ADUK Archive

Once upon a time I had a car where the horn button was located on the end of the steering wheel stalk. When I came across an appropriate situation [pedestrian about to cross without looking, car reversing out from side road] I could give the button a gentle press, emit a small but satisfying honk [from the car that is] and that was that. Now, there appears to have been a sea change in horn-activation design, so that all manufacturers place it in the centre of the steering wheel. Hopefully it's not just me, but the only way I can use it is to remove one hand from the wheel and strike the centre of the wheel with the heel of my hand. If you've ever watched the simpsons, the opening credits show Marge giving a perfect demonstration.

This is quite a violent action, and no matter how calm I try to remain, I still feel a rise in blood pressure. Why did this design change take place? Surely the horn is no different from the light switch or indicators - just a tool to be used, not a declaration of war.

Think it might be something to do with the airbag also being located in the centre of the steering wheel.I find that the horn button on my Octavia needs a good thump to activate it, but that on my MX-5 is a much more subtle instrument. Daily practice (as I emerge from the blind entrance to my driveway) is leading to a certain degree of refinement.

Buttons on the end of a stalk were a relatively short-lived departure. A horn push in the centre of the boss or on a ring concentric with the centre goes back much further. Stalks themselves only really appeared in the 1950s or so.

ericonabike wrote:Once upon a time I had a car where the horn button was located on the end of the steering wheel stalk. When I came across an appropriate situation [pedestrian about to cross without looking, car reversing out from side road] I could give the button a gentle press, emit a small but satisfying honk [from the car that is] and that was that. Now, there appears to have been a sea change in horn-activation design, so that all manufacturers place it in the centre of the steering wheel. Hopefully it's not just me, but the only way I can use it is to remove one hand from the wheel and strike the centre of the wheel with the heel of my hand. If you've ever watched the simpsons, the opening credits show Marge giving a perfect demonstration.

This is quite a violent action, and no matter how calm I try to remain, I still feel a rise in blood pressure. Why did this design change take place? Surely the horn is no different from the light switch or indicators - just a tool to be used, not a declaration of war.

Why should the position of the horn push encourage road rage? Most drivers in Britain use the horn incorrectly anyway, and have done so for years. IIAC, the horn push has never been a rheostat switch, therefor how hard you have to thump it should make no difference.

Just extend your thumb and press the edge of the hub...works fine for me and allows both hands to remain on the rim.

fungus wrote:IIAC, the horn push has never been a rheostat switch, therefor how hard you have to thump it should make no difference.

You might be right, but I don't think I've come across a steering wheel horn press yet that offers as precise a feeling of control as the button on the end of the stalk that I used to have in a previous car. There's always a delightful element of surprise about exactly when in the process of squidging the steering wheel the noise is going to start.

While I can usually cover the horn with a thumb without taking a hand completely off the wheel, I find it's generally not as easy as covering a button on the end of a stalk.

And even if it doesn't encourage road rage as such, it certainly facilitates angry thumping. Would there be a down side to avoiding facilitating things like that?

I suppose if you've got some steering on (e.g. reversing out of a space in a car park), the middle of the steering wheel is an easier target than the end of a stalk beside various other controls. Without much time to coordinate/think (e.g. if somone else is also reversing, and on a collision course), I'd guess people will have a better success rate at hitting the centre of the wheel.

Missing the right stalk button and washing your windscreen just might not have the desired effect...

This worked better than more modern arrangements, but I suppose airbags and styling changes made it impractical:

http://www.maderaconcepts.com/NewSite/V ... 20Seat.jpg

With the Jaguar horn ring you could lightly bounce your hand off the horn ring and get a brief and gentle tone, e.g. to warn a pedestrian or cyclist in a built-up area; or press it more firmly to get a louder and longer blast, e.g. on the motorway.

martine wrote:Just extend your thumb and press the edge of the hub...works fine for me and allows both hands to remain on the rim.

Me too, though it took years before I figured this out.



You can press anywhere on the centre section.

How to operate the horn is one of the things I generally look at before driving away in an unfamiliar car. It is very unusual to have to take your hand off the wheel.

I can [unless it's false memory syndrome] remember my Dad's 1950s Ford Pop having a centre button, then his Singer Gazelle having a concentric ring. The latter was easy to use via an exploratory thumb from any hand/wheel position, but I don't find the same true of today's arrangements. And thinking back, I don't recall ever having to use the horn when travelling in anything other than a straight line, making it simple to use the stalk button.

I stand by my theory that the design encourages, subliminally, road rage by making it near obligatory to strike the wheel rather than pressing a button. I refer you again to the opening credits of the Simpsons [a popular cartoon series m'lud] where Marge gives the perfect straight arm, heel of hand demonstration. That scene would not have been included unless it resonated with drivers the world over...

I used to have a VW Golf that would auto sound the horn on bumpy roads or sleeping policemen type humps. It never produced road rage but I got lots of waves from people I didn't even know

I have similar difficulty (BMW 318)... it's hard to 'feel subtle' using it...though the target of the noise is going to be unaware of the effort put it... they just hear the beep. It doesn't induce calmness inthe driver though or that sense of being in control.

....even tried web reseach to see if anything 'could be done' but with no success. Basically I guess that the degree of travel on switch is too great. If I had enough nerve I would dismantle it and see what could be done.

I have discovered that the left hand side of the steering wheel pad is easier (and more reliable) to use than the right hand side - which is a pain to me as I am naturally right hand inclined...

I think for most people road rage has already set in before they even consider the horn.

As a related point, how often and in what circumstances do people on here use the horn? What factors lead you to use or not use the horn?

Blind RHS exit from my drive...but it sounds over-kill! Tend to drive very slowly coming out in any case.

The horn is so awkward I've often pressed..... and met silence... And then it's too late to matter! ...

So it's not quite in my consciousness to use it...