Nice Earful

Jad, get your failing French ass outta here. We don't need you no more,

 

this had me rolling when i saw it in the movie.

 

How about no one calls anyone a moron and we agree that all Horns should play Vengaboys when pressed.

 

I didn't used to be so horn aggressive until I started seeing those bad driving videos and seeing what they honked at.

Fun fact: Honking is less likely to cause road rage than a rude gesture, silently insulting someone, etc. Also, I don't worry too much about that here, anyway, since we live in a pretty good area.

In any case, I don't like where this is going; staff, please lock this.

 

Locked on request~

 

Thank you, @Wilson, for unlocking this. Just to clarify, the lock was pretty much just for a cool down period.

Anyway, here's a good video that was uploaded yesterday by the guy that records bad drivers in Napa Valley, which, as always, has justifiable honking:

 

I found that video cringe-worthy whenever the person recording honked. I wouldn't really agree to say their honking was justifiable for the most part...

Like that "Trifecta" bit was the worst. Of course the silver car is going to brake as soon as they realize the SUV wasn't going to get in the turn lane first. (The way I see it, it's better to be in the habit of braking quickly and risking a rearending than chance trying to drift around the side and risk getting hit by oncoming traffic in instances where you have to react quickly.) But I got upset with the recorder honking, because it clearly threw off the two silver car drivers and they almost hit each other because the recorder couldn't wait another two seconds for them to work it out between themselves. A lot of those instances seemed to be a lack of patience on the recorder's part. That and honking in largely trafficked areas doesn't help because they could be distracting other drivers not even involved.

Like what was said in earlier posts, honking after-the-fact generally doesn't make a bit of difference. Either the person clearly knew what they were doing and doesn't care or it was a (possibly one-off) mistake (and they already realized it by almost getting in an accident or will never understand why they were being honked at because they weren't paying close enough attention). Sometimes we are just "tourists" and honking is not going to magically inform us which specific fault we may be making in an unfamiliar environment. (I mean, what city is crazy enough to have a 5+ way intersection?! That ain't normal! xP) People can make mistakes, don't fluster them and make it worse.

I think I've honked maybe three times since I started driving like ten years ago (shh, I'm old). One of those was by accident because it was 5am and I was turning my steering wheel pretty hastily before pulling out of a gas station lot (so glad it was done in front of a cop fueling his patrol car... -_-). And the only other time I really remember was just warning a backing up truck with a trailer hitched, because they couldn't see me coming. Even then, I would've been okay to stop and wait it out if I hadn't been impatient at that time.

Basically, I think it really comes down to patience and awareness. I've called plenty of other drivers "jerks" under my breath and said sarcastic "thanks" in many instances. But if I honked, yelled, or flipped the bird (because a lot of the time those things mean the same thing) at every person I've ever crossed who couldn't follow basic road rules, in at least what seems a timely manner to me...my steering wheel, voice, and fingers would all probably be broken. I always keep my distance when I can and pray that karma only punishes those who are intentionally being terrible drivers.



tl;dr: I think honking is generally a bad communication tool. (Not allowed to voice an opposing opinion on Youtube video so it kinda went here...)

 

Yup

 

justifiable =/= necessary. and im not agreeing that they're justifiable because i'm not watching.
and i feel sorry for the people who dedicate their time to recording annoying things. must be a fairly joyless life to focus on something so trivial all the time

 

I may not drive yet, but there are few times where honking could really be considered "justifiable" imo. I live in a city filled with horrible drivers, and hearing anyone honk pisses me off. Whether or not you're in the right or wrong doesn't matter if you're just doing it to essentially flip them off.

 

I'd just like to add that the people that record these bad drivers show their videos to the police, who have no problem with it. So, if they have no problem with it, then the honking's fine, in my opinion.

 

Just because the police are fine with it, doesn't mean that it's safe or smart.

 

I didn't say that, just that they're fine with it. Also, take note that there are some gray areas when it comes to honking. For example, a police officer most likely wouldn't stop you for honking or beeping at a green light sitter or something of that nature.

In fact, as an example, take a look at this and watch from 0:28 to 1:06:

 

I had a horn used on me once when I was driving. Those bulls can really gore you up badly. I decided never to be a cattle driver again.

 

Any driver's ed class will teach you that the horn is meant to say "I am here," not "nice move buddy" or "I am displeased." Otherwise you're just distracting other drivers. I've used my horn several times (I drive everyday) but almost always it's when someone hasn't checked their blind spot and is about to kill me.

 

I hardly ever use my horn. Living around Atlanta, I'm afraid of what might happen at a red light. Don't get me wrong, I love my area, but there are quite a few road ragers out there. The only time I really use my horn is when someone is about to back into me.