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In NYC, every now and then I'll get a car unnecessarily honk at me when it passes. That is to say, I'm not taking up the lane and I don't need to move but just before the car pulls up next to me to pass me, it gives me a small honk, you know, like a little beep-kinda-honk. I was wondering, is this good or bad? I mean the driver has good intentions (to notify me) so even though it's kind of annoying, I don't think it's really a bad thing overall. What do you all think.
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I'll take a beep, although I'd rather have it behind me. I never beep when I pass someone though.
jw
That scares the sh!t out of me, especially on a quiet residential street where I'm "in the zone." :eek: Just drive around me already!
It's cool. They are just letting you know. What sucks is when they lean on the horn.
This happens to me once in a while. Well intentioned but unnecessary. I just smile and wave.
A "get out of the way" horn behind me tells me I need to take the lane if I can.
I find the whole honking phenomenon interesting. Here in the USA we seem to view the horn primarily as an adversarial device. So getting honked at is generally a "get out of the way!" or "get moving!" type of thing.
In other countries the horn really gets used more as a multi use tool. They had short little honks to say hello, or to let you know they are approaching. Sometimes I have seen people honk around a blind turn etc.
It is kind of nice in that you don't have negative feelings every time you hear a honk. It really lets the horn work as a beneficial tool. I have been in areas where you actually start to understand what each type of honk means. I was actually able to return a "hello" honk and get a nice wave from another driver.
Kind of helps that most foreign made cars have cute little horns rather than the big booming ones of American made cars.
-D
If it were up to me, car horns would never be installed (well, maybe just not in the US). It is rare that they're used for something besides an alternate expression of the middle finger. It's even more rare that it would actually help anything to use it. I'm startled every time I hear one, no matter how good the driver's intentions are. I can't think of a single time that I didn't hear a car approaching from behind me, although I do have better hearing than many people. This is a pretty negative reply, I know, but I really don't see any situation for which a horn is needed other than a blind curve.
Did you know that you can continuously honk a horn for three straight hours and it will still work? I thought it would wear out by then, but that's how the taxi drivers in Cambodia use their horn.
I think it's bad, because it's inconsistent. That is, you can have cars passing you all day without a sound of the horn, then you get some oddball that decides to use the horn before passing you. Even though they might mean well, it creates confusion. The cyclist doesn't know if they're sounding the horn out of courtesy, or telling them to get the heck off the road. It could also startle a cyclist which has the potential of causing an accident.
I think if bicycles had to meet the same minimal lighting and safety requirements as motorcycles (DRLs, mandatory helmets), they would get treated more like an equal road user. A plate and license requirement wouldn't hurt either; as long as the cost is reasonable, it would show motorists that bikes are equal road users to cars and motorcycles.
When I took driver's training, they told us to give a light honk when passing. The person who gives a light tap when passing a bike is applying the same principle. What they don't know is how threateningly loud the horn sounds to a person on a bike. Horns were really made for communication between people in vehicles designed to keep sound out.
I do this all the time, but always well before I approach , and a lite beep only to anounce my presence. I actually like being warned by a car as I always don't hear a car if it is hilly or windy on a rural road.
This is why cars need bells.
I strongly perfer no honk.
Al
i hate the honk myself - it's just unnessary noise. it's much much worse in some other countries, however, where they honk at everything.
I hate it too. Drivers do not understand how well we can hear the actual car, itself!
Tire and engine noise are enough. Keep the horn silent.
SS
If it were up to me, car horns would never be installed (well, maybe just not in the US). It is rare that they're used for something besides an alternate expression of the middle finger. It's even more rare that it would actually help anything to use it. I'm startled every time I hear one, no matter how good the driver's intentions are. I can't think of a single time that I didn't hear a car approaching from behind me, although I do have better hearing than many people. This is a pretty negative reply, I know, but I really don't see any situation for which a horn is needed other than a blind curve.
Did you know that you can continuously honk a horn for three straight hours and it will still work? I thought it would wear out by then, but that's how the taxi drivers in Cambodia use their horn.
You've been to Cambodia? So have I and I noticed the same thing. We took a car trip from Phnom Phen to the Thai border and the driver leaned on the horn for the entire time (about six hours). The horn is the way a car announces its presence and indicates it is going to pass.
What caught my notice is not that the horns can work for three or six hours continuously, but that most of the cars have worn out horns in the first place. Where else in the world do you consistently find cars with worn out horns?
I think if bicycles had to meet the same minimal lighting and safety requirements as motorcycles (DRLs, mandatory helmets), they would get treated more like an equal road user. A plate and license requirement wouldn't hurt either; as long as the cost is reasonable, it would show motorists that bikes are equal road users to cars and motorcycles.
Really? :mad:
In NYC, every now and then I'll get a car unnecessarily honk at me when it passes. That is to say, I'm not taking up the lane and I don't need to move but just before the car pulls up next to me to pass me, it gives me a small honk, you know, like a little beep-kinda-honk. I was wondering, is this good or bad? I mean the driver has good intentions (to notify me) so even though it's kind of annoying, I don't think it's really a bad thing overall. What do you all think.
I'd take a short beep. Of course there is the difference between a short polite beep and an all out lean on the horn "get off the road" honk.
But yeah, I guess its repetitiveness if its happening all the time could get kind of annoying.
It's cool. They are just letting you know. What sucks is when they lean on the horn.
Agree 100%, just want to add it also let's you know that they know you are there in a positive way.
It doesn't bother me as I nearly always have already seen them in my mirror . If they lean on the horn I pretend I didn't notice, It pisses them off much more if you ignore them.
I hate being honked at, whether out of courtesy or spite.
Add me to the hates honking gang. It's really obnoxious and makes me think something is wrong, or about to be wrong.
when someone honks at me i think to myself "i hope you have a heart attack and die tonight you flithy #$#$% @%#^ @#$@$^" then i ride on.
This is why cars need bells. . . .
Al
so right! :D
when they honk at me I yell, "I love you too babe!" This works best when I sound really gay!
Perhaps cars need two horns: a light, friendly horn and an 'up yours' horn.
Even when I get a light, quick beep from a resonable distance, it often takes a deliberate effort of will to not engage in sign language.
But when they honk, at least you know the driver is aware of your presence. And some states require the passing vehicle to honk.
I think if bicycles had to meet the same minimal lighting and safety requirements as motorcycles (DRLs, mandatory helmets), they would get treated more like an equal road user. A plate and license requirement wouldn't hurt either; as long as the cost is reasonable, it would show motorists that bikes are equal road users to cars and motorcycles.
The only result of imposition of your good idea would be to show motorists fewer cyclists. PERIOD. Your bicycling advocay ideas are really off the scale for perverse counter productivity. Yikes, what cave have you just emerged from?
First of all does anyone else here know that it is a federasl regulation that horns be installed on motor vehicles? It is considered a safety device from what I understand. Second check out your local ordinances on the use of the horn by motorists. From what I am reading here when a motorist sounds their horn at one of us while we are riding they could very well be violating the law.
A little beep as they approach is just their way of saying "on your left"
I tried the polite little beep while riding my Vespa once to let some guys riding two abreast know that I would be passing them. Well, I got quite an earful from one of the guys about how bad that was. And as a cyclist, yep, it doesn't really help much to know someone intends to pass. Just do it and get it overwith without fanfare.
Yep. Honking is bad.
I hate it!
Unless they are driving a hybrid, I know they are there. I heard them approaching me from behind for the last ten seconds at least. The damn honk doesn't do a thing but startle me.
A little beep as they approach is just their way of saying "on your left"
I almost never say "on your left". In my experience it just causes pedestrians and ped type cyclists to MOVE LEFT when they hear the word left.
Yea I don't like the honk too much either can jolt me right off my line, in the military we would do two quick honks to indicate backing up, as a head's up to everyone around. Just pass me...if you can...lol
I find it a bit annoying, but I deal with it. They could be honking like idiots trying to run us down.
Koffee
I was honked at by these guys last week.
http://www.pbase.com/billd9/image/55834508.jpg
Dogbait
Although I don't like the racket, I think honking is a GOOD thing for one simple reason -- it helps you train your reflexes for when you really need them.
You do not want to jump out of your skin when some jackass buzzes you and lays on the horn. For one thing, that's exactly what they want so they'll keep doing it. More importantly, you're far more likely to crash (and less likely to make a good decision) if your nerves let go.
In emergency situations, you only get one shot and it's really important not to screw up. I tell my wife and my friends not to honk at other cyclists, but that they should honk at me and not give me much clearance. I'd much rather have people who care what happens to me help me train my reflexes rather than only work with those who hate me or are dangerously stupid.
I think being accustomed to being honked at and buzzed greatly enhances my safety. On the extremely rare occasions when I encounter a hostile motorist, I tend to regard them like a spoiled 5 year old -- I'm a bit disgusted, but I basically ignore them. I've also found that during these encounters, I tend to remember to do things like watch for other threats and evaluate evasive maneuvers (last year I had to leave the road to avoid getting hit by a car that lost control on the highway).
It's hard to do the right thing if you can't think because you're terrified. I say let motorists honk and get over the discomfort.
While I do think a horn is a good device for a car to have, I wish it were directional and could be aimed. ;) I don't think a honk is necessary when passing cyclists. Most cyclists can hear/see a car approaching. On the flipside, if a cyclist is so much in the zone (zoned-out) and tuned out of the rest of their environment/surroundings then maybe they ought not to be riding the public roads because they've become a safety hazard to themselves as well as others.
Id say depends on cyclist and driver doing the honking. A nice gentle double tap on the horn is a good friendly way for a driver to let me know hes there a long drawn out horn blast isnt.
The only result of imposition of your good idea would be to show motorists fewer cyclists. PERIOD. Your bicycling advocay ideas are really off the scale for perverse counter productivity. Yikes, what cave have you just emerged from?
When you learn how to string words together in a manner to complete a coherent sentence, you can explain to me why my idea would result in fewer cyclists. Seems to me that similar regulations, when imposed on automobiles (back when people were still using horses and buggies) and then on motorcycles, did not hurt their popularity. I see no reason why cycling should be any different.
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