[sparky@home]

I generally don't use the horn, but in my place there are around 6 blind turnings on the narrow road, and it’s safer to use the horn as there are umpteen type of drivers who don't hug the left side, a little noise pollution is better than a fender bender or worse.

Also I use it when I have these pedestrians who walk three abreast on the road instead of the pathway, and they are all lost in their own world and give looks that kill when I give small tweet. The worst case are when I see people making the kids walk on the road instead of the pathway.

[hok kolorob]

Honking is a menace. Drivers honk in no honking zone such as near hospitals, schools, etc. Windows always need to be rolled up, because of this.

[sukiwa]

Have made conscious efforts to minimise/eliminate need for honking and as a result, have used horn only 5 times in last 2 years (2 out 5 were accidental). Some notes/observations/thoughts:

- Had made a mental note that I will use horn only when I can't control my vehicle (car/bike)
- Have patience, no one wants to rest on road (unless it's an animal)
- Changing one's path is far easier than blowing horn & expecting others to change their path to make way for you
- Once, one gets used to silence, honking by others not only gets annoying but also feels offensive/insulting at times
- First few days of not using a horn are difficult, however it gets easier as one persists with it

[swissknife]

Originally Posted by sukiwa

- Changing one's path is far easier than blowing horn & expecting others to change their path to make way for you

Your initiative is well appreciated! I wish you stress free times ahead.

Just one word of caution with regards to the quoted point. Please make sure that you look around you and make sure that you wouldn't cause an accident, before changing your path.

[sukiwa]

Originally Posted by swissknife

Just one word of caution with regard to the quoted point.

Duly Noted.
That point is derivative of 'Easier to change self than others'.

[SJM1214]

Aizawl in Mizoram is the first and only city in India to be completely 'Horn-Free' without any government policy.

If you ever travel to Mizoram, you might hear the musical soundscapes of the city, unlike other metropolitan cities like Mumbai or Bengaluru where honking is just another day's job as everybody wants to fly over the traffic jam.

While the city people are in rush and the honking never seems to stop, in Aizawl, one is welcomed only by the beautiful and melodious bird chirping.

Mostly to reduce noise pollution, people of Aizawl in the North-east Indian state of Mizoram have taken a step to eradicate honking while driving. A short film called Tranquility documents the streets of the Aizawl city. Filmed by six youths from Mizoram and Nagaland, the video shows how people of the city came together and decided to make their place a noise-free area.

News Source : https://www.oknortheast.com/2018/08/...king-city.html

[KrisTvpm]

General loud-sound-hater here !

Used to have a sticker "Honking is stupid, are you !?" on one of my cars, and I totally abstained from honking while using that car, to avoid myself being seen as the violator !

My current ride doesn't sport any such, still I try to avoid honking as much as possible. Habit programmed by some bouts of driving cars abroad, where the local colleagues mocked me for honking at blind / right-angled corners. Their reasoning was that onus is on me to ensure none are coming around those corners - sounds logical to me ! Not the other way around as we do in India; by honking I've announced that I'm coming, all ye mortals run for life !

The cacophony one has to put up while on our city roads is unbelievable. If only everyone would be little more considerate and civil while driving, how better would the experience have been !

[gkveda]

I think honking is a culture. It is not that One wants to horn /One do not like honking. Honking is good / Bad. It is just that the culture and convention that every country follows.

As many are aware, Outside of India, most countries have a convention of NOT honking.There, Honking means "shouting" on someone who is NOT following the rules. Hence, people get annoyed if someone is honking. Also, people hesitate before honking their vehicles.

In India, the convention is, if we make sound, then, people will know that they have to make way for the vehicles. They never think that driver is shouting at them. So, people who are driving only in India, thinks that it is their right to honk the vehicle when there is an obstacle. People who are only in India also think that it is OK if someone honks at them

Only problem comes when we visit foreign countries and get acquainted with their culture during our stay. We start thinking that if someone honks at us, they are "SHOUTING" Also, we think twice before we honk at others in India.

In my view, both the culture are ok as far as it is accepted within the country. No one is either right or wrong. (Am not focusing on Noise pollution that is caused due to honking )

[SJM1214]

Traffic cops on a mission to prove needless honking on roads won’t save travel time.

The tendency to keep the finger pressed on the horn to get ahead in the traffic at all places and at almost all times of the day is a habit that clings to almost all vehicles users in Pune.

However, an experiment by the traffic branch of the Pune police on Tuesday showed that there was barely a three-minute difference in the time taken to cover a specific distance with or without blowing the horn.

The experiment was conducted in light of the No Horn Day announced by the traffic branch as well as the Regional Transport Office on Wednesday to get people to stop honking unnecessarily and thus reduce noise pollution

.

News Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/65775038.cms

[am1m]

Originally Posted by gkveda

I think honking is a culture.

You said it. Today being a holiday, there was hardly any traffic on the roads, and yet, there were idiots honking away. Most people honk because they can't handle their driving. It's like a comfort thing, honk and magically nothing will come in my way and I can drive fast. Even when it is obvious that you won't gain any time by honking, or that most other drivers/pedestrians won't care or won't do what you hope they will do when you honk, we still honk. We're too stupid, oh sorry, 'intellectually-inflexible' in general to think about things and change our ingrained behavior.

Not just honking, as a culture, we really don't mind noise in general actually. Anyone who thinks silence is better or desired is at best considered strange, at worst threatened by those making the noise.

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by am1m

Not just honking, as a culture, we really don't mind noise in general actually. Anyone who thinks silence is better or desired is at best considered strange, at worst threatened by those making the noise.

In Bangalore though, there is one little problem, and I quote off the locally written road commandments :

1) Thou shalt go where thou want, as long as the bellowing horn isn't heard ; Translation, unless one honks a bike will merge into my lane at any speed and at any time because not honking is an automatic permission to merge or cut, only a preemptive horn can save me from a heart-in-the-mouth moment.

2) Thou shalt go at ease and at the heart of the road, as long as the bellowing horn isn't heard ; Translation, unless one honks, the cars or bikes can go at painfully slow speeds at the middle of the lane lines blocking everybody behind them.

All in good humor though, I for one love a quiet drive, I hate honking and hate being honked at.. but as has been said already, it has become a culture and cultures do not change overnight. The day I gain trust over fellow motorists and know that they intend to keep themselves safe and also others.. that day I will forget that the horn exists.

[Mukund]

A 7th standard student writes a letter to Anand Mahindra on the honking menace with an idea to curb honking.

1. Each honk last only 3 seconds
2. Only 5 honks in a 10 minute span.

Source.

[volkman10]

Acoustic cameras to keep honking in check in Delhi.




Link

[DriverR]

Traffic police in Hyderabad have announced a check on noise causing vehicles. Screenshot of their tweet is attached.
Also attaching a photo from their tweet of what I assume is one of the instruments for sound measurement.

[pandey.jai]

Originally Posted by DriverR

Traffic police in Hyderabad have announced a check on noise causing vehicles.

This is a nice initiative and I hope the authorities clamp down on two wheelers using car horns etc. However, knowing our police, it might just double up as a new way of corruption.