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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)

#101

Post by JulianMorrison »

hungryforcodes wrote: post #57
ramraj07 wrote: post #27

A reminder that pretty much no lorry driver in india knows English. Vehicles here have inane phrases like this and it’s for the most part almost protocol to paint them when you get a vehicle of that class. The guy who paints Lorry backs with the company name probably asks “you want the horn ok please phrase right” and the drivers probably like yeah whatever. Not like the drivers here expect courtesy from anyone aroun…

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

IIRC English - Indian English, not British or American - is the second language of the most people in India. Otherwise, they have so many local languages they would be mutually incomprehensible. But everyone learns English, and so they can talk and do business.

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

#102

Post by dirtyid »

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…

Great explanation, also astonishing at how relatively well this system works in response to lax training. All things considered.

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

#103

Post by derbOac »

yardstick wrote: post #18

Anyone with local insight on how safe/unsafe the roads are and if things like side mirrors would help? I once drove around Sicily for a few days and the main city area roads were constant traffic jams, many more car lanes than actual road lanes (faded or non-existent lane markings), and people switching lanes and turning without any notice/indicators. For all the chaos it kinda worked and people just went very slowly…

Several years ago I read an article (I don't remember where) explaining and arguing for a libertarian approach to traffic rules (in the US). The argument was if you get rid of stop signs, people will tend to stop at intersections more, not less, because they don't know what to expect. I don't really agree with it but it was an article that I started reading with astonishment for how silly it was and by the end became convinced it was very reasonable even if you disagreed.

Part of my skepticism about libertarian traffic control is that I was once in an area where there was a sort of legislative experiment with certain kinds of traffic lights. The legislature made the argument that they were unnecessary, the DoT pointed to studies that they improved traffic, and after awhile of this the DoT said "fine, we'll shut them off for awhile and see what happens." The result wasn't bad accidents, but it was absolutely horrible traffic congestion, and people begged the DoT to turn them back on. So they did and no one argued about it again.

Now that I argue about it, the libertarian argument article was focused on safety, not traffic flow, so maybe they'd say their arguments still stand. But for me getting rid of the lights was a very negative thing.

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

#104

Post by qart »

albert_e wrote: post #19

I am pretty sure "OK" is a separate phrase - not sure about origins, could be a Quality Check OK by manufacturer or a transport authority certifying it is fit for use maybe. "Horn Please" / "Sound Horn" is the other phrase with a clear purpose and meaning. They just got mixed in due to usage. I saw/see many examples where OK is painted in a distinct font from other words.

Seconded. "Horn Please" / "Sound Horn" / "Blow Horn" is the actual message. OK is often painted on a separate line. Sometimes above, sometimes below the "Horn Please" message.

I don't think any of these have a meaning though. I think they are just memes (in the Dawkins sense). Also a meme on truck art: some sappy line about lost love. Also, "We Two Ours Two", which became "We Two Ours One" (usually in Hindi)

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

#105

Post by hr0m »

sdfjkl wrote: post #85

Different cultures have different unwritten behaviours on roads. In the mountains of Italy, drivers give a short honk before entering a turn on a serpentine road, which usually can't be seen around. If there is no responding honk, they will take the full width of the road (making the very tight turn easier and faster). Tourist drivers have to pick up on this :) In much of Europe oncoming cars flash their lights to wa…

I can confirm all of it for Germany as well (except the Italian serpentine road synchronization hack).

I flash lights for oncoming traffics because of danger or police checks.

I flash warning lights (or raise right hand) for thank you. Others do as well (especially buses, when you let them out of the bus stop, since in Germany they don't have the right of passage leaving a bus stop)

I learned that truck drivers (and buses) flash left, when it's not safe to overtake.

There are also some official rules regarding bus flashing at a bus stop (right, warning). But most of drivers ignore that.

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

#106

Post by aitchnyu »

newswasboring wrote: post #41

Ok, time to throw in the explanation I grew up with. I always thought it was definitive, but turns out its not. Unfortunately I have already passed on this urban legend :P. On foggy roads in north India, it is difficult to see vehicles on the road. So lights were used to indicate the status of big vehicles like trucks. Two lit bulbs on left and right corners (illuminating Horn Please) meant honk to get a pass. And to…

Even today truck drivers use their right blinkers to show its ok to overtake. Atleast in Kerala. Yes, its ambiguous.

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

#107

Post by rootsudo »

sdfjkl wrote: post #85

Different cultures have different unwritten behaviours on roads. In the mountains of Italy, drivers give a short honk before entering a turn on a serpentine road, which usually can't be seen around. If there is no responding honk, they will take the full width of the road (making the very tight turn easier and faster). Tourist drivers have to pick up on this :) In much of Europe oncoming cars flash their lights to wa…

The same applies in southeast Asia/China/Japan, for both. It isn't exactly ubiquitous just in Europe.

Not in USA though.

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

#108

Post by nodelessness »

newswasboring wrote: post #41

Ok, time to throw in the explanation I grew up with. I always thought it was definitive, but turns out its not. Unfortunately I have already passed on this urban legend :P. On foggy roads in north India, it is difficult to see vehicles on the road. So lights were used to indicate the status of big vehicles like trucks. Two lit bulbs on left and right corners (illuminating Horn Please) meant honk to get a pass. And to…

That's what I heard as well. Your recollection is good.

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

#109

Post by manojlds »

hungryforcodes wrote: post #57
ramraj07 wrote: post #27

A reminder that pretty much no lorry driver in india knows English. Vehicles here have inane phrases like this and it’s for the most part almost protocol to paint them when you get a vehicle of that class. The guy who paints Lorry backs with the company name probably asks “you want the horn ok please phrase right” and the drivers probably like yeah whatever. Not like the drivers here expect courtesy from anyone aroun…

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

"Horn Ok Please" is Hindi, right?

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

#110

Post by fho »

hr0m wrote: post #105
sdfjkl wrote: post #85

Different cultures have different unwritten behaviours on roads. In the mountains of Italy, drivers give a short honk before entering a turn on a serpentine road, which usually can't be seen around. If there is no responding honk, they will take the full width of the road (making the very tight turn easier and faster). Tourist drivers have to pick up on this :) In much of Europe oncoming cars flash their lights to wa…

I can confirm all of it for Germany as well (except the Italian serpentine road synchronization hack). I flash lights for oncoming traffics because of danger or police checks. I flash warning lights (or raise right hand) for thank you. Others do as well (especially buses, when you let them out of the bus stop, since in Germany they don't have the right of passage leaving a bus stop) I learned that truck drivers (and…

It's somewhat common among truck drivers in Germany to flash the turn signals left-right-left-right to say "thank you" after overtaking (another truck).
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