[gusfring]

Uh, definitely not. I use the horn quite a bit, and the other posts have quite summed up my everyday driving conditions

And yeah, age (and impatience) could be a factor too. But then many don't even look at the road when crossing it, choosing to look at scenery (in a city? I wonder) or their phones, these are cases where they don't hear a horn itself, so I can only imagine how bad things can be without a horn itself.

Slightly OT, but I think the indicator buzzers in scooters are actually helpful. Cars and most bikes don't have an option, while it is optional with scooters. It is nice to be warned of someone right around that turn, especially when they don't honk.
While it is definitely irritating, I'd be okay with that than something more serious.

[ABHI_1512]

To honk or not to honk- the eternal debate and the ensuing point of no return- safety. I have seen many posts suggesting horn is a safety part and I agree to it somehow. But then, I don’t use horn at all unless to let someone wake up from a slumber !!

I have been doing this ever since I started riding a bike and driving a car and this duration is now more than two decades. My old man used to tell me to honk to alert the surroundings but somehow that didn’t enter my eco system

All it takes is some patient driving, at least that is what I can gather after driving for some time. Some folks have suggested that you need to honk on blind turns, it would be a surprise to know that hill people seldom honk. I have been driving in the hills over the years and have seldom come across people honking on blind turns.

In fact, many cities in the North East India have a no-honking policy. One will not have any problems in the hills if safe driving is practised, of course it is expected that not everybody follow the rules. One is expected to encounter some idiot at any given point of time but then defensive driving helps big time, even without the horn.

Horn should NOT be an accessory but should be there. People should use their own discretion in using one. But then discretion is a loaded word in India. I have seen people honking on an empty street as well. In a country where a newly painted flyover gets Pan and Gutkha stains in no time, what discretion means is anybody’s guess

[Cavityavenger]

Only one way to eliminate stupidity on the road - Increased fines (whether it's money that's directly paid towards the fine or partial payment in the pockets of the traffic police).

Nothing motivates people more than the thought of losing $$$ due to a traffic fine.

On the topic of honking, it's unavoidable. Most of the two-wheeler drivers either don't have side rearview mirrors or never bother to look when merging lanes or at turns. I'd rather have a deaf driver than a dead driver.

[MadinMumbai]

With so many people offering safety as a reason to have horns I have been forced to rethink this thread.

How safe is the Indian driving environment? Surely all the honking has made it so safe that we must have the lowest accident rate in the world. After all these people who talk about the virtue of honking must be onto some greater truth than we lesser mortals are prive to.

Oh wait! We have the worst accident rate in the world.

Cretas and VWs have really loud horns. Surely they must never be getting into crashes. Having warned stupid pedestrians and cyclist and cows and elephants and.....that they are coming.

Oh wait! They seem to have the same statistics are the other lesser mortals. Despite nice loud horns they're making as many dents as any of us.

As someone once told me - "Horn hai, brake nahi. You're only going to make a louder noise when you crash."

I suggest studying cause and effect a little more scientifically. Because we are terminally stupid in one area we don't become smart in other areas. We honk, so it is expected that we will honk. But then it doesn't work and then we honk some more, then it is expected that we're only serious about our intent when we have honked enough. A single honk no longer cuts it. Soon, we're at wall to wall honking. And of course some really intelligent people will justify it by saying "it's not safe. So in the interest of safety we must honk even more."

[silverado]

The only way to know is by disconnecting your HORN for a day and then do you regular commute. I am sure we all will manage this way as well and then realize that we were honking much more than needed.

I am sure all of us have the added expertise to navigate our vehicles without horn.

[MadinMumbai]

And on a different note I've seen a lot of patronising of Pedestrians and Cyclists. Guess what? World over they have the same rights to the use of the road as a motorist. In fact in our cities, where sidewalks are nonexistent and or poorly maintained, it is incumbent on motorists to look out for the pedestrian's rights. Nothing gets me as angry as an entitled driver of a car honking at a pedestrian crossing the road. There are very few Zebra crossings on our roads. So, be kind.
Also, to be fair I've seen more idiots in fancy cars talking/texting on their phones than pedestrians.

[KiloAlpha]

I have got into arguments with so many people on the road over the years. They come from all walks of life, and include both pedestrians and operators of all manner of vehicles.
What is the argument? My stand is "why don't you walk/ride/drive with due care and attention" and their stand is "why didn't you just honk". Honking is expected.

So, for example, on a residential street, I am driving sedately (20-30 kmph) and encounter a couple of pedestrians walking in the middle of the road. I don't honk, I just drop my speed to walking pace and continue driving behind them. After a few seconds, they hear the sound of an automobile engine behind them and it makes them uncomfortable, so they turn around and look. The discomfort turns to fear, as the 2 grey cells in their brain knock against each other furiously, trying to make sense of the situation. "What is that idiot car driver trying to do", they wonder. Slowly, they move towards the side of the road, giving me enough space to pass. As I pass, the same 2 grey cells compel them to first glare, then challenge me with the same old question. "Why didn't you honk? Are you crazy?"

A few years ago, a friend and I were planning to go on a road trip together. Since it would be just the 2 of us in a car, we could have taken either his car or my car. After some back and forth, we decided to take my car. The day before the trip, the horn in my car packed up. We took his car.

The horn in India is an essential safety feature. We have the highest road deaths in India, just imagine how many accidents are prevented because someone honked! Which will then lead you to the question of "Why isn't the death toll on Indian roads higher". In fact, the horn has transcended the safety feature level, and has now become a tradition, woven into the fabric of our culture, with every road user believing that the use of a horn is a diktat of their religion's holy book.

[Dr.Abhi]

My car horns went kaput some 2 years back and remain like that for 2 weeks. Earlier I was a bit irritated but slowly i started driving very defensively and started using other means of road communication like flashing headlights before overtaking, using turn indicators more religiously. Foreseeing other road users change of path, decreasing my driving speeds etc. All in all I became quite comfortable with no horn to use. But I should also say in Indian scenarios, Horn is indispensable part of motoring and without that your and other people lives are definately at more risk.
So after 2 weeks of learning defensive driving, I got the horn repaired and started driving at strict 80 kmph. I changed from frequent honker to silent monk.
Now I am trying the same thing by driving with constant dip headlights at night at 70 kmph and using fog lamps along with. Lets see, what will I learn?

[AMT]

Simplest solution would be for each horn to have a fixed life - say 5000 times and then you have to replace it. With the typical mentality of people who feel the need to honk all the time, usage may reduce.

Replacement cost of the horn to be twice the retail price. But then, we live in the land if jugaad so not sure if that’ll work.

[lonetraveller89]

This is what goes on inside the heads of those who honk every 10 seconds -

https://youtu.be/EqiMhsYmxmk

[speedmiester]

As much as I hate to use horn while driving, it is a necessity.

A horn on Indian roads is a safety equipment. There are so many morons driving/riding/walking on phones these days that the only way to get their attention is through honking.

I have said it before and will say it again, the three things one need while driving in India are
"Good Brakes, Good Horn and Good Luck"

[landcruiser123]

With due respect, I want to point out a few deficiencies in your post. The right solution to the problem is treating the cause, not the symptom.

The Problem:

People misuse the Horn as we don't know the rules of the road

The Cause:

Originally Posted by MadinMumbai

We have gotten stupider as a whole.

Treating the symptom:

Originally Posted by MadinMumbai

So, my question- what would you think about a petition to car/bike manufacturers to make horns an optional accessory in India?

Treat the cause, my friend. It is a lot harder, but is the only sustainable solution.

Horns are safety devices, just like high beams. There are situation and places where one should use them - Indians misuse both.

[astrodex]

My first car was a user car in US and it came without a working horn. I was in a college town and managed to drive around for more than a year without missing the horn. Used to comment, rather boast about how different it is compared to India and why we don't really need a horn.
And then one day a guy reversed his pickup truck back without seeing my car and damaged my front bumper. I remember all of it like slow motion. I say his reverse light come up, saw the vehicle ride almost 10 meters and grind up my little coupe and I sat there helplessly pressing the non existing horn and shouting from my window. After all that, he got out and asked 'Why were you so polite? Why didn't u just honk once?'

I'd say a horn is an important safety feature on the car, should not be an accessory or go the dodo's way. Should we limit its usage, sure. But we should not eliminate it.

[SaiSW]

Horn an optional accessory? No thank you. No chance.
It is very much needed, atleast in my state which is filled with autorickshaws which seemingly have the ability of teleportation, wherein they just appear in front of you outta nowhere while you're cruising along at 70 kph.

I cannot count on my hands how many times I've wished to just go back and kick the hell out of them for their stupidity, for trying to almost create an accident and only my relatively liberal horn usage prevented them from fully jumping right in front of my car.

Then there are the bikers, who are more or less the same case.

Long story short, if we can make the aformentioned Einsteins and Newtons of my state improve their road manners while using their time machines, and stop trying to constantly provide practical proof to Darwin's law, then and only then can even horn usage be considered even an offense.

[RedTerrano]

Originally Posted by MadinMumbai

So, my question- what would you think about a petition to car/bike manufacturers to make horns an optional accessory in India? Maybe something like 10K additional for a horn in a new vehicle? Make it akin to a sin tax. We in India love sin taxes anyway. Why not one more? Gormint will be so happy.

My answer: NO
Contrary to popular belief, at least in Pune, honking is not a luxury.
I have been driving in Pune for 30 years, and here are some of the reasons why I need to honk.

1. Pedestrians crossing the road everywhere, except the zebra crossing
2. Vehicle merging on to the main road, withouth bothering to yield
3. Two two wheelers, driving side by side at slow speed, without care that they are holding up traffic behind them.
4. Rickshaws hogging the lane at sloooow speed
5. Vehicles making a turn without indicators or a glance at the RVM
6. Vehicles who will cut into your lane to overtake someone in their lane
7. Vehicles coming from the wrong side
8. Women who hog the lane at slow speed. The type who will ride with both their feet down. I have never figured out how do they even get a license

Since the Indian law says the one with the bigger vehicle is always at fault, and since I drive a car, I am well within my rights to honk to safeguard my life as well as my wallet.