And my car insurance company, State Farm, recognizes that and gives me and my wife an accident free discount on both our cars because of no accident claims in umpteen years. Haven't had a moving violation since the 90's and it did not affect my insurance rates back then. The accident free discount supersedes the discount for being a good driver at State Farm.
Car insurance rates for this good driver for six months are as follows (second car is cheaper because I don't carry collision or comprehensive on the old hoopdie.)




SURCHARGES AND DISCOUNTS AUTOMOBILE RATING PLAN - Applies to private passenger cars only.
Accident-Free Discount Once your policy has been in force for at least three years with no chargeable accidents, you may qualify for our Accident-Free Discount. Once you qualify, this discount applies as long as there are no chargeable accidents, and may even increase over time.

Good Driving Discount - Newer policyholders who do not yet qualify for our Accident-Free Discount (available after three years with no chargeable accidents) may already be receiving a Good Driving Discount. This discount continues to apply until your policy qualifies for the Accident-Free Discount as long as there are no chargeable accidents and no new drivers. If you add new drivers, they must also qualify in order for your Good Driving Discount to continue.

Chargeable Accidents - For new business rating, an accident is chargeable if it results in $750 or more of damage to any property. For renewal business, an accident is chargeable as of the date State Farm pays at least $750 (for accidents occurring on or after April 1, 1999) under property damage liability and collision coverages for an at-fault accident. Surcharges If there are chargeable accidents, you may lose your Good Driving Discount or Accident-Free Discount and receive accident surcharges. But if the accident is the first to become chargeable in nine years and this policy has been in force for at least that long, the Accident-Free Discount will continue and no surcharge will apply. The surcharge for each accident depends upon the number and timing of the accidents, and each accident surcharge will remain in effect up to three years. Surcharges will be removed if the company is given satisfactory evidence that the driver involved is no longer a member of the household or will not be driving the car in the future. If that driver is insured on another State Farm policy, his or her driving record will be considered in the rating of the other policy.

I recently got an accident-free credit or whatever from Geico. I also drive fewer than 3,000 miles/year. Shame the market here is relatively expensive, but progress has been made. A couple of decades ago it was estimated that 1/3 of drivers in the city were uninsured.

Expedia Road Rage Report 2015



"Fifty-one percent of Americans report that they loathe sharing the road with bad drivers, more than cyclists, buses, taxis, joggers and walkers combined. Nearly all Americans (97%) rate themselves as “careful” drivers, but feel that only 29% of fellow drivers merit the description."

viewfinder.expedia.com/news/expedia-2015-road-rage-report-texters-enrage-fellow-drivers-most-edging-tailgaters-and-left-lane-hogs-on-list-of-most-deplorable-driver-behaviors/amp/

So if you disagree, guess what? You're the problem all other drivers hate.

I drive a lot for my job, and tailgating and blocking the fast lane are also my own top 2 pet peeves. Interestingly, the police rarely enforce either law in my area. Sucks.

I run stop signs, fail to signal turns, and block slower traffic just because it's my "right" to do so.

I would say as a general rule that no one should be tooting (or honking) a cyclists, friendly or otherwise. It's usually interpreted as 'Get the F out of my way, move the F over so I can pass, or F u for hogging the lane'. No cyclist I know would interpret a honk of the horn as a friendly one. We'd just prefer you give us space and be on your way.

Well... i disagree.

When i say 'toot" it's barely a millisecond and from a distance. Its to let the cyclist know there's a car approaching. Usually at a place where i can't move over to the left past the dividing line.

Many times I ride in places where a toot to let me know that are passing would be appreciated.

Just today I was on a two lane road and needed to make a left turn. I signaled left and moved into the right lane. As i started to move into the left lane I heard a "toot" from a way back to acknowledge they saw my left arm out and I was clear to move to the left.

It's not like they were laying on the horn saying "GET THE F OUT OF MY WAY".

Duration says a lot of their intent.

In my case, both.

I spend less time driving my 4 wheel vehicle by far than I spend on my 2 wheel (and 3 wheel) vehicles.

Fair enough. Long Island, NY is not Toronto, Ontario.

Mississauga is a lot like Long Island,

I've only ever ridden through Mississauga, and only once, as it is in the west and I'm in the northeast suburbia, but from what I've heard from friends who live out that way the cycling infrastructure is awful out there.

The difference between mildly annoying and substantially annoying IMO.

If there is traffic, the cyclist already knows that there are cars around- no need to honk.

If there's no traffic, the cyclist will hear the car, often before the driver is aware of the cyclist- no need to honk.

The word HONK implies a long sound. TOOT implies a very short sound.

The last thing I would do is startle a cyclist.

Also it depends of the cyclist is keeping a line or wandering from side to side.

It's dinner time... see you all later.

Not sure if mountain bikers make better drivers.

”Landed it... now where did I put my AAA card.”

John

I agree with you!

As a cyclist, I never need a toot from you within the context in which you have described a toot.

I don't really give a fig, but one man's "toot" is another man's "honk".

But maybe i do if you're not holding a line.

I recall a friend of mine from a small town who visited NYC, commenting that the taxi drivers used their car horns to "talk" to each other. Maybe there's an urban vs rural divide here. When there's no one else for miles and a car honks at you, it's interpreted much different than it would be in an urban setting.

Unfortunately the poster "mad honk" is not here to offer his take.

Lots of experienced drivers are still driving with suspended licences. And I wouldn't call taxi drivers good drivers. I wouldn't know how that would indicate how good a cyclist they would be.

It might depend on how a "good cyclist" is defined. Some bicycling enthusiasts might consider Lucas Brunelle and other "experienced" cyclists who post their "rides" through traffic as good cyclists.
Some others might define "experienced cyclists" who "take the lane" in busy fast traffic, regardless if there is an adjacent bicycling facility available, as anything but "good cyclists" no matter how the cyclists define themselves.

Being able to do the friendly toot is an art and appreciated when interpreted correctly

Always wished for 2 horn buttons, 1 rude, 1 friendly

I think the friendly horn could sound like the Imperial Margarine sound:


The unfriendly one could sound like a raspberry.

Words to live by...... literally.

It's not uncommon for drivers to think they know better than cyclists.