I sincerely hate honking. I refuse to do it, with one exception: if honking is necessary to stop someone from running into me. The only problem is that since that is the only time I use my horn, I usually can’t even find it quickly enough to prevent a problem. THAT’S how rarely I honk.
It’s just a mega pet peeve.
It just feels like an outpouring of temper. Anger. And I don’t like anger. I ESPECIALLY don’t like punitive honking – you know, when the event is already over, but a person honks anyway to show their aggravation. THAT is certainly unnecessary and rude.
Traffic Light Honking (i.e. when the first person in line isn’t looking and the light turns green) is okay, but only after waiting a LONG time, and then only a slight tap. I actually can’t even stomach doing this. I usually wait until the light is turning yellow again, and then MAYBE I’ll give them a small tweet of the horn. After all, I have been tending to a baby in the backseat and missed a light before – maybe that’s what they are doing.
When someone honks at me, it puts me in a sad, bad mood for a few minutes. I feel like I’ve just been chewed out by a complete stranger, usually for something that wasn’t my fault (at least I like to think so).
Ali and I went to the grocery store yesterday right at 5pm-grocery-store-rush-hour, and so the parking lot was crazy. I am especially cautious in parking lots due to my recent parking-lot “issues”. As I was turning into the parking lot, someone in that row was pulling out of a parking space. I didn’t want to risk going past them before they got out and on their way, so I waited for a minute and let them go first. I was well out of the road, but the person behind me didn’t want to wait. He laid on his horn for a few seconds.
I parked, and Mr. Rude Honker parked across the aisle from me. As I was getting Ali out of the car, I looked out of the corner of my eye to behold this rude person. I suppose it could have been perceived as a glare if one already had a guilty conscience about their rudity (I like the feel of rudity better than rudeness. It seems to more fully communicate the utter barbaric scurrilousness of honking).
It was a very young guy in a snappy business suit. Younger than me. Seeing that I was looking at him, he yelled out to me, “Sorry, but you were just sitting there.”
Awkward.
I didn’t really want to have a conversation with him, but felt that I needed to respond, so instead of saying, “Do you know how barbarically scurrilous you are?!?!”, I said: “Jesus loves you and so do I!”. Ok, no I didn’t say that either. I said: “Well I had to wait for someone to move out of the aisle before I could go.”
He must have been coming for just one item, because by the time Ali and I got into the store, he was already in line checking out. I tried to avert my gaze, but of course he was looking at me.
Awkward.
I hate honking. If you’re a honker, sorry. I don’t hate you, I hate your actions.
My hubby is a honker…it drives me nuts!! I just cover my eyes with my hand. LOL!
I hate honking also, unless someone is about to run into me or just cut me off but as you said by the time I think to honk it is too late.
I also hate it when people honk for the sign wavers on the side of the road, as we prevelant during the all the campaigns this year and here in Gainesville the weekly war protesters. I mean if you are going to honk it should be reserved for driving not because you agree with the person standing on the side of the road, but that is my opinion and soapbox.
I hate honkers too… I mean- ah, hem- honking. *grin* I accidently honked yesterday and I was so embarressed!
I hate honkers too. Especially those that honk at you at a light when the light turned green less than 10 seconds before they honked. It drives me nuts and happens a lot to me. I look at the light one second. It’s red. Look down to do something for a brief few seconds, then I hear honking. I look up and it’s green. I doubt 10 seconds has even passed. It drives me nuts how impatient society today is.
I do NOT like honking either. I’m with you, maybe a small “tweet” to let someone know the light is green or I am in their path. I think there is definitely a tone that goes with honking. Tweeting is like saying, “Excuse Me” and a honk is like saying, “You, Outta my way!” I, too, don’t like honking after the fact. I know I messed up and I am sorry. I will be more careful, but I PROMISE I did not wake up this morning and decide I was going to cut YOU personally off when I changed lanes with my 3 month old in the backseat!!! Bark
Ugh – I hate honking, too. When we lived in Gainesville, there was a guy who took the same morning commute at about the same time that I did, and he would lay on his horn simply because morning rush hour traffic wasn’t going as fast as he would like. Seriously, this guy would honk his horn all the way down a very busy road while he was behind people who were stuck behind people who were stuck behind people, etc… SOOO irritating! It would always enrage me.
Hello my name is Meredith and I’m a honker. Sorry but true. I honk when it’s clear until Christmas, but the person hasn’t gone yet. I honk when someone’s about to come in my lane. Once in a great while, I even do the extended honk, when someone knows they were in the wrong especially during dangerous situations. I honk more out of warning, but sometimes yes, I honk out of frustration or anger. I come by it naturally, my dad’s an extended honker, no matter the situation.
I am completely with you on this one!
Oh I love it!! im a honker.. im guessing the more “confrontational” people would be. Its you sweet, innocent non-confrontational types that are the ones getting honked at! LOL! ;-) Im with Poet4Him77. those are the situations I honk “at” too. Especially when someone is too afraid to make the turn even though it is “clear until Christmas” (hadn’t heard that one before). If you don’t know how to drive aggressively then get out of the way! LOL. Seriously though, I don’t think I honk out of anger. Its generally to communicate that I need you to move (i.e light changing).
People might be sleeping on the road near where you’re honking. And they HATE you for being so inconsiderate.
You must ONLY honk in emergencies.
I do honk, but I blame it on my spouse – he has rubbed off on me. Anyway, my dad always said it’s only proper to honk when you’re trying to warn the other driver of danger. I pretty much abide by that, but I’ll admit that I am more prone to getting upset with people driving very recklessly now that I have two offspring in the vehicle with me.
Rachel Garcia… Ha, your comment made me smile. Glad to know there are other “honkers” out there. Yeah, I don’t know where “clear until Christmas” came from. One of those sayings I probably picked up from my mom.
This is over 3 years old but I just had to comment. I was a cake decorator in college, and part of the job was delivering wedding cakes. The cake decorator also delivered the cake, armed with extra bags of frosting and accessories, because we set it up at the reception site and had to make sure it looked perfect. We could either take the gigantic, slow, loud, hard to drive, cavernous delivery van – or our own car. I always opted for my own car. Call me picky.
But – and here’s where honking comes in – when you have a big ol’ cake box in the back seat with a several-hundred-dollar cake that took you hours to make inside… you don’t take any chances. Which means you drive slowly, take turns carefully, slooooowly step on the gas and brakes….etc. And OH did I get honked at. So now, when someone is driving slowly and getting in my way, I try to remind myself that they very well might have a $600 wedding cake in the back seat. And I should give them some grace. :)
That’s too funny!! Now I will always wonder if someone is carrying a large cake. :)
I moved to L.A. from down South where people are generally very patient and don’t honk except for an emergency. There may be the occasional honker lurking in traffic, but it’s mostly considered rude. In L.A., people are horn crazy. I’m honked at constantly, usually not for anything that’s my fault, but because aggressive drivers seem to come out of nowhere and I don’t see them when I start to make my move in traffic. With all the atupid parallel parking, your vision of oncoming traffic is blocked most of the time…so what can you do? Get honked at. People here honk the nanosecond the light turns green just because they’re in a hurry. They don’t even give the first car in line half a second to get moving. They honk in traffic jams when cars are absolutely helpless to move at all. The only time I have ever honked my horn in L.A. Was when I was stopped at a lightin front of someone’s driveway in Beverly Hills and the car in the driveway was slowly backing out. I thought he’d see me and stop, but he kept going and I waited until he was within a foot of my car to honk. I waited until I absolutely could not. I’m sure the person in front of me thought I was honking at them. I don’t even honk at people who cut me off in my lane…I just break to avoid an accident and go on with my day. They probably didn’t see me and weren’t purposefully doing it, so if I can avoid hitting them, I let it go. Otherwise, I think honing is rude and unnecessary and it pisses me off when people honk at me.
I use my horn all the time. People are so self absorbed they don’t “drive” anymore. They are all disconnected from the driving experience. That is so rude to hold up hundreds of cars on the highway because you are texting or having to look at your touch screen control system on your overpriced car (years ago, mechanical and tactile controls did not require you to look at them).
But honking your horn when you park your car is so disgusting and narcissistic. The push-twice key fob option is to help you find your car in a parking lot, not to boost your tender ego (I’m so rich I have keyless entry, hear that? I also have small private parts.”) Most cars have this feature now so you’re not special! Get over yourself and have some respect for your neighbors who have to work nights, sleep days, or are disabled or elderly. In most jurisdictions it is against the law to “honk your horn for no reason”. Use your horn for driving purposes only.
And YOU honking your horn is inconsiderate for the 500 or so people living in high rise buildings close to where you’re honking for no good reason.
And being slow to move on a green light is NOT a good reason to wake up a sleeping baby or ruin the nights sleep of a shift worker.
And don’t say “just move out of the city”. That’s not the solution for inconsiderate behaviour. Your response to gun crime in Chicago shouldn’t be “leave Chicago”.