Do you Need a Horn to Drive on *Chaotic* Indian Roads? NO!!
The easiest thing there is, is to assume. When you talk to people, especially about driving on *chaotic* Indian roads, they’ll tell you stories and stories about how the most important component of your bike/car is the HORN.
Now let me tell you something.
It’s not.
I have been driving on the same *chaotic* Indian roads — in two bikes, three cities, for over 8 years — without a horn and I am doing very fine. It’s not that I have a horn and I don’t use it — I don’t even have it.
Actually, I didn’t maintain the battery and since the indicator, front light, etc. is working without the battery, I didn’t change it. Laziness, maybe.
But once I got used to driving without a horn, I realized it’s not required. Even, and especially, on the Indian roads.
All you need is a bit of patience. Once you remove the horn from your vehicle, you’ll develop patience — like I did.
You may not believe but there has not been a situation where I wanted to apply the horn or felt the lack of it. On roads, I feel, it’s important to trust people to do their best. Even if a vehicle is not moving right before you, it’s not that they are enjoying blocking the traffic — there might be a genuine reason like another vehicle is blocking their way, their vehicle is not starting, etc.
In these situations it’s better to understand and wait. If you are impatient, move your vehicle back and overtake on the side. What’s the need to keep honking and increasing the blood pressure of everyone around?
I feel, horn should be abolished in all vehicles. Or it’s volume should be drastically reduced. Horn is useless and is only misused. Like all other privileges available to mankind.
What do you think?
Destination Infinity
I agree with you, for regular travelling in the city oyu actually don’t need the horn. maybe in country side you may need it to move animals out of the way. In City when I am waiting for the green signal and the impatient guys blowing their horns I look back and ask him to fly over me and the bus in front. mostly it stops them. 😀
I too hate it when people honk from behind clearly knowing there is no option for me to go forward!
Destination Infinity
I agree with you 100%. In Chennai, when you are stopping at a red light, guys behind you horn. I have no idea why. Are they asking me to ignore the red light and go?
When there is no police around, and the road seems to be empty, sometimes that happens.
Destination Infinity
Rajesh, I am shocked that you have removed the horn from your two-wheeler. And that too on the chaotic Indian roads and busy streets. I am sure that must have made you get the patience of a saint.
Btw..your halo is blinding me all the way in Bangalore 😉
One more way to develop patience (or lose it fast) is to drive on Indian city roads during peak hour traffic, daily 😛
Destination Infinity
With you on this one fully. It gets really annoying when people irresponsibly use their horns.
I guess people who honk think that people before them are dozing off quietly amid the chaos. Or they don’t want to meet their kids at home. Or that they have some special urgency that the other motorists around them don’t. Or that their bigger vehicles need special respect on the road.
I once tried counting the number of horns I hear, and it immediately turned off all the stress, tension, annoyance, show-that-finga that usually accompany hearing a “move-away-you-morons” type of horn. This exercise was also fun as I tried to better my previous best. I can’t have enough of them now!
You have done a lot of fun experimentation with horns I guess 🙂
Destination Infinity
A handful.
You can also try listening to an audiobook via earphones.
Or simply ignore the horns. If someone confronts you, tell them you’re deaf.
Ha ha. That deaf idea is a good one. I just glare back at such people and don’t say anything.
Destination Infinity
Sometimes it is better be safe than sorry… Horns are there for a purpose
Of course, horns are useful in certain situations. Like if you are overtaking a vehicle on the left, it’s better to intimate them using a horn, than hope they’ll not turn left suddenly.
Destination Infinity
Fully agree with you.
No horns on roads.
At least not the loud, persistent horns that are used unnecessarily.
Destination Infinity
You are right Rajest, people who are in hurry only horn the most to keep all the vehicles away the road esp. the travel cars. It really irritates me when people keep horn as soon signal fall green… don’t they wait for few seconds for the vehicle to pick up? I also hate horn when travelling through forest or mountains where silence presence the most.
Horns are sometimes used to convey people’s frustration with life in general, than for traffic-related reasons!
Destination Infinity
90% of times, people use horn to vent out their frustrations. If only people learnt to be patient. What’s funny is when people who are way behind the stop line start pressing the horn the minute the signal turns green.
Pressing horn when the signal turns green is better than pressing it when the signal is still red! Yeah, some do.
Destination Infinity
While it’s great to keep our roads noise free by not honking unnecessarily, but not having a horn altogether is a bit risky! You do need it at times. So do get it installed even though you may not use it! 🙂
Good point. Need to get over my laziness somehow 🙂
Destination Infinity
I do agree that most of the times horns are unnecessary but sometimes you do need them. But the useless honking gets to me and irritates me to no end.
Most of the honking is useless 😛
Destination Infinity
I agree with you, Rajesh! Horn is not needed at all esp. in daytime. I notice many people are with you!
Thanks, Maami 🙂
Destination Infinity
True that…we hardly use horns in US, not because there is some sort of a policy against using it.
It is just a bit of aggressiveness and some people just use for fun in India.
Yes, they use it for fun and also to vent out their frustration.
Destination Infinity
Horn is unnecessary because Segway do not have them.
Yes. But what is segway?
Destination Infinity