Why do drivers sound the horn to vent their anger against other drivers

@infoman I agree with most of the posters. What on earth do you mean by your post?

Would you rather see angry people get out of the vehicle and rant, rave, punch and stab then!!! ????

Although I don't drive or cycle (too scared to in London!), as a pedestrian, what I often notice are drivers who seem to feel entitled to the whole road and regularly use their horns in a way that suggests no one else (cyclists especially) should dare to hold them up for a nano second, or who sound their horns when in a traffic jam without knowing what the cause is ahead. Annoying!

Well I sounded my horn at a driver at lights, waiting to turn right. She was at the front of a long queue and we all sat there during one lot of green. Then they went red so we all waited until became green again and we waited, no attempt to move forward even a little bit and get in position so I sounded my horn. It did the job and I make no apologies for using my horn

Grannynannywanny

I liked a story I heard years ago about a woman who was taking a couple of attempts at a very tight parallel parking manoeuvre on her local high street. A very impatient driver waiting to pass blasted his horn. She calmly got out of her car and said to him “how about you park my car and I’ll hold my hand on your car horn for you”

Love this!

I’d be careful about getting out of your car with so many drivers with road rage and similar. Many, eg those on a minimum wage, are in a hurry, others could be delivering drugs, or running late and with no patience. We recently went out to start our car and the catalytic converter has been stolen.. There are apparently highly organised gangs who cruise the area looking for certain cars. With the price of petrol going up there could be similar looking to siphon off fuel. Be careful.

This site is great. I visited MN., oh there are some anger issues there.
If they had the car horn facility, I’d have used it on MN. So rude with language making the air blue.
Perhaps it’s an age think. Using car horns, I don’t hear too often.

I am in agreement with you infoman. I hate the horns. I live in London and if you don't rush to go over the traffic lights as soon as they are green, despite the fact that people are still crossing the road in front of you someone hoots you. My heart races and I am sure I will have a heart attack one of these days with the constant hoot tooting. It is totally unnecessary. A horn is for warning not for continuous use.

I rarely hear car horns when I am out driving but when I am at home there seem to be a number of visitors who can't say goodbye when they leave without 3 sharp blasts on the horn. Very annoying at midnight.

My husband sounds his horn around an uphill tight bend in a very small lane ( Ducks Lane - to give you an idea of its size.)
I don't sound the horn, I keep right in to the hedge and go up very slowly in first gear. I have never had a problem with that, even with the fastest of cars coming around the bend, down the hill. No one else that I have ever encountered on that bend have sounded their horns either.
As his passenger I am always in dread that there are going to be a couple of very startled horses and riders coming round the bend.
He never sounds the horn in anger,

cangran

Although I don't drive or cycle (too scared to in London!), as a pedestrian, what I often notice are drivers who seem to feel entitled to the whole road and regularly use their horns in a way that suggests no one else (cyclists especially) should dare to hold them up for a nano second, or who sound their horns when in a traffic jam without knowing what the cause is ahead. Annoying!

Oh yes the people half way down the queue blasting on their horn with no idea what the hold up is. Absolute idiots.

Whitewavemark2

Highway Code.

Only use your horn to warn others of your presence.

Never use your horn aggressively

Never use your horn when stationary

Never in a built up area between 11pm? and 6am? Unless someone is in clear danger.

I know that is in the highway code but what are you do do eg if parked and stationary and you see that someone is reversing straight towards you? I would sound my horn and i bet that 9/10 drivers would. The 10th would get hit!

lixy

I don't use my car horn except when I lean on it by accident getting out of the car - it's in the middle of the steering wheel. The windscreen wipers are on the stick where the horn used to be in my old car so I do a good line in washing the windscreen to show my irritation!
Pet hate is people hooting at learner drivers - we were all there once.

I once did the same with the windscreen washing lixy! I've never lived it down as my family were with me at the time

You obviously have never traveled in countries where people continuously sound their horns. Sounding a horn is a warning to some who maybe about to make a dangerous error/ manoeuvre or have just done so. Many drive around in a dangerous way with no care or consideration for others on the road. Personally I think we should use our horns more often instead of being afraid to do so.

My mother got agitated after she'd stopped to let an elderly man cross the road on zebra crossing. She was young and impatient. He was so slow.

She beeped her horn at this poor guy and he got startled and fell over.

She never used her horn again.

I have no idea where the horn is on my car - mind you, I have only had it 5 years

There have been several occasions over the years when I've been 'tooted'.

Once I was waiting to go onto a small roundabout at rush hour. It was a complex junction (only a few yards away there was a second mini roundabout and 5 roads all converged together in that small area). If I had moved onto the roundabout I would have ended up blocking the traffic coming from the right which would have gridlocked the entire junction. So I waited (and waited and waited) until traffic had moved enough for me to proceed. Someone behind me (in a hurry to get home after a long day I assume) obviously felt I should have moved quicker as I was on the receiving end of several long blasts on the horn, repeated frequently until I moved.

When walking down the road I never pay attention to the bip-bip type toots - unless I'm at a junction trying to cross e.g. One time walking home from work I was 'bipped' and ignored it as usual. A work colleague the next day said - I tooted you last night to wave at you as I passed by but you didn't respond. I tried to explain to her that you don't use the horn like that but she just looked at me blankly as though she didn't have a clue what I was wittering on about!

Oh, and I've been tooted by a car that cut me up. He also "gesticulated wildly" at me. Apart from thinking 'a-hole' I ignored him - yes, it was a male driver. Needless to say, I was in the correct lane and driving to the speed limit at the time.

Sirens and pressure horns are illegal, and that is the only way, aapart from shouting, that they can vent their frustration.

I do sometimes beep to warn someone, and perhaps to tell them they've been silly/dangerous. But better that than road rage or swearing. An elderly man once shouted "f***ing w**ker" at me from his open window....he could have just beeped his horn

My problem is whenever I've wanted to toot, always because of a precarious situation, I've never found the horn in time. I think Nissan, and I've had various models over the years, hide theirs!

Shandy57

ha ha GrandMattie that was my immediate thought. In India it seemed to mean I'm coming and you need to get out of the way as I'm driving down the wrong side of the motorway!

Or perhaps to get the cows, goats, chickens etc to move to the side of the road.

A couple of weeks ago I was leaving work, wanted to turn right at the mini roundabout - started pulling out and was part of the way across when this idiotic driver was coming down far too fast - I blasted my horn (so hard I hurt my hand) and braked, they seemed so shocked they actually stopped then at the next roundabout (proper one about 6 car lengths away) they made sure they were a distance away from my boot and aware of the cars coming up wanting to turn right . We are always careful on that mini roundabout, turning right into work can be just as hair-raising as drivers coming up don't seem to take any notice and drive straight across without looking.

I wonder at the opposite. when I learnt to drive you hooted your horn as you drove over a hump backed bridge to tell other drivers who could not see you that you were there. Nowadays I still do that over some of our little bridges in the dales where you cannot see anyone coming at all but not many other people do.

Lol, is this for real?

Urmstongran

It’s annoyance at someone’s bad driving. A warning to ‘buck your ideas up’. You should hear the drivers in Spain! They lean on their horns and get a resounding blast back!

Never mind the drivers in Spain Urmstongran, they're positively restrained compared to those in India! You don't need an alarm clock as even in a high rise hotel room you can hear when the cacophany starts, as soon as the rush hour gets going!!

Grannynannywanny

Love it cheered me no end ????

In New Zealand, drivers flash their lights at you when they are angry.
If you get a beep on the horn, this means "thank you" or, more appropriately, "cheers mate".
It takes some getting used to! Lol.