Originally Posted by
cafzali
Oddly, some "safe passing" or "3 feet" laws around the country require this. I was taken aback to see that New York's safe passing law mandated drivers honk if they're going to overtake a cyclist on the road. I feel the same way as most cyclists, that it is distracting and could even be dangerous if the cyclist is focused on avoiding an obstruction. It's not like we can't hear the car.
TN has the same set of laws. Oddly and thankfully very few people adhere to them. Well, at least the honking part. Almost everybody gives me plenty of room. As many people who pass me on my rural commute it would drive me crazy if everyone blew their horn.
On a side note, yesterday as I was pulling up to a 3 way intersection w/a stop sign on my road I was followed closely by what turned out to be a county sheriff. He never made a sound. Wasn't 'til he got past me that I realized who'd been following me.