only using dipper).

I have been to Netherlands, Italy, Spain & many more countries, & to my surprise the traffic jams they get into is far longer than ours, on a bad day they even can have more than 100 kms of traffic jam. Even though they have to move at a speed of 10 kmph, they never loose patience.

Since at the start of the message i mentioned its impossible at this moment to say NO HONKING, but we can definitely reduce by being a bit more patient, having more time at hand when driving in India, also honking until & unless its absolutely necessary.

[FastLove]

Originally Posted by Blur

I honk because...
It's my birth right.

Just like it's the birth right of the cab ahead to block the fast lane, the auto besides to try and cut in where no space exists, the pedestrian to try an invisible-man road crossing, the car ahead to pull a turn without any warning whatsoever, the bus to try and bully his way into my lane, the deathrider to chance his luck, and mine, coming down the wrong lane at a blind corner, the guy besides to gradually drift into my lane blissfully unaware of my existence, etc, etc, etc.

India tops world in global list of deaths in road accidents APA - India tops world in global list of deaths in road accidents I read this Report as published in National Dailies a week back.


We also top in the Noise Pollution by honking i am sure .

So, if the purpose of honking is your personal safety and avoiding accidents , its not working , friends !

Originally Posted by saurabhdadhichi

I have been to Netherlands, Italy, Spain & many more countries, & to my surprise the traffic jams they get into is far longer than ours, on a bad day they even can have more than 100 kms of traffic jam. Even though they have to move at a speed of 10 kmph, they never loose patience.

Since at the start of the message i mentioned its impossible at this moment to say NO HONKING, but we can definitely reduce by being a bit more patient, having more time at hand when driving in India, also honking until & unless its absolutely necessary.

Perfectly said! This is what i am trying to say. This proves my first point above. Disciplined driving involves No (or minimal honkinG) and these countries set the example and have minimum Road accident Rates. Are they risking their Lives by Not Honking ?

Originally Posted by breezydrive

What I don't like is the honking by people as soon as the signal turns green from red.

Why do we honk: Depends upon situations, a small example like say how long can I drive a car without honking in a city like Chandigarh and a city like Ghaziabad ?
One can drive without horn in Chandigarh and it is impossible to drive without horn in Ghaziabad.

People honk at thin air in front of them forget the signals!

It is not a city that is responsible . It is all people and their mentality which need a Sea Change !

I atleast hope that this forum that represents the Sensible lot of Motorists and Car Owners try to start an initiative where We make a start by saying No to Honking whatever the compulsion.

Atleast i do . I have driven more than a Lakh Km and people who have been with me in my car can vouch that however Stupid it may look in our Road scenarios, i dont honk . I have not had a single brush with any vehicle or pedestrain in last over 7 years of my driving (and intend to keep it that way ).

I have driven all across India from North to South and seen the Road sensibilities of all different cities but i dont have to change my sensibility of driving when i am in a particular city. I dont want to sound preachy . But, if there is one thing i would want to do on Indian Roads (which is actually achievable too) is to see a complete stop to unnecessary honking!

People , please try this for one day and see if this works! I am sure you will see what i mean

[amitoj]

So... now its about noise pollution?? LOL. this thread keeps getting funnier by the post.

While i agree that its useless to honk when in a traffic jam or at a signal or basically when nobody else is going anywhere, the idea of no honking at all is a pipe dream at best.

So, dream on dudes!