This item has 35 comments

1. Larry says:
   May 26, 2008 at 4:45 pm

   I just returned from visiting NYC last night and was amused by a sign near NYU that read, "Excessive noise prohibited." It's a good thing that an easily definable, clear-cut term like "excessive" was used, to avoid any difference of opinion.

2. Turkey says:
   May 26, 2008 at 5:15 pm

   "They honk to let you know that they do not like whatever you have just done, and to indicate that though the moment has passed, and any potential danger with it, they want their extreme disapproval of your actions noted for the record."

   Isn't that what everyone does? Where do they not do that?

3. Savvy Veteran says:
   May 26, 2008 at 5:43 pm

   Turkey, I think they just do it a A LOT more frequently in New York.

4. Joshua Steimle says:
   May 26, 2008 at 7:21 pm

   Actually, since I gave up coffee Starbucks.com is just as good as anything for me, if I'm feeling like torturing myself a little.

   Ironically, I've only had coffee twice in my life. Once in Brazil when I was a Mormon missionary and drank it accidentally, and another time...err, several times, when I was a student at BYU-Idaho before I realized those Jamocha shakes at Arby's have real coffee in them. It's been ten years now and I'm still going through withdrawals. Man, those were good! How can something bad taste so good? Alright, I'm off to starbucks.com to get my fix.

5. Annette S. Brown says:
   May 26, 2008 at 7:55 pm

   I don't frequent Starbucks at all but I love New York and go whenever I can but I must say I've never noticed the signs you mention, Eric. They were fun!
   Of course I don't drive in N.Y. and that's the best part of it all. , as in los angeles one has to drive all the time and I hate that, especially since traffic has become unbelievable..
   I'm a walker and like public transportation in N.Y.
   and when I walk from one place to another in New York I run into all sorts of interesting people on the streets . And people love to talk there, unlike L.A. where people only talk to their cell phone . I'm originally from Belgium, although I lived in France , England and Ireland as well and europeans to converse .

   Only problem with N.Y.is finding a decent small hotel that's reasonally priced. I know of one in Chelsea but it's very difficult to get a room there., and one must do it months in advance.
   I love the theatres and museums and walks and the 92nd Y , and all the other interesting things going on within a bus or subway ride.
   If anyone reading this knows of decent accomodations , I'd love to hear from them.
   I'm a real theatre nut and try to see most of what's playing whenever I go and would love to hear from other theatre lovers anywhere.
   My e-mail is
   ladybugannette@gmail.com

   I hope to hear from some of you,
   and Eric, I really do enjoy reading you regularly.

   Annette

6. Cameron says:
   May 26, 2008 at 8:13 pm

   After living in NYC for a while and then being back in Ut., I actually get annoyed that people don't honk more. A lot of Utah drivers need a kick in the patooty (sp?) at times - like the mom screaming at her kids while the turn error fades yellow. The problem is Utahns take honking personally (as evidenced by the article), when in fact, it's more often just a way to get people to wake up and go.

7. WTF says:
   May 26, 2008 at 8:24 pm

   #6: Where do you see evidence in the article that Eric 1) takes honking personally or 2) is a Utahn?

8. jds88 says:
   May 26, 2008 at 8:49 pm

   They think you have stopped for no reason at all and that the only thing needed to get you on your way again is for you to be honked at.

   I agree with Cameron. In Utah, at least, this very often is the case.

9. Machtyn says:
   May 26, 2008 at 9:11 pm

   Two signs my wife and I saw while heading into NYC from Long Island:
   No right turn
   ------------------
   Right under that was:
   Right turn only

   Now what are we supposed to do? Tried to get a pic, but apparently they fixed it somewhat quickly.

10. Eric D. Snider says:
    May 26, 2008 at 9:23 pm

    Right, right. If someone is just daydreaming and doesn't see that the light is green, by all means, honk at them. But what I was talking about -- and maybe I should have said this in the column -- is when people honk even though you CAN'T go, because there are pedestrians or other obstacles in your way. There are eight or 10 cars backed up, and the one in the back starts honking. Well, why? Don't you think that if it's a problem that honking can solve, the #2 car will take care of it? No. At that point, it's people honking just because they're irritated and want to make noise.

    Turkey, I think most people honk either for the above-cited reason (waking up daydreamers), or to alert someone of danger. You see someone drifting into your lane right in front of you, and you honk to make your presence known, in case they don't see you, that type of thing. In New York, the honking is because someone was driving too slow, and as you pass them, you honk to let them know you don't like the way they're driving. Or it's because the taxi in front of you has stopped to pick up a passenger, and you had to slow down and go around him -- nothing dangerous or abrupt, just normal -- and so you honk to indicate that you wish the taxi had ignored that passenger and kept driving. I don't think that's how *most* people drive, honking to express displeasure and for no other reason. At least, they shouldn't.

    Also, for the record, Eric is not a Utahn.

11. annette S. Brown says:
    May 26, 2008 at 10:12 pm

    I realize that I didn't make any comment ,intelligent or not, about honking., in my previous comments.

    In L.A. people honk all the time and I find it annoying .

    I honk when a bicycle is riding without lights and wearing dark clothes so that one cannot see them till right next to them, then I try to slow down and tell them it is difficult to see them without them having any lights and they usally appreciate
    that , otherwise I just ignore the nuisance honkers .

    Annette

12. Christi says:
    May 27, 2008 at 3:16 am

    I visited the Caribbean a little while ago, and while there was a great deal of horn honking going on, almost all of it seemed to be of the alert/friendly reminder variety. Drivers would honk to alert another vehicle of their presence, which would honk back to acknowledge their presence was noted, etc. It took me a while to realize that all the horn blowing *wasn't* due to extreme irritation.

13. Tyler! says:
    May 27, 2008 at 3:26 am

    I live in North Carolina and was recently at a red light behind a car with a New York license plate. I honked at them the instant the light turned green, just to help them feel a little more at home.

14. Jenn says:
    May 27, 2008 at 4:42 am

    I went to NYC with my family & loved it! I can see why people want to move there! the only thing I didn't like were the cabs!! I genuinely feared for my life everytime we had to get into one. I wasn't scared on the subway, because it reminded me of the Metro in DC, but those cabbies scared the heck out of me!!

15. Rusty says:
    May 27, 2008 at 12:32 pm

    I live here in NYC and my favorite signs are the ones that say "Don't honk except for danger" and someone always whitens out the "d" in danger. It's brilliant stuff.

16. Turkey says:
    May 27, 2008 at 12:42 pm

    Hm. It just seems that the "You're an idiot" honk becomes more and more prevalent wherever I move. Of course I keep moving further east and north with each move, so perhaps there's a correlation. Maybe NYC is the epicenter and we're just feeling the shockwaves from it.

17. knightmare says:
    May 27, 2008 at 4:30 pm

    I live in OR, and it irritates me that in only one city, Hillsboro, I get honked at the minute the light turns green. I live in another city, nearer to Portland, and that doesn't happen there, or even in Portland, only in Hillsboro. I have great reflexes, but I can't go the second the light turns green unless I'm illegally moving forward during the red light.

    The only time I honk is for the reasons Eric said, to alert another driver of my presence, or if they've been sitting for a long time at a green light. Usually, they're digging in their purse, yakking on the phone (hate that!), or whatever and aren't paying attention. Because, you know, it's too much trouble to pay attention to silly things like the road, the light ahead of you, cars around you, when you're piloting a massive amount of metal that can maim and kill.

18. Kourtney says:
    May 27, 2008 at 5:41 pm

    I love that episode of Law & Order where they bust crooked taxi drivers for honking in a clearly marked "Don't Honk" zone. $350 each, suckas!

19. RFS says:
    May 27, 2008 at 10:48 pm

    I don't mind being honked at if I haven't started moving just after the light turns green. It's the ones who hit the horn late and end up honking at you when you have moved forward a foot or two. When that happens I stop and look to the left and then to the right just to make sure that the horn honk wasn't a warning of impending danger heading my way. It never is of course. And I never suspect it is, I just want the guy behind me to see that his horn honking is confusing things and holding everyone up.

    I had one guy hit the horn late three times. Each time I was on my way, he hit the horn, I stopped, looked around, started moving again, he would hit the horn again, I would stop again. It was great fun. - RFS

20. goldfish says:
    May 28, 2008 at 3:11 am

    I'm from WI, and around here, NO ONE honks their horn.

    I've been driving for a year, and I've never needed to. Occasionally, we get the 'what are you doing?' stare and shrug, but really never the horn.

    I had no idea people honk that much.

21. The UnMighty says:
    May 28, 2008 at 4:23 am

    "Can't go" is arguable. Some obstacles just don't justify stopping. I.e., pedestrians, minorities, babies, and other stuff that won't do significant damage to your vehicle. And if you're not sure, the people behind you are usually the best judges of what stops are justifiable.

22. Randy Tayler says:
    May 28, 2008 at 2:14 pm

    The confusion would be eliminated with my new, patented, TWO-horn system for cars. One is the loud blaring kind for "LOOK OUT!" (Or in NYC: "I HATE YOU!") The other is the more pleasant dual-toot kind for "Hey, buddy, it's green." And no matter how hard you press the horn for a dual-tooter, it ALWAYS comes out with a friendly "Toot-toot!"

    There's just no good reason for Americans to go with a single horn. Two should be the minimum.

    But that's not all! With the new Tooter Deluxe, you can use any one of our preset, universal horn sounds to express the following:
    "Your bumper sticker is funny"
    "Hi, old friend, it's me"
    "Your gas cap is off"
    "Your gas cap is off and someone is currently siphoning gas from your car"
    "I tried flashing my lights to tell you your headlights weren't on, but you apparently missed that cue"
    "I liked the Dukes of Hazzard"

23. Randy Tayler says:
    May 28, 2008 at 2:18 pm

    I've dugg this article now, by the way.

    http://digg.com/travel_places/Poisonous_Gasses_How_Cute

    You should add digg buttons to your columns, young man.

24. Adam says:
    May 28, 2008 at 2:55 pm

    I thought the Starbucks sign was giving their email address, as in:

    alwaysopen@starbucks.com.

    Which would have been funny, since they're not always open.

25. Heidi says:
    May 28, 2008 at 4:58 pm

    There's a little cafe in San Diego that has a sign that reads, "Hippies use side door." Of course there is no side door. Freakin' hippies!

26. CatieAnne says:
    May 29, 2008 at 1:12 am

    From an old episode of the Simpsons:

    Homer while stuck on an onramp to an expressway in what is clearly a sea of traffic: "Don't worry kids, I've got a trick up my sleeves." Rolls up shirt sleeves, leans into it, and long, angry HONK!

    I'm a cop and I think about that and giggle to myself with every improper use of horn ticket.

27. Leah Jane says:
    May 29, 2008 at 1:14 am

    Horn honking never goes on in Hawaii, not on the Westside of Maui anyways. Nobody seems to care to drive that crazy anyways, we even have a bumper sticker saying "Slow down, this ain't the mainland!" Anyone else remember Homer Simpson's dream car? "And a horn here, here, and here! You can never find one when you're angry!"

28. Deb says:
    May 29, 2008 at 1:36 am

    The horn honking I HATED was when I was a kid in Oregon--I had to walk along a rural road from my schoolbus stop to my house. The road was narrow, and I walked in the very narrow strip of grass between the pavement and the ditch. If a car would go by (usually quite fast), they would invariably honk loud and long even though I was not in the road. It always made me jump. Jerks!

29. Q says:
    May 29, 2008 at 2:46 am

    My favorite sign of all time was in Beijing but written in English. It read: "Low Ceiling. Tall People, Watch Head. Short People, No Problem."

30. Julie says:
    May 29, 2008 at 7:51 pm

    Seriously Eric, what would I do without you?

31. Honkin' Karen Gayle Stout says:
    May 30, 2008 at 2:39 am

    Maybe you all can settle a dispute: My husband maintains that it is illegal to honk your horn in California, according to the DMV handbook. I was reared in a more civilized state, Ohio, where a friendly toot on the horn was a way to communicate--much as Randy Tayler's "Tooter Deluxe" model would do.

    Out in the country, here in rural Ohio, when you drove by a friend's house, it was always customary to salute the inhabitants with a jaunty "toot toot" as you sped by. Even today, If you see someone you know as you're driving out of a parking lot or something, it's expected that you will honk at each other and maybe wave wildly out the window. Nobody gets a ticket or a stern look.

    When we leave my elderly Mom's house, she waits at the front storm door so she can wave as we go by and honk the old "shave and a haircut..two bits." Apparently, if we do not observe this ritual, something dire will happen. I do not know what this thing is, for I have never dared to forget to tootle the "DA DA DA DADA... DA DA" as I left.

    Anyhow, Tom was driving the other day when we left, and the horn remained silent as we waved goodbye. I asked him why he didn't honk, and he said he can't get used to doing something that's Against The Law in California.

    So my question is:
    Is it really forbidden? Why do they even put horns on cars then?

    I mourn the death of a friendly society.

32. Momma Snider says:
    May 31, 2008 at 2:14 am

    I can never find the horn when there's a need to warn someone, like if they're about to sideswipe me. So the only times I have ever honked were when I was mad, and those would be at least two seconds late, or when I was saying Hi. I've never heard of it being Against The Law in California.

33. Lane says:
    June 1, 2008 at 8:05 am

    I just got in from New York last night! On the one cab ride I took, traffic was horrible and the cabbie honked any time we expressed frustration at the fact that we could have been walking faster than he was driving. So I think that MOST of the honking in New York is just cabbies trying to earn their tips. Most of the cars on the street are cabs.

34. Mark says:
    June 5, 2008 at 1:29 am

    The photos of the NY signs were wonderful! Re the comments, I got the biggest laugh from Tyler! in his attempt to make the visiting New Yorker feel at home. I must confess that it is my chronic impatience that causes me to honk at the guy in front of me who will not turn right into the curb lane because he is afraid that the guy coming toward him and turning left is going to swing over into his lane. If the guy in front of me will slowly start his turn he will tell the whole world that he intends to use his lane, the left-turning guy then will carefully use only his lane, the flow of traffic will continue, and all will be well with the world. Am I justified in honking, or shall I seek therapy?

35. Erica says:
    June 7, 2008 at 8:01 pm

    I live in New Jersey (the place for people who love NY, but would hate to live there.) and the honking is just as bad here, just not as concentrated. I lived in North Carolina for a few years(inbetween living in NJ), I never got used to people not honking when someone wasn't moving at a green light......sometimes it look a whole 10 seconds for them to start moving. They must have thought I was the hugest jerk in NC with all of my honking.