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The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous phrase (2016)

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Re: The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous phrase (2016)

#71

Post by technothrasher »

rahoulb wrote: post #9

As someone who has grown up (and learnt to drive) in England - I had a moment of sudden realisation in India. For me, the horn is a warning sign - "get out of my way" or "watch out!" - only to be used in emergencies. In India, the horn means "I'm over here", to be used whenever you're near another vehicle. Which fits with the statements on the back of the lorries perfectly.

> For me, the horn is a warning sign

Here in Massachusetts, it seems the horn has only three functions. The first, a quick "beep beep" signals that you recognize another driver or pedestrian and are saying hello. The second, a one to three second beep means that the traffic light has switched to green and car in front of you has not begun moving within 20ms. And the third, a five to sixty second "beeeeeeeeep" means that you consider the other driver to have made a mistake and needs to understand their very, very low place in the social hierarchy. This third one is the most used.

Re: The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous phrase (2016)

#72

Post by rodelrod »

junoper wrote: post #53
elzbardico wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If everybody follow simple traffic rules there's absolutely no need for the vehicle behind a truck to have the need to make the truck aware they are there. 1. Vehicle behind must keep distance, no tailgating. 2. Vehicle ahead should not change lanes before a) Making sure the marking on the road says it is permitted. b) Signaling the maneuver with directional lights. c) Checking the side mirror before actually startin…

I agree and people are exeggerating the usage of horns more than it actually is. > there's absolutely no need But one use of horn that I found useful in India was to overtake on 2-lane hilly road. Now theoretically you should be able to see, may be hundred metres, ahead of you before you start the overtake or if you are not too keen to reach your destination, not overtake at all till you reach straight road with long…

> Is there a better way of doing this?

Yes, you don't overtake if you don't have visibility because of a hill or a bend. That is enforced by traffic regulation and road markings in Europe and most of the places I've driven. And yes, that means that sometimes you get stuck behind trucks for a long time but it also means that nobody gets killed.

Re: The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous phrase (2016)

#73

Post by rhn_mk1 »

Etheryte wrote: post #32
iso1631 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Indian drivers rarely use their side mirrors" Doesn't matter if the mirrors are there or not if culturally people don't use them.

I experienced confusion about this when I travelled to Indonesia some years ago, but a local taxi driver made it easy to understand: "What's in front of you is your responsibility." It's an unwritten local driving rule and once you know it, the local traffic is considerably easier to grok. No one looks behind them because everyone's agreed that they only worry about things in front of them. If you want to pass a car…

How do people back out into a street there?

Re: The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous phrase (2016)

#74

Post by sokoloff »

claviska wrote: post #67
jkhdigital wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it’s a bit ironic that the only reasonable use of a horn is often the least likely justification for honking by Western (or at least American) drivers. As an aside, Japanese drivers flash their lights (both headlights and taillights) as acknowledgement for letting them merge or pass—like the dual behavior of honking a horn as an expletive.

Here in the somewhat rural U.S., we tend to use the horn only when a driver isn’t paying attention when the light turns green and we’re behind them.

I’m in a city and over 90% of my horn usage amounts to “put down your damn phone; your light is green!”

Re: The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous phrase (2016)

#75

Post by sokoloff »

aww_dang wrote: post #38
ghoomketu wrote: post #30

Man the amount of honking is insane in India. I was visiting a relative in Patna and it's like everybody just honks for the sake on honking. I mean I thought delhi was bad, but this place just takes honking to a whole new level. It's so bad that I had to go inside a random shop to wait for my Ola as the sound levels were literally unbearable. The only place where I haven't seen so much honking is Goa. Maybe the traff…

There's a totally different regard for noise and public spaces generally. Add temple loudspeakers and other events to the list.

Video conferencing with our colleagues in India during Diwali is an incredible experience.

Re: The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous phrase (2016)

#76

Post by pif »

technothrasher wrote: post #71
rahoulb wrote: post #9

As someone who has grown up (and learnt to drive) in England - I had a moment of sudden realisation in India. For me, the horn is a warning sign - "get out of my way" or "watch out!" - only to be used in emergencies. In India, the horn means "I'm over here", to be used whenever you're near another vehicle. Which fits with the statements on the back of the lorries perfectly.

> For me, the horn is a warning sign Here in Massachusetts, it seems the horn has only three functions. The first, a quick "beep beep" signals that you recognize another driver or pedestrian and are saying hello. The second, a one to three second beep means that the traffic light has switched to green and car in front of you has not begun moving within 20ms. And the third, a five to sixty second "beeeeeeeeep" means t…

Same stuff in Italy.

Re: The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous phrase (2016)

#77

Post by thrwyoilarticle »

rhn_mk1 wrote: post #70
solohan wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. I couldn't imagine driving in South East Asia without the horn. Scary story: My cousin almost killed a cyclist once after moving back to Europe after living in Asia for years. She used the horn as a friendly message (or so she thought) before passing. The cyclist, not being used to ever hearing horns on the road, got scared, looked over their shoulder and swerved out in front of the car.

Car horns seem to be calibrated to be heard by someone wrapped in a car, and are too loud for unprotected listening. Bicycle bells are closer to that range. No wonder the cyclist got freaked out.

The Ineos Grenadier 4x4 has a button specifically for this purpose (& because it's made by a cycling team & makes for good PR). I don't know how useable it really would be.

I don't think I'd ever use my horn to let a cyclist know I'm there. It's hard to do a friendly, quick double-toot consistently and, as you said, it's just too loud. It's more likely to cause an accident than just waiting longer to overtake. Horns are usually a rude thing, so they're scary to hear.

Similarly, on a bike, I don't really use the bell to go around pedestrians on shared paths. Pedestrians aren't usually in the mindset of being aware of what's behind them, so the bell just makes them jump. You also can't express the difference between a friendly warning and a request to move with just a bell. Again, it's easier and more consistent to slow down and take responsibility for moving around them.

(obviously, local cultures will vary)

Re: The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous phrase (2016)

#78

Post by WeekSpeller »

emteycz wrote: post #61
hungryforcodes wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A reminder that pretty much no lorry driver in india knows English. They live in India -- why would they need to know English exactly?

English is one of only two recognized official languages (in addition to Hindi) of the Republic of India [the federation]. It is widely used when native languages can't bridge the gap between two Indians. edit: s/Indian state/Republic of India

By Indian state you mean the federal govt. States have their own official languages.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_with_official_status...

Re: The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous phrase (2016)

#79

Post by thrwyoilarticle »

gpmcadam wrote: post #11
rahoulb wrote: post #9

As someone who has grown up (and learnt to drive) in England - I had a moment of sudden realisation in India. For me, the horn is a warning sign - "get out of my way" or "watch out!" - only to be used in emergencies. In India, the horn means "I'm over here", to be used whenever you're near another vehicle. Which fits with the statements on the back of the lorries perfectly.

In the Highway Code, letting someone know that you're there is the only proposed use for both beeping the horn and flashing your lights at another driver.

For flashing headlights, the highway code is so far out of alignment with the real world that it would be more pragmatic to change the highway code to accommodate it and properly define liability. Being predictable is the most important thing for safety and you can't be predictable while treating all flashing headlights as a warning.

Re: The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous phrase (2016)

#80

Post by elzbardico »

rodelrod wrote: post #72
junoper wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree and people are exeggerating the usage of horns more than it actually is. > there's absolutely no need But one use of horn that I found useful in India was to overtake on 2-lane hilly road. Now theoretically you should be able to see, may be hundred metres, ahead of you before you start the overtake or if you are not too keen to reach your destination, not overtake at all till you reach straight road with long…

> Is there a better way of doing this? Yes, you don't overtake if you don't have visibility because of a hill or a bend. That is enforced by traffic regulation and road markings in Europe and most of the places I've driven. And yes, that means that sometimes you get stuck behind trucks for a long time but it also means that nobody gets killed.

Modern trucks in the western world have plenty of power to be surprisingly nimble negotiating ascents, it is downhill that things get more complicated for modern trucks.
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