View Full Version : How to respond to honking?
makeinu
05-08-07, 04:08 PM
Honking is supposed to warn other vehicles of imminent danger. Unfortunately, nine times out of ten it's used simply to let out frustration and piss other people off.
This puts us in a bit of a pickle, as the best way to respond to people trying to piss you off is to not respond at all, which the best way to respond to imminent danger is with drastic and immediate action.
That being said, how do you respond to cars honking at you (from behind)?
Turtle Jack
05-08-07, 04:11 PM
I wave, I figure it's meant as a friendly warning.
natelutkjohn
05-08-07, 04:17 PM
Middle Finger 100% unless its a quick, 0.5 sec honk - they get dirty looks, or 2 taps - then I assume friendly.
Helmet Head
05-08-07, 04:21 PM
I wave, I figure it's meant as a friendly warning. :beer:
I didn't vote because "wave, smile, nod" was not one of the options.
lima_bean
05-08-07, 04:21 PM
Honking is supposed to warn other vehicles of imminent danger. Unfortunately, nine times out of ten it's used simply to let out frustration and piss other people off.
This puts us in a bit of a pickle, as the best way to respond to people trying to piss you off is to not respond at all, which the best way to respond to imminent danger is with drastic and immediate action.
That being said, how do you respond to cars honking at you (from behind)?
Its a very regional thing.
Growing up in Texas, the only time i EVER heard honking even when cycling was if an accident was about to happen.
Living in chicago now, people honk to say hello, they honk to say goodbye, they honk all day long, they honk while they sing this song.
Keith99
05-08-07, 04:54 PM
Last time someone honked "at me" was right after I had gone through a cloud of dust blown up be 'gardeners' with leaf blowers. I was pissed off already as it was both nasty and dangerous (the cloud of dust).
I turned and cussed out the car. They passed me slowly and the passenger politely told me that they were honking at the jerks making the cloud, not me and that I was fine as far as they were concerend.
Hopefully in the future I'll take a little longer to be sure just who the horn is aimed at.
natelutkjohn
05-08-07, 05:05 PM
Hopefully in the future I'll take a little longer to be sure just who the horn is aimed at.
:lol: I have been know to apologize to drivers at red lights after saluting them for thinking the honk meant something that it didn't - but my general feeling is that a honk on a busy road is dangerous to me as a cyclist, so please, NEVER do it for any reason unless my life is in danger due to your brakes failing and/or your steering locking up.
^^^ what he said. it scares the @#$% out of me when it's right next to me.
I try to give a big friendly wave and grin... and yeah, I look. However, my response does vary, based on the situation... if someone just cruises by and lets out a honk, they get the wave and grin... must be a long lost friend. If someone is trying to squeeze me and is being dangerous doing it... I will try to give them a piece of my mind... if they are not likely to stop and are just being a JAM... they get the one finger salute.
I give out a lot more waves. I talk to a motorist about twice a year. The rest get what they deserve.
chipcom
05-08-07, 05:55 PM
Look, if a response is needed for safety, do it, if not, ignore it, or, if it's a jerk and I've had a bad day, give em the good ole American bird.
ChipSeal
05-08-07, 06:17 PM
My choice isn't available on the poll: big smile and wave.
Honking usually makes me angry, but I want to hide that reaction. If the JAM sees his aggression is mis-understood, perhaps it will piss him off more than an angry reaction would.
I try hard to be glad that they honk at me: It means that they see me!
CrankshaftYQX
05-08-07, 06:29 PM
Yeah, smile and wave. If it's an angry honk, it generally means I'm doing something wrong so in that position I'll run through my head and see what I'm doing that could be better
makeinu
05-08-07, 06:30 PM
:lol: I have been know to apologize to drivers at red lights after saluting them for thinking the honk meant something that it didn't - but my general feeling is that a honk on a busy road is dangerous to me as a cyclist, so please, NEVER do it for any reason unless my life is in danger due to your brakes failing and/or your steering locking up.
That's the whole problem though. You're asking people to honk only when your life is in danger, but if they actually did so then you'd probably die anyway (since you would assume they are just honking to be an ******* like everyone else).
My choice isn't available on the poll: big smile and wave.
That's not the point. The point is that by not responding to honks by leaping to the side of the road, cyclists are nullifying the only legitimate reason for honking at all and, in fact, putting themselves in danger by inappropriately responding to legitimate honks. On the other hand, 99% of all honking is illegitimate, so it would be a huge waste of time to respond to all honks as if they were legitimate.
It doesn't matter if you honk back, wave back, smile back, etc. For the purposes of this conversation they are all the same. They all spell death for the cyclist if the honk is legitimate (for example, if the driver's shoe got stuck under the break pedal or some such).
What I want to know is how do you people deal with that? Horns are a necessary safety precaution, but by not interpreting honking as grave danger we are effectively removing that safety precaution.
wave back! Thanks for noticing me!!
(depending on the honk) like ksyox stated above.
2skinnywheels
05-08-07, 07:53 PM
If they are coming up behind me and pop the horn, I assume they are just letting me know they are there and I give them a "thank you" wave. The things that motorists do that amuse me the most are when they have to get on the gas and damn near drop their transmission trying to pass me. Now, what pisses me off is the motorcyclists on crotchrockets that want to wind it out as they pass me. But I get amusment out of making vroom vroom noises when I see them at the next gas station up the road fueling up.
I wave and smile brightly. :) :) :) :) :)
More honking = more waving and smiling.
Even more honking = even more waving and smiling.
I really don't understand people who immediately assume that honking means something negative. I take it as a "way to go!". And even on occasions when I'm pretty sure it was something negative, my waving and smiling has gotten many drivers to wave and smile back. They can't help it. :D
I'm afraid I don't cycle assuming that all drivers want to kill me.
natelutkjohn
05-08-07, 08:23 PM
That's the whole problem though. You're asking people to honk only when your life is in danger, but if they actually did so then you'd probably die anyway (since you would assume they are just honking to be an ******* like everyone else).
Definitely a possibility *shrug*
I do however look over my shoulder all the time and double so when I hear a honk - I'm not completely oblivious out there when I hear honks - just VERY beligerant when I do
travisthomas
05-09-07, 12:03 AM
I was riding on a two lane road that opened up to four lanes about 15 yards ahead of us, with my buddy. We were riding side by side, chatting and moving along at a pretty decent rate--either way, the road had only just narrowed and opened up again soon, and there was no bike lane, so if we were in file the people behind us would still have to wait--when the guy behind us honked five or six times. I looked, and seeing that he was just impatient and rude, flipped him off; he pulled up beside us when he could and sputtered before yelling for me to get off my bike so he could assault me (he said it in a few more words). What a jerk. I just laughed and have delighted in making fun of him for the past couple days.
1000 oaks
05-09-07, 01:03 AM
I ignore all honks that are behind me. They do not convey any useful information.
JeffB502
05-09-07, 03:46 AM
lol nice one oaks.
Usually when the honker is a JAM they don't do it until they're right on my rear tire or they're passing me. I can usually tell when somebody is going to do an "anger honk" before they do because I'm always keeping an eye on my rear view mirror. These ones get a friendly wave and/or a smile.
If a vehicle were coming at me from behind at high speed, laying on the horn, and not slowing down, I would assume there was a problem and do whatever possible to get out of the way (I've never had this happen).
Sometimes people I know will honk as they pass by. One time I wasn't paying attention and it scared me, but I just held my path since I was in a bike lane with a curb/light posts to my right and the honk came from my left. That taught me to pay more attention. The next time I see a friend that honked while I was riding I try to make it a point to ask them not to again.
Daily Commute
05-09-07, 04:45 AM
I agree with Machka, genec and others. Smile and wave.
chipcom
05-09-07, 06:02 AM
To all the 'smile and wave' folks...I get this mental picture of someone honking and hollering to warn you of something about to hit you, and your response is to smile and wave...right up to the time you go SPLAT!!! :eek:
Smiling and waving is a nice response - AFTER you re-check your situation to ensure you are not missing something that may be putting you in danger.
slowandsteady
05-09-07, 06:12 AM
I have never had someone honk at me as a warning, so I do the same thing as I do with my child when she is whining that there is nothing to eat just after I spent $300 at the supermarket...I ignore it.
Haven't had anyone honk at me as a warning, but when I hear a honk I always check it out. If it's just somebody being a butthead I ignore it. If it turns out to be a friend passing by who's honking, then I'll wave. However, I'd rather they didn't do that as it is pretty startling.
flipped4bikes
05-09-07, 08:24 AM
I honk back with my AirZounds!
AlmostTrick
05-09-07, 09:07 AM
Has anyone ever been honked at when it was a bona fide safety/emergency issue? I know I haven't been.
Most all of the honks I get come from drivers who are passing me in a separate lane or even going in the opposite direction. I usually wasn't even holding them up in any way. The only reason I can figure they are doing this is because they wish to tell me I am doing something wrong or dangerous by riding in the center of the "car" lane. I tend to ignore this as much as possible. I think waving could sometimes be a good idea, and other times could piss off an aggressive driver even more.
invisiblehand
05-09-07, 09:14 AM
It doesn't matter if you honk back, wave back, smile back, etc. For the purposes of this conversation they are all the same. They all spell death for the cyclist if the honk is legitimate (for example, if the driver's shoe got stuck under the break pedal or some such).
What I want to know is how do you people deal with that? Horns are a necessary safety precaution, but by not interpreting honking as grave danger we are effectively removing that safety precaution.
My experience is that the honking in that type of situation will be noticeably different from the get out of my way honk.
EDIT: But I always look, regardless.
natelutkjohn
05-09-07, 09:30 AM
Has anyone ever been honked at when it was a bona fide safety/emergency issue? I know I haven't been.
I've never had a honk mean anything more the "hello" or "Get out of my way" :mad:
slagjumper
05-09-07, 09:37 AM
I honk back with my AirZounds!
I have a bobbie whistle and a toot back the same rhythm/duration as they gave me. Air Zounds tend to shut up the irritating honks as well.
noisebeam
05-09-07, 10:25 AM
No option that fits to vote.
First I glance back to assess situation, but use mirror, no head turn.
Then I may give slow down/stop signal, or look back with friendly face (smile is a stretch)
Al
An exaggerated friendly wave: like "hiiiiiiiii!!!!"
Curiouswill
05-09-07, 11:14 AM
Ignore,
No other options for me (at least until I get a new hearing aid :( ) But I've picked the look behind me options since I ALWAYS do that whenever I notice a car coming up behind me at a stop in my take-a-look mirror. (guessing that this is the kind of location where y'all get most of the honks?)
stonecrd
05-09-07, 12:03 PM
Not a honk but Sunday I had a big 1/2ton diesal pickup floor it as he passed me. The only reason I can think of was he wanted to scare the crap out of me (he did) and cover me in black smoke from his engine. Needless to say he got the salute. I get the kids who want to see you jump but I can't fathom why adults find this amusing.
Has anyone ever been honked at when it was a bona fide safety/emergency issue? I know I haven't been.
.
Never.
chipcom
05-09-07, 02:22 PM
Has anyone ever been honked at when it was a bona fide safety/emergency issue? I know I haven't been.
How do you even know the honk is directed at you? Perhaps the honk is from a driver behind/beside/ahead of you taking some action to protect themselves...possibly putting YOU in harms way in the process. Honks can't be ignored until you understand the source and intentions. It's all part of paying attention to what is going on around you and planning for Murphy.
noisebeam
05-09-07, 02:26 PM
How do you even know the honk is directed at you? Perhaps the honk is from a driver behind/beside/ahead of you taking some action to protect themselves...possibly putting YOU in harms way in the process. Honks can't be ignored until you understand the source and intentions. It's all part of paying attention to what is going on around you and planning for Murphy.
Interesting you bring this up. On any typical commute I hear far more honks that have nothing to do with me than ones directed at me.
Most common is when the left turn signal light turns green and the lead driver doesn't jackrabbit jump the light into an on/cross-coming vehicle that has decided to run the red and the driver behind can't wait the 2sec extra that the lead driver is using to save their life.
Al
chipcom
05-09-07, 02:49 PM
Interesting you bring this up. On any typical commute I hear far more honks that have nothing to do with me than ones directed at me.
Most common is when the left turn signal light turns green and the lead driver doesn't jackrabbit jump the light into an on/cross-coming vehicle that has decided to run the red and the driver behind can't wait the 2sec extra that the lead driver is using to save their life.
Al
I've almost been nailed a couple of times while approaching or waiting to make a left in a continious left-turn lane...guy in the lane to my right honks and swerves towards me to avoid a formerly parked car or merging idiot cutting him off. I imagine filtering up the right shoulder or lane splitting has the same risk at times.
I've also experienced them folks who purposely blow a light as I am approaching the cross street, laying on the horn as they blow through. Gotta pay attention to them horns - and everything else going on around you, when riding in city rush hour traffic - and traffic is actually moving.
noisebeam
05-09-07, 02:53 PM
I've almost been nailed a couple of times while approaching or waiting to make a left in a continious left-turn lane
Just as an added comment, the honking to get the left turn lane moving is observed by me that I commented about above it when I am not in it, instead usually in a adjacent thru lane.
Al
AlmostTrick
05-09-07, 04:15 PM
Yours is a good point Chip, and I agree. I only "ignore" a honk after I'm confident I'm not in any danger.
Now that I think about it there was one time when I felt a honk directed at me was justified for my safety. I was in the left turn only lane (no stop sign or light) coasting very slow behind a dump truck. While trying to avoid coming to a complete stop, I ended up edging onto the separating line between my lane and the straight through lane. Even though I did not enter his lane, to the driver approaching me in the straight through lane it probably looked like I was going to. Certainly a honk in this case was justified.
To all the 'smile and wave' folks...I get this mental picture of someone honking and hollering to warn you of something about to hit you, and your response is to smile and wave...right up to the time you go SPLAT!!! :eek:
Smiling and waving is a nice response - AFTER you re-check your situation to ensure you are not missing something that may be putting you in danger.
I've been thinking about all the times I've been honked at ........ and I can't think of any times when someone honked to warn me of something. Honking either means, "Hey, great to see someone cycling! :D ", or "Get off the road, you're holding me up! :mad: "
Oh wait .... there have been a few occasions when a logging truck will give a little "toot" from half a kilometer back to let me know that a wide load is coming up behind.
However, in any of those situations, smiling and waving works.
In the "Hey, great to see someone cycling! :D " situation, a smile and wave says "Thanks!" to the driver.
In the "Get off the road, you're holding me up! :mad: ", a smile and wave says, "I'm happy to be cycling and I really don't care what you think of it ... your anger is your own problem and I'm not about to stoop to your level."
And in the "wide load coming up behind" situation, a smile and wave says, "Thanks for letting me know to hold my line."
The Human Car
05-09-07, 08:16 PM
Ummm… I ring my bell in response.
Hooonk… Ding, ding.
ghettocruiser
05-09-07, 08:17 PM
Four finger salut.
They always look so bewildered.
sestivers
05-09-07, 08:39 PM
This thread has confirmed my belief that car horns have never prevented an accident, except in a situation where there is a two-way road with a single lane and a blind bend. In any other situation, if you're using your horn, it is too late for anyone to figure out why the horn was sounded and then make the appropriate maneuver. Because nearly everyone uses his horn for inappropriate reasons, almost everyone is desensitized to what a horn is supposed to mean and either ignores it, is startled, or is immediately offended.
If I had the power to do so, I would enact a ban on car horns, except that people who expect to be driving in my above blind bend example could get permission to have one installed. Imagine how many fewer needless escalations of temper could be avoided by this ban.
JeffB502
05-10-07, 03:25 AM
I've found my horn very useful in preventing accidents while driving my car, usually on the freeway when somebody changing lanes doesn't see you. As they start coming over, honk, they swerve back into their lane, perfect. It happened to me many times down in Orange County; usually some dummy on a cell phone not looking where they're going.
That's what I always thought a horn was for...when the person fails to notice you with their eyes, go for the ears and hope for the best.
sestivers
05-10-07, 06:25 AM
I've found my horn very useful in preventing accidents while driving my car, usually on the freeway when somebody changing lanes doesn't see you.
So your first reaction when someone does this is to honk and hope that it works? You could just slow down and make room for him instead, but it could be too late for this to work if you honked and waited first. You may not feel this way, but in reality you are still using your horn as a F. You device, as in "f. you, I am staying right where I am and you better do something to avoid this collision because I'm not going to." I'm glad that so far you have avoided accidents but I think you're lucky if you are normally relying on others' actions before your own.
LittleBigMan
05-10-07, 06:37 AM
Honking is supposed to warn other vehicles of imminent danger. Unfortunately, nine times out of ten it's used simply to let out frustration and piss other people off.
This puts us in a bit of a pickle, as the best way to respond to people trying to piss you off is to not respond at all, which the best way to respond to imminent danger is with drastic and immediate action.
That being said, how do you respond to cars honking at you (from behind)?
I agree that the best way to respond is not to respond at all. After all, what can you do?
And yet, I always find myself responding...
bmclaughlin807
05-10-07, 08:14 AM
If I'm in the lane, and the car behind me is honking, my first response is to gauge their distance back to make sure it's safe, then I stop to see what they want.
:D
I've gotten a few friendly honks, but I've never been honked at in a situation where the honk meant there was any danger other than an idiot driver. Although, I suppose that warning can be considered useful.
slowandsteady
05-10-07, 08:53 AM
Don't ya know, someone in their SUV honked at me last night as they passed me on a deserted rural road for no obvious reason. Scared the heck out of me. This hasn't happened in a long time. I blame all of you and this damn thread. ;)
I agree that the best way to respond is not to respond at all. After all, what can you do?
And yet, I always find myself responding...
Why?
I don't get why people feel compelled to respond. I might wave and smile if I think of it, or feel the situation calls for it, or just feel the urge to it ... especially if it is someone friendly ... or I might completely ignore it.
I just go on with my ride. Some jerk in a Diesel pickup honked at me on my ride today. As we pulled up to a stoplight, I turned to look. He motioned for me to get over. I shook my head 'no'. I really wish I could have had a discussion with that worthless piece of crap. Especially after he passed me with 6 inches to spare.
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