What's your policy on car horn usage?

I don’t drive yet, but I imagine I’ll only honk if I need to alert someone to my presence (like if someone’s moving into my lane and I don’t think they see me). I am afraid of what people might do if I piss them off while driving. Plus I am a nervous driver, and when I get honked at I just get more nervous and drive worse. I don’t want to do that to someone and possibly create a more dangerous situation.

I have horrible road rage. if you’re being a fucktard, I’m going to let you know. I can’t stand bad drivers at all. Especially reckless ones.

I only honk in cases where its needed to avoid an accident. Or the friendly beep beep hello honk.

I really think we need a honk pattern that says “im sorry” like someone gives you the asshole hooooonnnnnnnnnnnnkk and you can just respond with the im sorry honk and road rage avoided . :)

I used it just today in a parking garage under a Whole Foods where people who were waiting for a parking space and those in line behind them checked their brains at the door.

It may be considered rude, but it works.

Most honk events are for obnoxious reasons, impatience or a foul sense of superiority or entitlement. Very few are for the reasons horns are required on cars (e.g. @Mariah ). If you are in a mood that’s lookin’ for a reason for your crankiness, a stupid horn honker will provide it.
I get really cranked up if there is honking at pedestrians or bicycles etc in a crosswalk. My impulse is to kick their rearview mirrors off, but I have not done that yet.
Anything but necessary horn honk should be kept to yourself IMHO.

Well, the event that inspired this question was that I was driving down the Alameda and I was in the far left lane against the divider and the guy right next to me kept veering more and more to the left where it looked like he was about to sandwich me against the divider, so I honked. And he got all macho big-dick on me and started flashing his high-beams and that crap and I just felt like rear-ending him on purpose. I really hate people who get mad because they did something stupid…

But I know people who will honk because the person in front of them is not speeding or something that, that’s really stupid…but then again, I know a lot of reckless drivers…

Horn usage goes with middle finger usage. Can’t have one without the other.

@chyna

It certainly seems that way sometimes :)

The few times it has been used were only when someone was driving dangerously close to causing an accident with my car. The vehicle has been owned for over 10 years, and the sound of the horn still surprises me because it is used so infrequently.

I only use it if someone is about to hit me or has done something really stupid that almost caused an accident. Do I get mad when I get honked at? Not if I deserved it.

I beep hello to friends and only use it to wake up the old guy at the red light.

I don’t even know how to make the horn honk in my car.

@DominicX that sound like kind of thing horns are made for. The other driver was just being a dangerous punk.

A honk was made for emergencies and potentially dangerous situations only. I have no problem with people honking for these reasons, even if it wasn’t called for; if they thought it was, it’s valid.
What irritates me is people honking for reasons that don’t compliment danger. A little honk to say hi to someone you know on the street is fine, but a few weeks ago…I was a passenger with someone who was driving me back home from work. Two people from work ahead of us were driving in their car, and the person giving me a lift started honking like mad (I’m serious they were going mental) to get their attention and tease them. On the bloody highway, no less. I don’t really find this appropriate.
Some day man, some bugger is gonna cry wolf and people will die.

I rerely us the horn. I am too focused on keeping my hands on the wheel to use evasive action then to think of losing 2 seconds or more laying on the horn. If I am coming up the road and I think a car will back out without seeing me I might give a “toot” to make sure they are looking both ways.

I don’t think I’ve actually ever used my horn…

When people honk at me I want to kill them, unless they have a good reason. The only good reason is that I am about to hit them.

I just honked at someone yesterday because she was drifting into my lane, so honked to alert her I was next to her, well I was probably in her blind spot. Luckily she was coming over slowly, I had slowed down, and she came over into my lane without incedent. Then she began to drive very slowly, so I went around, and as I passed I looked at her because she was driving like an idiot, and she smiled at me…she purposely had slowed once in my lane because she obviously was annoyed I honked at her.

I am thankful when someone honks at me if I am about to make a mistake on the road that is dangerous. If they honk at me because I blocked them or cut them off, I give them a wave and maybe mouth I’m sorry, knowing I screwed up.

I use my horn to avoid an accident from happening, and if people seem to not be paying attention to the road, like not going on green, or if they are stopped in the middle of the road blocking traffic. For the latter two I would be some quick beeps to try and alert them they are blocking me. When it is a possibility of an accident I lean on the horn harder.

I use is very sparingly, but don’t hesitate when I need to beep at someone. My Explorer has a really loud horn, unlike many of the imported cars’ electronic horns.

I do not honk very often. Many times it’s an after thought ..like “Man, I shoulda honked at that loser!”
When I do honk, it’s to avoid an accident. Once in a while I will honk at a person who veers too closely in front of me with little or no notice.

I honk when I need to let someone know they are doing something dangerous and they are likely to hit me.

I really hate when people are visiting neighbours and insist on honking their horn as they leave. Does the world need to know you are going home?

@Bellatrix No shit. If they have any class, they said goodbye before leaving the place. The car doesn’t need to do it.

The rest of the world don’t give two fucks.

@Bellatrix I only do that when I’m leaving my sister’s or mom’s house out in the sticks (rural with no close neighbours) – a few short taps going down their country driveways. I don’t know why, but it’s something a lot of rural people tend to do (in my province anyways).

In many cities it is against the law to honk your horn unless it is to avoid an accident.

I am sorry @PluckyDog, it still gives me the shites… Love you, hate car horns going off to tell me someone is leaving.

I just realized that I usually only honk at the rural homes when the weather is bad (snow or flooding rain) – to let them know we made it out the driveway, lol. Any ways, yeah I don’t get why people do it in the city.

@JLeslie it is against the law in NYC but enjoys nearly no enforcement, unless I suppose one has connections with the cops.

I have honked when someone was about to back into me in a parking lot and I had nowhere to go to get out of their way. I also honked when someone nearly hit me coming into my lane when they were supposed to yield. The first person was grateful, the second gave me a nasty look. I think those are the only times I have used my horn.

I tend to get amused when people honk at me. I’ve only been honked at for choosing not to do something dangerous. I’ve been honked at for going “too slow” (aka, the speed limit), and I’ve been honked at for not turning right on red. I usually turn right on red when it’s safe and legal to do so, but I drive a little car, and I can’t always see well enough even when it’s legal (especially if there’s a big vehicle next to me that feels the need to stop well past the stop line). For some reason, people get very upset about waiting the extra 20 seconds at the light. That generally makes me giggle and removes any possibility of me turning before the light changes.