[antony5279]

Honking does drive my stress level up.

Here is a TEDx lecture by Anand Damani who has an innovative solution to honking problem in India. (He says all Indians are horny)

https://youtu.be/xOkY5w0yXao

.

Interestingly I was also speaking at the same event and that’s how I met him.

[amitayu]

Just curious.

How many of us use headlight flashing to the car in front to indicate you want to overtake/asking them to speed up?

I was taught that was the driving 'rule' when I learned driving. Today, blowing the horn seems to be the only mode of communication, leading to excessive honking.

[Amukherjea]

Before anybody comlains about other unruly drivers pedestrians just think back and count how many times others honk at you. Then you will understand what is your contribution to the noise pollution.
Having had the chance to drive in all cities of India and a few abroad I find that not honking makes you lose about 1 to 2 min on a 30 min drive.
Anecdotally... today I was travelling in an auto in mumbai suburbs and we all came to a stop behind a taxi on a very narrow lane as he stopped to pickup a passenger. Immediately about 23 scooters motorcycles 6 autos and some cars started honking.
I asked my auto driver why was he honking? Is it to transfer energy to the taxi ahead for it to move?
He smiled and stopped honking. Said " what to do saab everybody honks" I asked him how did he like to be honked at when he is picking up a pax.
No answer. Hope he is honking less in future.
All who is complaining and also justifying horns at any situation look inwards and think how many times you have been honked at.
Self discipline I suppose is the answer.
Kolkata is noisiest Mumbai is fairly quiet Delhi I dont go to narrow roads too often so can't comment.
Goa and chandigarh I find are quite good.
Food for thought.

[Cyborg]

There is no solution to India’s honking problem. If you look and think of this practically, it’s never going to happen. Unfortunately, this is a harsh reality, if you think it’s not, you are only deluding yourself.

Cheers

[AutoNoob]

Originally Posted by evil_grin

How do you make Indians honk less?
Make it need say 3x the current amount of pressure to press.

Originally Posted by am1m

wonder if there is a way to directly reduce the vehicle charge/range each time the horn is pressed and to reduce it dramatically, say if the horn is pressed 'x times in y minutes'.

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

Horn is a basic safety feature, especially in Indian conditions where ANYTHING can happen at any time. I strongly disagree with any suggestions to make the horn inaccessible or hard to press or anything like. It needs to be pressed instantly, as a reflex action.

Originally Posted by KrisTvpm

Just the other day, was pondering over how to lodge a PIL seeking 2 things:
* Limit the max decibel level of vehicle horns - OEM or aftermarket accessory

Since "educating" our society is tougher than colonising Mars, no hopes on that front.

Govt was looking to reduce the max sound levels of the automotive horns. But seems like that proposal has slipped through the cracks.

Source: TOI

Horn not OK please : Government plans to reduce max level below 100 decibels
Sep 8, 2018

As per Central Motor Vehicle Rules, the noise range for horns is currently fixed between 93 decibels (dB) and 112 dB. "We are looking to bring down this range to 88dB at the lower end with the maximum limit at just under 100dB," Abhay Damle, joint secretary in the ministry of road transport and highways, told TOI.

As for the technical solutions, Hyundai had filed very relevant patent about nine years back. However, that probably remained only on paper.

The following flowchart was given in the patent. In my opinion, even without the 'detection' feature, just working with speed data, the solution would have been easier and cost-effective to implement.

Source: Google Patents [Full PDF: US20160046235A1.pdf]

[Anikesh11]

I feel an easier solution would be to ensure horns make similar honking sound inside the cabin as they do outside
This will ensure that drivers don't honk unnecessarily, in case of emergency when you do use horn you will already been in heightened state of alert and noise inside the cabin will not startle you

[IndieGooner]

As a driver I'm a minimalist honker. I toot the horn only on following situations

• Driver ahead of me is not paying attention to the signal turning green. I restrict this to a half-honk after 3-4 seconds. I rarely get to do this as I'm usually beaten to it by motorists even behind me
• Two wheeler driving down the middle of the road and I need space and their alertness to pass
• Someone cutting in dangerously

I have a ~300km round trip every weekend and I usually manage a trip with 4-5 honks at most (yes, i count them; I'm very proud of my minimalist honking ways )

I know that I'm supposed to honk everytime I overtake, but considering the road conditions here where you would be passing someone almost every few hundred meters, I don't honk unless the other driver seems to be entirely oblivious.

If I can manage this run in Kerala's two lane high ways while maintaining speed limit plus another 50-60 km of city driving per week without laying on the horn anybody can do it.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by AutoNoob

Govt was looking to reduce the max sound levels of the automotive horns. But seems like that proposal has slipped through the cracks.

OEMs can reduce the power output of a horn but one can simply add more OEM horns of the same output and create more intense horn if needed, but the activa rider with a single horn will create more nuisance than any truck with air horn ever will.

As with anything else - its not a gun problem.

It is impractical to stop and check every vehicle`s horn, just that things like air horn which is very distinct and often visible can be picked up and fined\ removed as necessary but not going to solve the actual problem.

[noob_petrolmonk]

On a lighter note, horns should be powered by the fuel and most of us don't like to see our fuel efficiency dropping due excessive honking.

[UD17]

What about the bikes (sometimes 100s of them) procession with constant honking for kilometers, i guess they feel showoff as only life's aim.

What could be the solution to that? Its a common site at every possible occasions (not naming them) & at every colony atleast in Pune.

[Small Bot]

Originally Posted by amitayu

How many of us use headlight flashing to the car in front to indicate you want to overtake/asking them to speed up?

That's what I was taught too. But I found out two things:
- When I use headlight flashes in broad daylight, the driver ahead of me ignores it as the sun is too bright and they probably think it's the sun playing tricks.
- When I use headlight flashes in the night, it seems to work a little better (some drivers actually do move). I seem to be the only one around me who uses their headlights on low beam though.
So, I invariably end up having to honk my way through.

[Chhanda Das]

Patience is a virtue

At the other end of the spectrum, here is someone from my own city who has not honked for 32 years
https://www.indiatoday.in/cities/kol...391-2021-12-28

Even the Kolkata Traffic Police has recognized his efforts :-

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1680037982044469

Here is another person also from Kolkata who has been following the no-honking policy :
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india...GEUueBkpL.html

Even celebrities have joined the bandwagon :
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/68356241.cms

[nvldvr]

I heard the most hilarious description of our honking habits on some youtube video by a European guy.

He described it as "Indians driving cars are like bats navigating in darkness. Whilst the bats avoid collisions in flight using echos of sounds emitted by them, the Indian drivers navigate, and stay clear of other cars, by making a mental map of relative positions of all vehicles around them, through their constant honking."

I

[jackofsome]

Originally Posted by drsachin

Fines may be a solution in Mumbai but not in Delhi NCR.
In Delhi the biggest problem is two wheelers and three wheelers who have absolutely no regard for rest of the traffic. They neither follow lanes nor redlights. I think 90% of two wheelers don't even view their rear view mirrors before changing lanes. The only deterrent they have is the honking by the car, who warns them not to change lane. If the person who is driving the car don't honk or don't slow down ,it's a recipe for sure shot accident. Irony is a large number of these two wheeler drivers either don't wear even a helmet or the helmet is just a showpiece with no real protection.
These two wheelers are so brave that they regularly enter even expressways where it's clearly prohibited.
.

I have driven in a whole host of cities for extended periods such as Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and most recently shifted to Kolkata.

Trust me when i say this, you have got the best roads in the country in a city (the widest by a fair margin, with the least amount of red lights), and I have myself hardly honked when driving in NCR. I try and follow this practice in Kolkata, but here its a complete different world which you wont believe unless you experience. People honk like crazy, they cannot wait 2 secs while the red light turns green and there is no end to by lanes in the name of roads in the city. Not to mention the population explosion. Still I practice not to honk and rather take a sedate pace of driving, whereas my car is no means slow and begs to be revved. So all of us collectively can practice to be better is what I believe. Of course I believe the government should impose Fastag based fines with some caveats.

My two cents.

[ShreyG]

Originally Posted by Small Bot

- When I use headlight flashes in broad daylight, the driver ahead of me ignores it as the sun is too bright and they probably think it's the sun playing tricks.
- When I use headlight flashes in the night, it seems to work a little better (some drivers actually do move). I seem to be the only one around me who uses their headlights on low beam though.
So, I invariably end up having to honk my way through.

That is so on point regarding the usage of low beam during driving.
I have seen people in residential complexes (and these are well educated graduates with jobs in IT etc) driving on full high beam blinding walking residents and children. Feeling irritated, now I make it a point to stop them and ask them to lower their beam. Many of them sheepishly smile and apologize, a few play dumb being not aware of this function and a small, arrogant minority scoff it off.
I am also one of the guys who avoids honking as much as possible. I have learnt my driving manners and nuances by practicing in the streets of Lagos, Nigeria where honking is looked down upon as a cardinal sin and can actually lead to a confrontation.
For the past 1 year, I have a sleeping baby in the car which further enhances the need. At red lights, I am always aided by the ever ready autos, tempos honking away to glory.
Only instances I honk is when I see some wayward vehicle straying into my lane or when I need to pass through a much slower vehicle (mostly cargo 3 wheeler) who don't relent.