I've been feeling horny lately...
Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2015 9:07 pmLet’s reclaim the horn!
The horn has completely lost its way in the UK in my opinion. Every car has one, they’re fitted for perfectly sound reasons, but for some reason, horn use has become a bit like one of those words which used to be used in normal day-to-day language, but for reasons of political correctness, are now deemed insulting, degrading or highly offensive.
“Consider use of the horn” used to be one of the individual phases of the old blue Roadcraft system, which meant that advanced drivers were encouraged to at least think about using the horn at every single hazard they encountered on the road.
In the modern version of system, "information" runs throughout the other four phases and means that, amongst other signals, the horn should be used where appropriate as a signal.
The Highway Code has a very clear rule relating to the use of the horn – rule 112 in fact – which states:
The horn. Use only while your vehicle is moving and you need to warn other road users of your presence. You MUST NOT use your horn
• while stationary on the road
• when driving in a built up area between the hours of 11.30pm and 7.00am
except when another road user poses a danger.
That couldn’t be any clearer could it? The horn is there solely to warn other road users of your presence. Makes perfect sense to me – an audible device which gives out a quick “honk” or “toot” whenever you’re unsure whether another road user is aware of your presence. You gain the advantage of knowing you’ve made someone aware that you’re there and they gain the advantage of knowing you’re there. You’d think people would be grateful of the warning wouldn’t you?
If you’re approaching a badly-sighted junction and you see the front of a vehicle starting to emerge, but have no view of the driver, then it’s entirely appropriate to give a short horn warning to the driver to alert them of your presence.
A bus stops in front of you and passengers start to disembark. There is always a real danger that, as you pass the bus, the passengers may cross from the front of the bus, into your path. A longer horn warning on approach will let them know you’re coming and may deter them from stepping out in front of you.
You’re alongside a large goods vehicle which starts to drift in its lane, squeezing you towards the central reservation. A short toot on the horn gets the driver’s attention and creates you some essential space.
You’re approaching a pedestrian walking in the same direction of you with their hood up and on the phone. They start to step into the road and a long honk on the horn gets their attention and they step back on to the pavement.
All good no?
Well, these days, seemingly – no…
For some reason, over an extended period of time (probably over the last 40 or 50 years), horn use and the perception of horn use has completely changed.
I would estimate that 99% of horn use in the UK these days contravenes rule 112 of the Highway Code. Horns are used as a rebuke, as an aggressive response to perceived poor driving, as an intolerant expression of dissatisfaction and often as a demand for another road user to make way.
Someone pulls out from a junction in front of you? HOOONK! B$%#@~d!
Someone cuts you up in traffic? HOOONK! W$!@#r!
Someone dares to give a quick PARP to let you know they’re there? F#@% YOU, YOU F#@%ING !£$%@#*$@£#!!
Not very nice is it?
But how do we change things for the better? We’ve gone a long way down this road and it seems that horn use has changed permanently along with the perception of other people’s use of the horn. How could we possibly stop this descent and go back to appropriate and non-aggressive use of the horn?
Let’s go back to my earlier reference to offensive derogatory terms. These days, minority groups who have previously suffered abuse through certain words and expressions have started to “reclaim” the insulting words and terms by using them themselves, often in a self-deprecating manner which has resulted in the terms becoming less and less insulting.
I have to be careful here, as I’ve no intention of offending anyone, so I’ve had to think long and hard about which of these terms I can use as an example. I’ve chosen the word “queer”.
“Queer” was, for a long time, a word used predominantly as a derogatory term for gay people. It wasn’t always the case though – “queer”, as in “I’m feeling a bit queer” or “how queer” was a fairly normal word in everyday use many years ago, but over time, it became increasingly used as an insult or insulting nickname.
But then the gay community took the decision to “reclaim” the word by using it regularly within their social circles and as references to themselves to the extent that, over time, it became much less insulting and derogatory as a word. Queer has even become an academic term in reference to various aspects of LGBT studies, culture art and politics.
Many other words have gone through this “reclamation” process by various minority groups. If you think about it, reclaiming these words is a clever and inventive tactic to take the sting out of previously offensive language and put two fingers up at the bullys and bigots.
I’m sure you’re wondering where I’m going with this, so I’ll come back to the point.
It’s time for drivers in the UK to reclaim the horn!
We need to change our opinions about horn use and we need to at least try to change other people’s perception of horn use.
I’ve even come up with a tactic, which I’ve been using for a few months now and which seems to work quite nicely.
I’m using my horn much more regularly these days – always in appropriate circumstances where another road user may benefit – but much more often. The tactic, however, is to look for eye contact with the other road user – driver, cyclist, pedestrian – it doesn’t matter who, but when I sound the horn I look to catch the other person’s eye, and then I give them a cheery wave and a smile – as though I know them.
Nine and a half times out of ten, they’ll smile and wave back as though I’m their best mate! Instead of getting an aggressive response, two fingers or a mouthful of abuse, I get a cheerful – if sometimes slightly puzzled – smile and a wave back. It’s a much more positive response, and I’m then certain that I’ve got their attention and they are much less likely to do something careless or daft.
If we all start using this tactic, surely we can reclaim the horn for the purpose it is designed for?
Give it a go, and let me know what you think!
The horn has completely lost its way in the UK in my opinion. Every car has one, they’re fitted for perfectly sound reasons, but for some reason, horn use has become a bit like one of those words which used to be used in normal day-to-day language, but for reasons of political correctness, are now deemed insulting, degrading or highly offensive.
“Consider use of the horn” used to be one of the individual phases of the old blue Roadcraft system, which meant that advanced drivers were encouraged to at least think about using the horn at every single hazard they encountered on the road.
In the modern version of system, "information" runs throughout the other four phases and means that, amongst other signals, the horn should be used where appropriate as a signal.
The Highway Code has a very clear rule relating to the use of the horn – rule 112 in fact – which states:
The horn. Use only while your vehicle is moving and you need to warn other road users of your presence. You MUST NOT use your horn
• while stationary on the road
• when driving in a built up area between the hours of 11.30pm and 7.00am
except when another road user poses a danger.
That couldn’t be any clearer could it? The horn is there solely to warn other road users of your presence. Makes perfect sense to me – an audible device which gives out a quick “honk” or “toot” whenever you’re unsure whether another road user is aware of your presence. You gain the advantage of knowing you’ve made someone aware that you’re there and they gain the advantage of knowing you’re there. You’d think people would be grateful of the warning wouldn’t you?
If you’re approaching a badly-sighted junction and you see the front of a vehicle starting to emerge, but have no view of the driver, then it’s entirely appropriate to give a short horn warning to the driver to alert them of your presence.
A bus stops in front of you and passengers start to disembark. There is always a real danger that, as you pass the bus, the passengers may cross from the front of the bus, into your path. A longer horn warning on approach will let them know you’re coming and may deter them from stepping out in front of you.
You’re alongside a large goods vehicle which starts to drift in its lane, squeezing you towards the central reservation. A short toot on the horn gets the driver’s attention and creates you some essential space.
You’re approaching a pedestrian walking in the same direction of you with their hood up and on the phone. They start to step into the road and a long honk on the horn gets their attention and they step back on to the pavement.
All good no?
Well, these days, seemingly – no…
For some reason, over an extended period of time (probably over the last 40 or 50 years), horn use and the perception of horn use has completely changed.
I would estimate that 99% of horn use in the UK these days contravenes rule 112 of the Highway Code. Horns are used as a rebuke, as an aggressive response to perceived poor driving, as an intolerant expression of dissatisfaction and often as a demand for another road user to make way.
Someone pulls out from a junction in front of you? HOOONK! B$%#@~d!
Someone cuts you up in traffic? HOOONK! W$!@#r!
Someone dares to give a quick PARP to let you know they’re there? F#@% YOU, YOU F#@%ING !£$%@#*$@£#!!
Not very nice is it?
But how do we change things for the better? We’ve gone a long way down this road and it seems that horn use has changed permanently along with the perception of other people’s use of the horn. How could we possibly stop this descent and go back to appropriate and non-aggressive use of the horn?
Let’s go back to my earlier reference to offensive derogatory terms. These days, minority groups who have previously suffered abuse through certain words and expressions have started to “reclaim” the insulting words and terms by using them themselves, often in a self-deprecating manner which has resulted in the terms becoming less and less insulting.
I have to be careful here, as I’ve no intention of offending anyone, so I’ve had to think long and hard about which of these terms I can use as an example. I’ve chosen the word “queer”.
“Queer” was, for a long time, a word used predominantly as a derogatory term for gay people. It wasn’t always the case though – “queer”, as in “I’m feeling a bit queer” or “how queer” was a fairly normal word in everyday use many years ago, but over time, it became increasingly used as an insult or insulting nickname.
But then the gay community took the decision to “reclaim” the word by using it regularly within their social circles and as references to themselves to the extent that, over time, it became much less insulting and derogatory as a word. Queer has even become an academic term in reference to various aspects of LGBT studies, culture art and politics.
Many other words have gone through this “reclamation” process by various minority groups. If you think about it, reclaiming these words is a clever and inventive tactic to take the sting out of previously offensive language and put two fingers up at the bullys and bigots.
I’m sure you’re wondering where I’m going with this, so I’ll come back to the point.
It’s time for drivers in the UK to reclaim the horn!
We need to change our opinions about horn use and we need to at least try to change other people’s perception of horn use.
I’ve even come up with a tactic, which I’ve been using for a few months now and which seems to work quite nicely.
I’m using my horn much more regularly these days – always in appropriate circumstances where another road user may benefit – but much more often. The tactic, however, is to look for eye contact with the other road user – driver, cyclist, pedestrian – it doesn’t matter who, but when I sound the horn I look to catch the other person’s eye, and then I give them a cheery wave and a smile – as though I know them.
Nine and a half times out of ten, they’ll smile and wave back as though I’m their best mate! Instead of getting an aggressive response, two fingers or a mouthful of abuse, I get a cheerful – if sometimes slightly puzzled – smile and a wave back. It’s a much more positive response, and I’m then certain that I’ve got their attention and they are much less likely to do something careless or daft.
If we all start using this tactic, surely we can reclaim the horn for the purpose it is designed for?
Give it a go, and let me know what you think!
).
