Best Posts in Thread: Driving test

You are supposed to honk your horn.

Horns are as important as headlights and turn signals in this country. Many times I have come up on some idiot looking the wrong direction preparing to cross the road. I tap the horn to get their attention pointed in the right direction. I tap the horn to let people know my intention to overtake them. I also tap the horn when there are large vehicles parked close to (or on) the roadway that I can't see the what's happening in front of them to give warning to any pedestrian or drivers that may be in their blind spot preparing to do something stupid (like merge/cross traffic without looking).

 

I remember very clearly during my driver's education course in high school we were taught to honk when coming up on pedestrians or cyclists on the roadway or to overtake vehicles in certain situations. My parents and grandparents also uses their car horns in this manner...though it didn't need to be used nearly as frequently in the US as it is needed here.

I don't understand why some people think it is so out of the ordinary. I was under the impression it was a more common practice with the older generations in the US.

Does a quick tap of the horn have a different meaning than a long press in Australia?


One thing I have not figured out here is the flashing of the headlights during the day. I use it to tell someone I'm yielding the right of way to them and many people here seem to use it that way as well but others seem to use it as a way to say they are going to take the right of way no matter if you are going to yield it or not. Very dangerous to have these two different interpretations being used on the road.

In the US flashing of the headlights during the day almost always serves as a warning to other drivers that the police have set up a speed trap, or that there is an accident, deer or hazard up ahead.