AARoads Forum

Certainly this is an oft-discussed topic, however, I can't seem to find a thread here on AARoads. I was reading the "Is Road Rage Getting Worse or What" thread from last year, and it got me thinking about something that I've been thinking about since I started driving:

What city, in your experience, has the drivers that honk the most, outside of New York City?

- I was in New Orleans a couple months ago, and they certainly seemed to honk a lot, especially for a city that never struck me as large.
- Seattle drivers talk about honking like it's malpractice, but they honk plenty (not like NYC or, IMO, Boston, but more often than most imagine).
- Boston, Miami and Philly seem to get the most votes on other sites.

Wherever my wife is currently working; this month it's Philadelphia. :)

I don't know, but just remember, when I hold the horn down for three full seconds after you're already driving away, it's for safety.

I'll just say Chicago since I live there  :)

I visited Philly for a few days in 2013, and I heard tons of car horns during that time. More than I usually hear down here in Huntsville.

I have never been honked at anywhere nearly as much as in Chicago. If you are at a red light and you don't start moving the moment the light changes you will hear about it.

Quote from: Scott5114 on June 01, 2015, 04:31:39 AM
I have never been honked at anywhere nearly as much as in Chicago. If you are at a red light and you don't start moving the moment the light changes you will hear about it.

That's my kind of driving. :-D

Quote from: jakeroot on June 01, 2015, 12:41:18 PM

Quote from: Scott5114 on June 01, 2015, 04:31:39 AM
I have never been honked at anywhere nearly as much as in Chicago. If you are at a red light and you don't start moving the moment the light changes you will hear about it.

That's my kind of driving. :-D

Exactly! Traffic lights are there so that traffic is backed up less than say a four way stop, but people can't just get their asses moving when it turns green. Of course we really should introduce the "red and yellow" phase, but that's beside the point.


iPhone

Quote from: jakeroot on June 01, 2015, 12:41:18 PM

Quote from: Scott5114 on June 01, 2015, 04:31:39 AM
I have never been honked at anywhere nearly as much as in Chicago. If you are at a red light and you don't start moving the moment the light changes you will hear about it.

That's my kind of driving. :-D

I count to three before I honk.  People in Seattle get pissy too.  Moreso in Portland.  I call it the Oregon bird.

Quote from: KEK Inc. on June 01, 2015, 08:47:41 PMI count to three before I honk.  People in Seattle get pissy too.  Moreso in Portland.  I call it the Oregon bird.

That's what I usually mean to do, but quite often I forget.  So I count to three after I honk, and consider myself absolved.

Quote from: Pete from Boston on June 01, 2015, 08:57:37 PM

Quote from: KEK Inc. on June 01, 2015, 08:47:41 PMI count to three before I honk.  People in Seattle get pissy too.  Moreso in Portland.  I call it the Oregon bird.

That's what I usually mean to do, but quite often I forget.  So I count to three after I honk, and consider myself absolved.

If I can manage to squeak out "uhh, the light's green, please move??" you're gonna hear a horn.

I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've used my horn towards another driver. You have to be doing something INCREDIBLY STUPID for me to honk at you.

There has been such an uptick in people occupying (especially long-phase) red lights by checking their email or whatever that I've started honking at people at lights only in recent years.   

If several car lengths in front open up before the person moves, they get a blast.  Otherwise I usually manage to restrain myself to a few gentle taps. 

I generally try to keep my horn silent unless the other driver is doing something particularly moronic. E.g. the guy I saw yesterday who missed the turn lane and then held up traffic by waiting for the green arrow from a through lane.

Quote from: The Nature Boy on June 02, 2015, 09:06:40 AM
I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've used my horn towards another driver. You have to be doing something INCREDIBLY STUPID for me to honk at you.

Lucky you.  I lost count years ago.  Of course, this being near Chicago, INCREDIBLY STUPID is unfortunately all too common.

How is this being measured? I was thinking "If you are located at a specific location, how many car horn honks will you hear per hour?", and for each city, use the location in the city with the maximum value.

Also, would Mexico City rank above most of these cities? I think it would.

Quote from: 1 on June 02, 2015, 03:18:05 PM
How is this being measured? I was thinking "If you are located at a specific location, how many car horn honks will you hear per hour?", and for each city, use the location in the city with the maximum value.

Nothing scientific here; all opinion.

Quote from: 1 on June 02, 2015, 03:18:05 PM
Also, would Mexico City rank above most of these cities? I think it would.

Oh hell yeah it would. But so would places like Rome or Paris, or maybe even London (though none of those compare to cities in the Middle East or Asia, where honking is obligatory).

Quote from: jakeroot on June 02, 2015, 04:03:48 PMmaybe even London

Nah, we Brits resort to expressing our frustration in other ways. Honking is just to say you are there in attempts to avoid collisions. If someone is being an asshole its rude gestures aimed at the asshole or complaining to a passenger.

Quote from: english si on June 02, 2015, 06:00:11 PM

Quote from: jakeroot on June 02, 2015, 04:03:48 PMmaybe even London

Nah, we Brits resort to expressing our frustration in other ways. Honking is just to say you are there in attempts to avoid collisions. If someone is being an asshole its rude gestures aimed at the asshole or complaining to a passenger.

I learned "tosser" when I was last there. It's become my new favorite gesture since returning stateside, the only issue being that very few people understand it. Which actually makes it more interesting, since you can be really public about it.

Two fingers as well (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_sign#As_an_insult). I cringe when I see non-Brits put their index and middle fingers up, slightly apart, knuckles facing the recipient of the message. Newcomers quickly learn that that is not an OK gesture for a Brit. Even together, we would subconsiously do 'two' with palm-facing out so that we don't accidentally offend someone.

Quote from: english si on June 02, 2015, 06:54:52 PM
Even together, we would subconsiously do 'two' with palm-facing out so that we don't accidentally offend someone.

Ah, well see, there you go. Americans make a sport of offending others. And taking offense when others are offended.

Pretty much anywhere in Puerto Rico there will be drivers that honk their horns immediately when the light turns green.

Quote from: The Nature Boy on June 02, 2015, 09:06:40 AM
I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've used my horn towards another driver. You have to be doing something INCREDIBLY STUPID for me to honk at you.

I tend to avoid honking, since the only times I consider it necessary are also the times that I prefer to focus on defending myself from harm. However, I make an exception for one particular intersection, where a right-turn only lane goes around a corner and forms a new lane on the cross street. There is a permanent green arrow here, since there is no conflicting traffic for right turns. And yet people will come to a complete stop at the green arrow anyway.