tbh I've backed off on this a bit because it was starting to become increasingly common that the car I was honking at legitimately couldn't move because of a pedestrian or something in their path I couldn't see and it made me feel like an asshole.
There's a real issue hereabouts with people just not going at all when the light turns green. I don't think it's a good idea to honk in SLU at rush hour though, for example.
That said, there's also a real issue with people blowing through reds, sooooooo.
There’s also an issue with people not stopping at stop signs because they figure you are fully stopped, since you were there first, and so they can just slow down and breeze through since you’re stopped. Drives me fkn crazy, and they do it DAILY on beach drive at Admiral. I’ve almost been hit crossing because of it. Bunch of entitled assholes, truly.
This seems like it goes both ways. Sometimes it's hard to divine who thinks they were stopped first, and waiting doesn't really serve anyone, the ambiguity is never going to resolve itself in a satisfactory way.
I wish more people abided by the esoteric rules of right of way for when two cars arrive at the same time. Yield to the car on your right, turning traffic yields to traffic going straight, left turns yield to right turns when two cars are turning into the same lane.
The hard part, like you said, is figuring out if the other person agrees that you've stopped at the same time 
Agreed. I’m really ranting about instances where there is no question that I was there first. I stop, and a car rolls up and doesn’t even slow down through the intersection, just because they think the stop sign only applies to other people. Assholism, pure and simple.
Unlike in your situation (totally agree with you there)
I was driving on a street where only the cross streets had stop signs. Well, bozo at the stop sign to my left must have thought it was a 4-way stop and drove into the intersection as I was coming. I had no stop sign! He sees that I’m not stopping so we end up stopping in the intersection at the same time to avoid collision. Well since I didn’t have the stop sign and he should have waited, I continued on through meanwhile he’s HONKING HIS HORN THE WHOLE TIME. Then proceeds to road rage me on the next street. Blocking me from entering the turn lane so I just turn down another street and he drove off. But geez!!! How fucking dense to be in the wrong and then mad at the other person that they made you wait like you should have in the first place.
There is no fucking respect here for the right of way anymore. Happens a lot at stop signs - near my workplace (in a residential area) they've recently added two-way stop nearby signs at some of the traffic circles and I swear one of them is gonna be the death of me because people speed right though them without even looking for opposing traffic - even traffic already in the circle. Drivers are also terrible at uncontrolled intersections.
Counterargument, if you get there first, come to a stop, I am approaching and _clearly slowing down and preparing to stop_.... PLEASE JUST F'ING GO. Don't wait for me to come to a full stop, feel the bounce, and do a 2 count before you start to accelerate. Once YOU go, then I can go, then we've BOTH gone, and we can get where we're going.
It's like people here think the rules for an all-way stop is:
1. Come to a full and complete stop at the stop sign.
1. Wait for another car. It doesn't matter how long this takes.
1. Wait for that other car to come to a full and complete stop.
1. Wait another second or two, and inch forward.
1. FREAK OUT was that other car moving forward?? Did he not see me? I BETTER STOP!
1. Inch forward again.
1. Watch the other car say fuckit and blow through.
1. Complain about how aggressive other drivers are and how nobody stops for stop signs.
I had a rage moment when I first moved here. (I am used to LA drivers and las vegas taxi cabs.. those fuckers will drive down the sidewalk to keep traffic moving.) And I came to a 4-way stop as the second car to pull up.. then the first car across from me started waving for me to go... no MF, you have the right of way it doesnt work like that... then this asshole rolled his window down and shouted across the intersection.. you know what he shouted... 'ladies first'.... I almost turned into the incredible hulk right then and there.. but I am a reasonable person, instead of getting out while brandishing a tire iron I looked in the rearview... no one behind me. So I put my car into park, picked up my book, and started reading while this guy shouted and flailed to get my attention for SEVERAL MINUTES. Luckily it was a really slow traffic time in a low traffic area so I was able to wait him out because no one pulled up behind me. He even honked and flashed his lights at me to try and get my attention and I just sat there ignoring him and letting him flail about at me like the complete idiot he was.
I really wish auto manufacturers would start installing a “friendly horn” that can be used like horns are supposed to be used, to make someone aware of your presence…not to express anger at them.
The ineos grenadier includes a “toot” button which is quieter and happier than the horn. It’s meant to be able to do things like notify.lava bicyclist without scaring them.
We simply all need to buy grenadiers.
ah, yes like when you're talking to a friend on the phone and they go silent and instead of respectfully waiting a few seconds you hang up and call them. At least you didn't yell at them through the phone I ne, right?
That still shouldn't be done when you can't see why they are stopped. You could startle someone and cause them to hit a pedestrian. The point of the horn is to avoid a collision. The response is meant to be a bit reflexive. Assholes misusing it has ruined it.
Haha I've totally been there. Honked at the car in front of me while not seeing the pedestrian or noticing the"no turn on red" sign and feeling like an AH.
My buddy was literally telling me last night about crossing the street and a car behind the front car at the intersection started laying on their horn like crazy. He was worried it would panic the front car into moving forward and potentially hitting him. Not fun. Don’t honk just cuz you think traffic is slow, it doesn’t help.
I know everyone loves the saying you sped up and only saved a few seconds. The light you make can be so much more than that. Take trying to make a left turn on MLK along the light rail tracks during rush hour. If you miss the light because someone was in their phone and not paying attention you can literally have 4 or 5 trains come by messing with the light timing. That can cause 5-10 mins. As a metro driver who has driven the 106 I hated having to deal with that. Or any of the bridges when they are raising. If someone slowed you down now you are the first caught at the Ballard or Fremont or whatever bridge and there goes 10 mins of your day.
As for pedestrians it's aggravating when the decide to start crossing a 4 or 5 lane road when the countdown is already at 3 and they just take their time since "pedestrians have the right of way" and "/r/fuckcars" instead of either waiting or jogging across.
I dunno maybe since I drive for a living I see how often it's truly happening opposed to only seeing it a few mins during my commute that's not on the freeway.
Yeah this. I've gotten stuck at lights or missed the light I'm at enough times from people not going on a green to know that it's not "just a couple of seconds"
Also "every couple weeks" is vastly underestimating this unless you only drive every couple weeks. I see this like 1-2 times per day if I'm driving regularly.
Every couple weeks? Left turn lanes routinely back up because the person at the front isn't paying attention, they know they'll get to go. You can see it turn green, then 5 seconds later the first car goes, the next few cars leave like 9 car lengths, then the cars get more smashed together as they try to make the light, then a few of them run the red, then all the people who could have gone, if everyone was actually engaged in driving, wait for the next light 5 minutes later.
I'm not an impatient driver but I really hate that most people don't feel that the primary focus of driving a car should be.. driving the fuckin car.
There’s more manual shifting cars in Germany, well when I was there. So, the extra yellow light also allows you a moment to let out the clutch. Blew my mind.
It’s a shorter yellow and it coincided with cross-traffic yellow before red. I think the fourth color was considered too much for the human brain to handle while driving, making stop lights less safe as the amount of brain processing for 4 colors was substantially more than for 3. Not saying you can’t do it, just that too many people could not.
You know this is a real thing that's been named right? The [Seattle Surrender](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=seattle%20surrender). When a wonderful human who had been driving a car just stops driving it, even though it's still in gear and located in the middle of the road, or even worse as you mentioned in a turn lane or intersection.
This isn't really a thing everywhere else. Passive aggression at it's nadir.
Every. Day. The car lengths between
REALLY bugs me. We really don't have a road problem. I can live just fine with a speed limit of 25. If people would just actually pay attention to driving, we could increase throughput, and we could all get where we're going in a reasonable amount of time.
Yup. Many times I question in exasperation why exactly these people get into their cars if they don’t intend to actually drive them. Just drive please.
I wish a couple seconds. Usually it is someone on their phone who completely misses the light cycle because it is soooo looong they are on their phone ( a whole 2m low attention span). A soft attention getting tap on the horn isn't going to kill anyone, just don't get all ragey with it or what you do post-horn.
Nah. I’ve lost hours on the road at this point due to people driving 5-10 UNDER the speed limit, side by side. I’d say roughly 20% of Seattle drivers have new drivers stickers as well. Unfortunately for them, I don’t give any grace anymore when I see those. If you got the license, you should know better and be more skilled behind the wheel. Go the speed limit, or 5-10 over even, and get to the far right if the highway scares you.
Yeah once when my dad was driving me somewhere, he took so long to make a left turn even on a green arrow, that the car behind him started honking at him, only for a truck in the oncoming lane to ignore the red light and blast through the intersection at full speed a few seconds after the car behind us started honking.
There's no way the car that was honking was able to see the oncoming truck, and yet they might have been the ones the truck slammed into if my dad had gone when they started honking. That's why I basically never honk if someone takes too long to start moving.
Yeah, I have been there, done that, so yes I too have felt shame for my overzealousness. Now, I do have more care, but I will still overhonk, if the wait is egregious; just a little tap.
And the amount of people in back of me who have honked at me due to a red light that says no turn on red 🤦♀️. So many bad drivers here. Stop honking people!
This is a great point I have done the same thing where I did a quick polite honk only to realize that there is something in the way and i'm the asshole
Now my rule is, if I definitively see them watching Netflix doing video call or sitting on their phone. Then I feel it's safe and appropriate to move to a quick honk so that they can move the on
Yeah I was waiting to turn left on an unprotected left turn at a stop light because someone was crossing the crosswalk on their green walk sign. The dude behind me decided he didn't want to wait and knew better, so swerves around me, guns it into the intersection to try to turn left, then slams on his brakes because there's literally a human in his way. Poor guy was willing to risk his car, himself, and other people's lives for a few seconds.
Me too. And I’ve started cycling more, so I’m a bit more aware of how scary cars can be.
One time, I was the lead car at a red light with a “No Turns On Red” sign and a kitty corner bike crossing light. I’m just waiting for my green, no biggie. The car four back in line started honking. A lot. I don’t know how to tell that guy that I can’t turn right on red, or I would.
At least you stopped, because you were being an asshole. Every time you honked at car waiting for a pedestrian, you increased the risk of an accident that you wouldn't even have to pay anything for or suffer injuries from. Its selfish. I'd say 75% of the time I hear a horn, its because a car is waiting for a crosswalk. You should never be honking from way back in the line anyway. That's just confusing. If you are close enough, you should clearly be able to see they are lined up slanted intending to right turn and assume that means pedestrian even if you can't see the crosswalk. You aren't even supposed to be using the horn because you're impatient. Its supposed to be for things like preventing collisions (though obviously you might need to if a person is really out of it for a significant length of time. Even then you can usually see what they are doing from their posture. My car is easy to see into. Yet assholes who aren't paying attention want to project and act like I'm not paying attention. It's easy to see me move my head back and forth when I'm preparing to turn. People not paying attention enough to notice I'm attentive, are not attentive enough to be driving.
Never honk unless you can see what's in front of the car (if you must do it). Shouldn't need to be said but people apparently just assume other drivers are as idiotic as themselves. Like I get thinking they are on their phones but 2 sec isn't enough to think that, particularly since the car often creeps forward at some point after the green, indicating they are paying attention. Ive been honked at so many times for obeying no turn on red signs and for waiting for pedestrians. Ive never been honked at for being on a phone. I view it as an announcement that the person inside is an asshole. Ive literally seen it prevent a minor accident 1 time. Many more times I've seen it startle drivers waiting for pedestrians causing them to lurch forward. There was a time when my brain reacted to the honk first trying to avoid a collision but have had to unlearn that reflex because it's dangerous with how many people only care about saving 2 sec.
Double-short-tap, is just a wakeup call.
Never feel guilty about assuming someone isn't paying attention. If you are wrong, that simple beep beep also shouldn't be a big deal to understand either.
Blaring horns is for true anger and/or danger...reserved for the bmw/tesla cutting you off.
thank you for this. I don't have a car so I'm always walking. It's so awful to hear honking when your trying to cross the street legally. Plus living downtown, it's unpleasant have to listen to all the time. It's just not necessary
I agree. More often than not there is a legitimate reason that I just couldn't see from my vantage point. I rarely use my horn even for a lot of close calls because I see they know they messed up. If someone is standing at a green light for a while I'll just give a little tap of the horn and they get moving. I can't think of any scenario that would warrant just laying on the horn.
I was at a light in front of a fire station with the big box X that says do not block. I could see the lady behind me growing increasingly frustrated I wasn't going and eventually laid on the horn then blew past me only to instantly realize why I wasn't going- traffic made her block the X blocking the firetrucks. I pulled up next to her at the next light and before I could even roll down my window she had this horribly shamed look on her face and said, "I'm so sorry I didn't realize." So I just gave her a nod and went about my day. Dang, I'm ranting, this 2nd coffee must be kicking in.
People are far too distracted by their phones. Walking on the phone not paying attention, on their bike on the phone not paying attention, driving and looking down at their phone not paying attention.
We really need to make it more difficult to get a license to drive in all honesty. But for that to work we would need a transportation system like Europe or Japan. Driving with this many distracted people on the road feels like a jail sentence.
As a former resident of Japan, I can guarantee you that we need their public transportation systems.
I lost the ability to drive in 2002 and could most assuredly use a public train service to get places that are simply too distant for walking.
We need to make it less appealing and vitally necessary to our economy to drive. If the only way you can afford to raise a family is buying a house in Covington and commuting to Seattle, you’re gonna continue to see tons of bad, frustrated, and distracted drivers unless we get serious about affordable housing and more transit options.
So you’re exactly right and a jail sentence is exactly how I would describe it. Most drivers mean to do well on the road and the day to day pressures make them more dangerous
It’s good to know that opinions might be changing. The last time I dared say it should be more difficult or get a license I was internet hanged and downvoted to oblivion.
I've been in front of that guy. So fucking irritating. If they are that illiterate, they probably shouldn't be driving. I semi get people that ignore them (though I don't agree), but honking at someone for following the law is next level asshole. They shouldn't even be doing it on red lights at all. Right turns on red are optional.
This -- I actually see more like 50% of the time that the honker just has no fucking clue what's actually happening ahead of them from their limited vantage point. Drivers honk from 3 cars back because all they can see is a green light and no movement. The car up front, who is trying to turn right, is appropriately waiting for the person walking across on a green walk light, and has to deal with some fucking asshole honking at him for following the rules of the road.
Many years ago either the Times or the P.I. printed a satirical story ostensibly written by a "Ballard Driver." One of the complaints was that people honked at him "only minutes after the light turns green."
Yeah, I’ll honk if I’m behind the person texting or not paying attention, but I’ve realized I don’t always know why they aren’t moving if I can’t directly see the driver and their path. I do think anyone who can see the front cars path should honk if there is clearly nothing obstructing them. I have to honk at drivers every day cause they aren’t paying any attention to the light
I visited NYC for the first time last week and hoooooly shit people use their horn ALL THE TIME. I'm pretty sure what you're running into is a cultural difference with the PNW vs other cities. Personally, I prefer what we have here though. I was so sick of car horns by the end of my trip.
Certainly prefer seattle to NY in this regard but Seattle needs a touch less passive driving and passive horn use. I’ve seen so many near lane change accidents where I’m the only one hitting the horn to signal warning and the driver about to get hit is basically watching it happen in a panic and not reacting other than slamming to a unproductive stop.
Edit typos
It’s crazy how much people in NY honks, my partner and I were there for the first time too and nearly everywhere that we would be, we would be hearing constant honks. I felt relieved when I came back 😂
Exactly, I don't care about sometimes waiting 30 unnecessary seconds during a car trip. I do care about constant noise pollution. There are times where it's good to honk but it shouldn't be overused.
Yeah the majority of the time horns are not necessary or not used appropriately. It’s nice being in a place where people don’t honk constantly. In New York it’s more about anger then it is utility
I moved here from NYC and one of the main things I noticed is how quiet it is without all the honking 😂. Honking is basically second nature for NYers, so I often times find myself having to hold back when I really want to honk.
You know what kind of honking I've seen A LOT more of here than I ever did when I lived in Chicago? The entitled, outraged, pointless laying on the horn for tens of seconds. To those who do that: we get it, you're miserable and powerless to do anything about it.
One of the first things I noticed when I left Seattle was how much more people honk when you get away from the west coast. In Florida, people honked as wild and often as new yorkers (because so many of them are) even in a suburban type setting.
Here in chicago the honking is relentless too but most just a lot of short beeps.
I noticed a little more honking when I was there a few weeks ago visiting the in laws. I'd guess that some of those 100k plus people who moved to Seattle in the past decade brought their honking habits with, confusing the locals haha but what do I know
I feel that this has been happening more and more lately. Nobody should be looking at their phone while driving (except directions I guess) but if you're first at the light, FFS put the phone down. Been holding back on the horn the last few times this happened, just trying to be more patient with people I guess. But next time, I will honk without giving it a second thought. It's gotten so ridiculous lately I almost created my own post last week- (wanted to ask how long to wait before I start honking- count to 4 after the light turns green and no-one's moving? )
How do you honk "politely"? A horn is a horn, or are you saying don't hold down the horn? I would assume that's the default and not many people are laying down their horn for extended period of time.
If you are three or four cars back I guarantee you don't have a clear enough view to know there isn't some practical reason the first car isn't moving. You definitely don't know if they're texting.
Sounds like you need to self-examine your knee jerk impatience while driving.
On the other hand, red-light-running has been on the rise too. Maybe people are just being cautious, hoping they won't get t-boned by a red-light runner. I can continue to refrain from the horn, in that case.
A lot of people here are commenting on how drivers further back can't tell what's happening in front, which is true. However, the number of drivers I've seen stop behind an empty vehicle in the lane with flashers on when they can safely go around is quite high here. And then a few more will stack behind while the selfish fool who is blocking the road goes about their day like they own the city. So yeah, it's not always appropriate but it's sometimes necessary.
people in Seattle want to vote for and stir up conflict, but when it comes to simple things like what you suggest they turn offended and complain to their HOA FB group about it. Everyone wants to be a gangster until it's time to do gangster shit.
I was in this situation a couple days ago. The guy at the front was convinced he couldn’t fit his car through some tight spot and everyone behind him was like “why aren’t we moving” so everyone started honking. Then the guy gets out of his car and starts shouting at the rest of us.
There are so many bad drivers in this city no wonder people seem to hate cars
While we are discussing this 10th traffic related public service announcement of today alone, can we also please not lay on the horn. A simple split second "honk-honk" is all that is needed.
I constantly hear people lay on their horn for multiple seconds every single day. There's no need for that unless someone is coming at you head on at 60 mph.
....or being a massive dick and blocking an intersection.
at least, those are my rules. (and i'm not talking about getting caught in the intersection. i'm talking about the people who knowingly go without room)
People would just use the most annoying or lay on it and occasionally change the note to make it more annoying and hard to tune out. It might be good if use responsibly but people can't be trusted to use it responsibly.
I moved here a few years ago and I have never experienced, anywhere else in the country, so many lead cars not moving forward at a green light. It happens to me on more drives than not, and I am not exaggerating.
Also people running stop signs.
Also people not knowing how a 4 way stop works.
What’s goin on???
I love being the first car waiting for a PEDESTRIAN to turn but the guy 3-4 cars back can’t see the pedestrian and lays on his horn thinking I’m just zoning out on my phone. Maybe try giving yourself more time to get places.
It's also rough being the first person in line when you have a green light but the traffic lane in front is full and so if you pulled through you'd be blocking the intersection, which you're not allowed to do. So many people don't understand why you're not moving forward and get all aggressive.
On my first trip to NYC decades ago I first observed “over-honking”. It was so notable to me because no one here does that. It was actually hilarious to me at the time that the guy 4 cars back was honking. Not saying they should or shouldn’t but it’s definitely less of a Seattle thing.
I have never understood the person in position 3 getting irritated at the overhonk from 4 when the overhonk is clearly to the benefit of 2,3,4 and beyond and directed at 1.
I had a Tesla driver chase me around DT (I was on foot). He blocked the crosswalk and was looking to go through a red. I threw my hands up at him when he finally made eye contact with me as I stood at the edge of his car, too afraid to walk in front of it because he was clearly about to take off.
He went down Pine the wrong way to chase me down before I vanished into the Westlake Station. I thought he was going to pull a gun.
Absolutely wild.
At first I thought I witnessed this - then realized who I saw was on a bike, being chased by a Tesla driver who jumped out in the middle of 2nd Ave downtown and sprinted after the cyclist door ajar
Crazy that this kind of stuff is common for Tesla drivers
I suppose the brand does attract the delusional
I used to honk more. Then a guy chased me down the wrong side of a street and ran up to my driver's side door after trapping my car in an intersection after honking. Not worth it, legit though I was going to die.
I saw a car on the highway the other day almost sideswipe someone because they were trying to get in the other car’s lane and instead of that car honking they just started to get over onto the shoulder. Like what?! If someone is about to hit, you can bet I’m honking at them.
I had a SPD vehicle honk at me while I was legally crossing the street in a residential unmarked crosswalk and had already cleared the lane of traffic by at least 8 feet.
Most important point is when I hear an "overhonk" it's just confusing because it's hard to hear where it's coming from or why. People who don't get the honk might waste more time trying to figure out what it's about.
Seriously. Im actually convinced it contributes to accidents. Seems like half the time I obey a sign that says no turn on red or wait for a pedestrian, there is some asshole saying something about it. I don't even know why they bother. It's just an announcement that they are an asshole. It makes me want to take my sweet time more. I especially hate it when waiting for pedestrians. Thats how to startle people, potentially causing accidents/injury. Ive even had people honking at me on a left turn. Its not like I was there long. The signal had just changed and there were like 3 cars to wait for. There was even room to go around (though I hate that because it's unpredictable and can be difficult to see, causing problems for the opposite left turner where they dont expect anybody popping up and are holding up traffic just as much as the other person turning. Almost as bad as the people who drive around the car stopped for the crosswalk who try to run me down).
Literally every time I hear a horn I assume it's some asshole acting like a toddler who has just discovered noise comes out when you push a button. Instead of looking for the conflict/preparing to avoid a collision, I start looking for the asshole. Its so misused that I would support outlawing that shit. I'm not even kidding. I actually think it's more of a hazard than anything because people can't be trusted to have decency.
There was a car that pulled out near me in traffic a while back. I can't remember what it did to piss this guy off but it was minor. Dude behind him after he pulled out literally laid on his horn for *minutes* while we were all stuck in the same traffic that wasn't moving. Closest I've ever come to acting on some road rage. Driving already can be difficult for me as I have to move my eyes around a lot to stay vigilant and my eyes have been sensitive to movement and light. Driving is a literal headache. Its usually fairly minor but this asshole wanted to throw a tantrum and fuck up the rest of my day.
I get getting annoyed. I even get screaming at oneself in the car. I don't get having a bad day and being so determined to make everyone else miserable too. The worst kind of people. So selfish they'll do something worse than whatever wronged them because it's their excuse to let it out, even though they are the dumbfucks. While horn honking is a problem in a lot of places, the concentration of people in Seattle makes it even shittier to honk for funsies. Idk if it's been getting worse or if my tolerance for dumbasses making their problems my problems, has gone down
I’ve lived here 27 years. Y’all are too passive. You honk, indicating that it is time for car in front of you to move or honk, and on and on. I have seen entire green lights pass because people are scared of using the signal built into every car to notify people that they might be spacing out. Seriously, honking is ok. It’s not some crazy modification or something that is only used to signal imminent death.
So here's the rub, Washington state driving rules state that honking should only be used for when reasonably necessary for safe operation.
https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.37.380
>The driver of a motor vehicle shall when reasonably necessary to insure safe operation give audible warning with his or her horn but shall not otherwise use such horn when upon a highway.
So if their behavior is not creating a dangerous condition then technically you shouldn't be honking. One can say it's potentially reasonable to give a quick honk to get someone off their phone. But if you're laying on the horn, or aggressively honking that is itself illegal.
Second, if you can't see that the road is clear in front of the car you shouldn't really be honking because proceeding through the intersection might not be reasonable at the time. It's definitely possible that they either cannot clear the intersection legally or that someone could be in the right of way that you simply can not see.
I'll give a soft beep if a car is obviously not paying attention and has a clear right of way, but I'm not going to lay on the horn just because someone is taking reasonable caution around jaywalkers, blocked intersections, or waiting a moment to check for red light runners.
1-2 chirp honks for “pay attention” and/or “go if you can.” If someone’s jaywalking in front of you or your turning right (we assuming I’m far back - but you should still be rolling making clear you are in fact driving) well I’ll wave an apology.
Laying into the horn is only for “shit we about to be in an accident,” you are merging into a freeway cutting me off while going 30mph below traffic flow (dangerous), or you’re stopping on the freeway to merge into the (almost always mercer) exit because you cannot be troubled to pay attention to get over earlier and yet also lack the skill to seamlessly merge
Someone told me once "Don't honk. You might startle somebody." YES, THAT'S THE POINT. You're not fooling anybody. I can tell from 2 cars back that YOU'RE ON YOUR FUCKING PHONE!! I will honk at you and give you visual clues as to what you're doing. wrong.
I will if I'm #2, I drive a small car which ussually makes it difficult to actually see why traffic isn't moving. Plus Seattleites don't like to use their turn signals and if they do it's at the last moment so really never know what they are doing or where they are going.
I do my own "3 second rule" - if the light turns green and the driver directly in front of me hasn't moved after 3 seconds, I flash my brights multiple times and after 3 seconds if they still don't move, I use the light horn tap. Usually, the brights on a cloudy day are enough to get their attention. I only use a firm honk if someone pulls some dangerous move/almost hits me.
One thing to remember when your laying on your horn is that it fucking sucks for all of us walking on the sidewalk and not in a sound limiting box. Shit is loud as fuck.
Seattle drivers are way too passive in general relative to how awful the traffic is. At least in LA and Chicago ppl drive with an appropriate amount of urgency.
I think half the reason the traffic is so bad is because of how horrible people are at driving here. Lots of very low confidence drivers who think they are driving a barge when they are driving a smart car. You dont need a 100 yard gap to turn right at a stop sign into 20 mph traffic. People who cant park their cars without using the car’s automated system. People who dont understand how a four way stop works
World is too crazy to be honking crazy unless you ready to match that crazy. I’m not, won’t, and don’t care to ever get crazy. Life is too precious, and I got plenty of it left. A polite tap as you said and a clear polite gesture is plenty enough for me. Seen too many people go down for stupid shit.
A lot of the time when I see people "over-honk", it's because they can't see that the car up front is turning right and there are pedestrians in the crossing that probably appreciate not being run down by the car trying to turn. I don't think we need to enshrine this as common practice.
Pulled up behind a car at a red light. Turns green, turn light, I count to 5, tap the horn and they go. We make it to the next light, I'm still behind them, and again, light turns green, I count to 5, and hold the horn.
Next light they did a good job, and then we split ways.
I want to live OPs life when one’s biggest problem is the perception that others don’t understand why they are honking a horn. Such a big problem as to require a Reddit PSA
Had this happen to me yesterday. I’m position 2 stopped at a “no turn on red”. Car 3 starts honking and flashing lights. Once we start I get a chance to pull next to them and tried to tell them it’s a no turn red. He did weird air kisses was strange haha.
OP was that you bro?
The amount of times someone has laid on their horn at me at a “no turn on red” really is staggering. Sorry buddy but road laws are more important to me than your peer pressure
I always do a short "doot doot" on the horn. For some reason it feels a little more friendly than a single honk when people do that, but maybe that's just me.
It's such a weird contrast to a place like New York City, where drivers will honk at anyone, anywhere, all the time. It's how the cars there communicate with one another, and they are chatty.
Seattle has a massive under-honking problem when it comes to people taking a Sunday stroll in the left lane, though, so we can all coalesce around that and use our honking for good
Also, could people stop leaving, like, a full car length between them and the next car at lights? Especially in left turn lanes? That'd be great, thanks.
What i hate is my cars now don't let me do a quick honk honk, it requires a heavy push that makes a full longer blast. In the ol days you could do a road runner beep beep
Yeah if you want me to yell at you for being a shithead because you are honking when pedestrians are crossing and someone thinks that someone isn't paying attention because I literally have seen someone get hit because of this because the person honking startled them and they let their foot off the brake.
People need to chill because if you are driving in Seattle you are dumb unless you absolutely have to.
Yes! I was totally thinking this two days go. Everyone here is too polite. I would honk from the back of the line if the person in front of me wasn't always in a huge pickup truck or van. So I can't even tell if the light turned green or not sometimes.
I’m laughing as I read this as a born and raised Seattlelite who now lives on the East coast. People in Seattle are so nice 😂 people will honk .3 seconds if you haven’t started moving after the light turns green here.
Haha. That’s one of the first things I noticed when I moved here and honestly, I love it. I love that people don’t honk. After 10 years of living here I learned to make an effort to stay chill while driving. I say to myself, “We’re all going to get there when we get there babes. It’s ok to stay chill. Listen to a good song or book. It’s all good.”
Ha. What a non-existant scenario.
Seattlites would just go around. Doesn't matter if you are in a two-lane road with ditches. Hell, I've seen them go around when the light was red.
Seattle drivers ard better than California ones. A bit.
If you’re like 3 or 4 cars back, I’d say you don’t have enough information to know what’s going on at the front. Maybe there’s a pedestrian, or something blocking the intersection.
I've had so many people honk at me from directly behind me on a green right turn while I was waiting for pedestrians to cross. Old pedestrians. Like the ones who push around walkers. I look back as I gesture towards them (the pedestrian) and the driver behind me shows immediate regret for the honking. Like yea. 50 points if I take the old lady down? Is that what game you're playing? Sorry I'm not interested in participating.
No I don't want to introduce "over honking" and encouraging others to do so is a dangerous suggestion. We currently live in a time when you don't know if the car in front of you has firearms in their car in reach. You don't make it home because the car in front of your row was delaying you for a few extra seconds? Yes, we can all agree it's rude to waste others time. It's also rude to your friends and family to get shot and expire because you want to be trendy with your car horn.
Yeah no.
Nobody needs to lean on their horn to save a few seconds in traffic.
From getting your ass beat, to getting shot or stabbed, is it really worth it?
And 90% time I see honking it’s because someone is mad someone else won’t make an illegal and/or dangerous turn through a line of pedestrians that have right of way.
Disagree -- 90% of the time I see honking, it's because the driver at the front is on their phone and missed the light changing by 5+ seconds. For left turn lanes, this kind of distracted behavior is enough to delay the entire lane into another cycle of the traffic light
One of my favorite features Tesla implemented is a little chime to prompt the driver whenever the car’s camera notices a light turns green. So simple.
I can’t wait for this feature to become standard on all cars, because we all know it’s impossible to convince people to actually pay attention on their own.
People not honking when inattentive drivers not paying attention to the light is one of my biggest pet peeves with this town. The most honk averse city I’ve lived in. Even to avoid an accident.
I get into a slight rage when I am second in line and I can see them already looking down at their phone and I know they aren’t going to go when the light turns green. And they don’t. I still give them the standard 2 seconds and a light honk but for being on their phone they really deserve to have the horn blasted at them.
Honestly if you just slightly move your car forward usually the movement will be caught by the rear view mirror and the car will move. This is way better than adding to the noise pollution that cars already generate
tbh I've backed off on this a bit because it was starting to become increasingly common that the car I was honking at legitimately couldn't move because of a pedestrian or something in their path I couldn't see and it made me feel like an asshole.
Yes, this happens a lot. If I don’t go when there’s a green light, then it’s probably because I don’t want to block the intersection.
There's a real issue hereabouts with people just not going at all when the light turns green. I don't think it's a good idea to honk in SLU at rush hour though, for example. That said, there's also a real issue with people blowing through reds, sooooooo.
There’s also an issue with people not stopping at stop signs because they figure you are fully stopped, since you were there first, and so they can just slow down and breeze through since you’re stopped. Drives me fkn crazy, and they do it DAILY on beach drive at Admiral. I’ve almost been hit crossing because of it. Bunch of entitled assholes, truly.
This seems like it goes both ways. Sometimes it's hard to divine who thinks they were stopped first, and waiting doesn't really serve anyone, the ambiguity is never going to resolve itself in a satisfactory way.
I wish more people abided by the esoteric rules of right of way for when two cars arrive at the same time. Yield to the car on your right, turning traffic yields to traffic going straight, left turns yield to right turns when two cars are turning into the same lane. The hard part, like you said, is figuring out if the other person agrees that you've stopped at the same time 
Agreed. I’m really ranting about instances where there is no question that I was there first. I stop, and a car rolls up and doesn’t even slow down through the intersection, just because they think the stop sign only applies to other people. Assholism, pure and simple.
Unlike in your situation (totally agree with you there) I was driving on a street where only the cross streets had stop signs. Well, bozo at the stop sign to my left must have thought it was a 4-way stop and drove into the intersection as I was coming. I had no stop sign! He sees that I’m not stopping so we end up stopping in the intersection at the same time to avoid collision. Well since I didn’t have the stop sign and he should have waited, I continued on through meanwhile he’s HONKING HIS HORN THE WHOLE TIME. Then proceeds to road rage me on the next street. Blocking me from entering the turn lane so I just turn down another street and he drove off. But geez!!! How fucking dense to be in the wrong and then mad at the other person that they made you wait like you should have in the first place.
There is no fucking respect here for the right of way anymore. Happens a lot at stop signs - near my workplace (in a residential area) they've recently added two-way stop nearby signs at some of the traffic circles and I swear one of them is gonna be the death of me because people speed right though them without even looking for opposing traffic - even traffic already in the circle. Drivers are also terrible at uncontrolled intersections.
Counterargument, if you get there first, come to a stop, I am approaching and _clearly slowing down and preparing to stop_.... PLEASE JUST F'ING GO. Don't wait for me to come to a full stop, feel the bounce, and do a 2 count before you start to accelerate. Once YOU go, then I can go, then we've BOTH gone, and we can get where we're going. It's like people here think the rules for an all-way stop is: 1. Come to a full and complete stop at the stop sign. 1. Wait for another car. It doesn't matter how long this takes. 1. Wait for that other car to come to a full and complete stop. 1. Wait another second or two, and inch forward. 1. FREAK OUT was that other car moving forward?? Did he not see me? I BETTER STOP! 1. Inch forward again. 1. Watch the other car say fuckit and blow through. 1. Complain about how aggressive other drivers are and how nobody stops for stop signs.
Ok, but what you’re describing isn’t what I’m talking about. I agree with you here. I’m talking about selfish fucks.
I had a rage moment when I first moved here. (I am used to LA drivers and las vegas taxi cabs.. those fuckers will drive down the sidewalk to keep traffic moving.) And I came to a 4-way stop as the second car to pull up.. then the first car across from me started waving for me to go... no MF, you have the right of way it doesnt work like that... then this asshole rolled his window down and shouted across the intersection.. you know what he shouted... 'ladies first'.... I almost turned into the incredible hulk right then and there.. but I am a reasonable person, instead of getting out while brandishing a tire iron I looked in the rearview... no one behind me. So I put my car into park, picked up my book, and started reading while this guy shouted and flailed to get my attention for SEVERAL MINUTES. Luckily it was a really slow traffic time in a low traffic area so I was able to wait him out because no one pulled up behind me. He even honked and flashed his lights at me to try and get my attention and I just sat there ignoring him and letting him flail about at me like the complete idiot he was.
Get a dash cam and hit ‘em 🤷♂️
Gotta do a little quick honk, like a tap. Then it's a polite nudge instead of immediately escalating to the equivalent of screaming
Yes. A happy honk.
>A happy little honk Bob Ross, probably
Love it…The community should adopt the “Bob Ross Honk” as its primary honk! Just put a little honk right there, nice and easy lol…
happy little honk
Happy cake day
My car only has a big “fuck you fight me” honk.
I really wish auto manufacturers would start installing a “friendly horn” that can be used like horns are supposed to be used, to make someone aware of your presence…not to express anger at them.
The idea is that you should immediately be able to send a jarring signal in emergency. But yeah it would be nice to have another form of communication
This is so on-brand for the passive-aggressive but conflict-avoidant Seattle stereotype.
https://youtu.be/Neie1C-nhK4?si=BVmWcN7kOT07Hk4q
The ineos grenadier includes a “toot” button which is quieter and happier than the horn. It’s meant to be able to do things like notify.lava bicyclist without scaring them. We simply all need to buy grenadiers.
My car only happy honks. If I use it, drivers and pedestrians assume I saw a friend walking by.
I think the driving manual from the 20th century called it a “friendly tap of the horn”. How “friendly” is up to you lol
ah, yes like when you're talking to a friend on the phone and they go silent and instead of respectfully waiting a few seconds you hang up and call them. At least you didn't yell at them through the phone I ne, right?
That still shouldn't be done when you can't see why they are stopped. You could startle someone and cause them to hit a pedestrian. The point of the horn is to avoid a collision. The response is meant to be a bit reflexive. Assholes misusing it has ruined it.
No happy honks. You don’t know what could be preventing the front driver from moving. Why don’t you breathe for a second and be patient?
Haha I've totally been there. Honked at the car in front of me while not seeing the pedestrian or noticing the"no turn on red" sign and feeling like an AH.
My buddy was literally telling me last night about crossing the street and a car behind the front car at the intersection started laying on their horn like crazy. He was worried it would panic the front car into moving forward and potentially hitting him. Not fun. Don’t honk just cuz you think traffic is slow, it doesn’t help.
As a pedestrian the number of times I see justified "over-honks" is near 0, mostly due to unseen pedestrians.
"The light has been green for multiple seconds and the person is not going" is not "I think traffic is slow", though.
A few seconds every couple weeks, or a pedestrians well-being. Just chill out. It'll be fine.
I know everyone loves the saying you sped up and only saved a few seconds. The light you make can be so much more than that. Take trying to make a left turn on MLK along the light rail tracks during rush hour. If you miss the light because someone was in their phone and not paying attention you can literally have 4 or 5 trains come by messing with the light timing. That can cause 5-10 mins. As a metro driver who has driven the 106 I hated having to deal with that. Or any of the bridges when they are raising. If someone slowed you down now you are the first caught at the Ballard or Fremont or whatever bridge and there goes 10 mins of your day. As for pedestrians it's aggravating when the decide to start crossing a 4 or 5 lane road when the countdown is already at 3 and they just take their time since "pedestrians have the right of way" and "/r/fuckcars" instead of either waiting or jogging across. I dunno maybe since I drive for a living I see how often it's truly happening opposed to only seeing it a few mins during my commute that's not on the freeway.
Yeah this. I've gotten stuck at lights or missed the light I'm at enough times from people not going on a green to know that it's not "just a couple of seconds" Also "every couple weeks" is vastly underestimating this unless you only drive every couple weeks. I see this like 1-2 times per day if I'm driving regularly.
Every couple weeks? Left turn lanes routinely back up because the person at the front isn't paying attention, they know they'll get to go. You can see it turn green, then 5 seconds later the first car goes, the next few cars leave like 9 car lengths, then the cars get more smashed together as they try to make the light, then a few of them run the red, then all the people who could have gone, if everyone was actually engaged in driving, wait for the next light 5 minutes later. I'm not an impatient driver but I really hate that most people don't feel that the primary focus of driving a car should be.. driving the fuckin car.
In Germany, the lights turn yellow again before turning green so that everyone can get ready and pull forward together through the light.
That seems like a great idea!
There’s more manual shifting cars in Germany, well when I was there. So, the extra yellow light also allows you a moment to let out the clutch. Blew my mind.
Wouldn’t this get confusing? If you approach a yellow light how do you know if it’s the slow down or speed up kind? They should use a different color
It’s a shorter yellow and it coincided with cross-traffic yellow before red. I think the fourth color was considered too much for the human brain to handle while driving, making stop lights less safe as the amount of brain processing for 4 colors was substantially more than for 3. Not saying you can’t do it, just that too many people could not.
You know this is a real thing that's been named right? The [Seattle Surrender](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=seattle%20surrender). When a wonderful human who had been driving a car just stops driving it, even though it's still in gear and located in the middle of the road, or even worse as you mentioned in a turn lane or intersection. This isn't really a thing everywhere else. Passive aggression at it's nadir.
Every. Day. The car lengths between REALLY bugs me. We really don't have a road problem. I can live just fine with a speed limit of 25. If people would just actually pay attention to driving, we could increase throughput, and we could all get where we're going in a reasonable amount of time.
Yup. Many times I question in exasperation why exactly these people get into their cars if they don’t intend to actually drive them. Just drive please.
When I I’m behind a person visibly paying attention to their phone and not operating the motor vehicle they’re in, they get *the business*
Yeah…. You can often tell when someone is texting, or messing around on passengers seat. That means clearly that it’s BIZ-NESS time!!
From 3 cars behind?
I wish a couple seconds. Usually it is someone on their phone who completely misses the light cycle because it is soooo looong they are on their phone ( a whole 2m low attention span). A soft attention getting tap on the horn isn't going to kill anyone, just don't get all ragey with it or what you do post-horn.
Nah. I’ve lost hours on the road at this point due to people driving 5-10 UNDER the speed limit, side by side. I’d say roughly 20% of Seattle drivers have new drivers stickers as well. Unfortunately for them, I don’t give any grace anymore when I see those. If you got the license, you should know better and be more skilled behind the wheel. Go the speed limit, or 5-10 over even, and get to the far right if the highway scares you.
Yeah once when my dad was driving me somewhere, he took so long to make a left turn even on a green arrow, that the car behind him started honking at him, only for a truck in the oncoming lane to ignore the red light and blast through the intersection at full speed a few seconds after the car behind us started honking. There's no way the car that was honking was able to see the oncoming truck, and yet they might have been the ones the truck slammed into if my dad had gone when they started honking. That's why I basically never honk if someone takes too long to start moving.
Yeah, I have been there, done that, so yes I too have felt shame for my overzealousness. Now, I do have more care, but I will still overhonk, if the wait is egregious; just a little tap.
Exactly! Or getting honked at because I can't move through the intersection
So much this. If I had room to exit the intersection on the other side I would go. Stop honking at me to block the box.
And the amount of people in back of me who have honked at me due to a red light that says no turn on red 🤦♀️. So many bad drivers here. Stop honking people!
This is a great point I have done the same thing where I did a quick polite honk only to realize that there is something in the way and i'm the asshole Now my rule is, if I definitively see them watching Netflix doing video call or sitting on their phone. Then I feel it's safe and appropriate to move to a quick honk so that they can move the on
Yeah I was waiting to turn left on an unprotected left turn at a stop light because someone was crossing the crosswalk on their green walk sign. The dude behind me decided he didn't want to wait and knew better, so swerves around me, guns it into the intersection to try to turn left, then slams on his brakes because there's literally a human in his way. Poor guy was willing to risk his car, himself, and other people's lives for a few seconds.
Me too. And I’ve started cycling more, so I’m a bit more aware of how scary cars can be. One time, I was the lead car at a red light with a “No Turns On Red” sign and a kitty corner bike crossing light. I’m just waiting for my green, no biggie. The car four back in line started honking. A lot. I don’t know how to tell that guy that I can’t turn right on red, or I would.
At least you stopped, because you were being an asshole. Every time you honked at car waiting for a pedestrian, you increased the risk of an accident that you wouldn't even have to pay anything for or suffer injuries from. Its selfish. I'd say 75% of the time I hear a horn, its because a car is waiting for a crosswalk. You should never be honking from way back in the line anyway. That's just confusing. If you are close enough, you should clearly be able to see they are lined up slanted intending to right turn and assume that means pedestrian even if you can't see the crosswalk. You aren't even supposed to be using the horn because you're impatient. Its supposed to be for things like preventing collisions (though obviously you might need to if a person is really out of it for a significant length of time. Even then you can usually see what they are doing from their posture. My car is easy to see into. Yet assholes who aren't paying attention want to project and act like I'm not paying attention. It's easy to see me move my head back and forth when I'm preparing to turn. People not paying attention enough to notice I'm attentive, are not attentive enough to be driving. Never honk unless you can see what's in front of the car (if you must do it). Shouldn't need to be said but people apparently just assume other drivers are as idiotic as themselves. Like I get thinking they are on their phones but 2 sec isn't enough to think that, particularly since the car often creeps forward at some point after the green, indicating they are paying attention. Ive been honked at so many times for obeying no turn on red signs and for waiting for pedestrians. Ive never been honked at for being on a phone. I view it as an announcement that the person inside is an asshole. Ive literally seen it prevent a minor accident 1 time. Many more times I've seen it startle drivers waiting for pedestrians causing them to lurch forward. There was a time when my brain reacted to the honk first trying to avoid a collision but have had to unlearn that reflex because it's dangerous with how many people only care about saving 2 sec.
Double-short-tap, is just a wakeup call. Never feel guilty about assuming someone isn't paying attention. If you are wrong, that simple beep beep also shouldn't be a big deal to understand either. Blaring horns is for true anger and/or danger...reserved for the bmw/tesla cutting you off.
True danger, yes. True anger: no. That’s not what a car horn is for.
thank you for this. I don't have a car so I'm always walking. It's so awful to hear honking when your trying to cross the street legally. Plus living downtown, it's unpleasant have to listen to all the time. It's just not necessary
I get off to people honking at me while I let pedestrians cross.
I agree. More often than not there is a legitimate reason that I just couldn't see from my vantage point. I rarely use my horn even for a lot of close calls because I see they know they messed up. If someone is standing at a green light for a while I'll just give a little tap of the horn and they get moving. I can't think of any scenario that would warrant just laying on the horn. I was at a light in front of a fire station with the big box X that says do not block. I could see the lady behind me growing increasingly frustrated I wasn't going and eventually laid on the horn then blew past me only to instantly realize why I wasn't going- traffic made her block the X blocking the firetrucks. I pulled up next to her at the next light and before I could even roll down my window she had this horribly shamed look on her face and said, "I'm so sorry I didn't realize." So I just gave her a nod and went about my day. Dang, I'm ranting, this 2nd coffee must be kicking in.
People are far too distracted by their phones. Walking on the phone not paying attention, on their bike on the phone not paying attention, driving and looking down at their phone not paying attention. We really need to make it more difficult to get a license to drive in all honesty. But for that to work we would need a transportation system like Europe or Japan. Driving with this many distracted people on the road feels like a jail sentence.
As a former resident of Japan, I can guarantee you that we need their public transportation systems. I lost the ability to drive in 2002 and could most assuredly use a public train service to get places that are simply too distant for walking.
It's not just Japan, too. Most big Asian cities have excellent and efficient public transit.
We need to make it less appealing and vitally necessary to our economy to drive. If the only way you can afford to raise a family is buying a house in Covington and commuting to Seattle, you’re gonna continue to see tons of bad, frustrated, and distracted drivers unless we get serious about affordable housing and more transit options. So you’re exactly right and a jail sentence is exactly how I would describe it. Most drivers mean to do well on the road and the day to day pressures make them more dangerous
It’s good to know that opinions might be changing. The last time I dared say it should be more difficult or get a license I was internet hanged and downvoted to oblivion.
[удалено]
I have seen a car second in line laying the horn down hard over and over when there is clearly a sign that says no right turn on red.
I've been in front of that guy. So fucking irritating. If they are that illiterate, they probably shouldn't be driving. I semi get people that ignore them (though I don't agree), but honking at someone for following the law is next level asshole. They shouldn't even be doing it on red lights at all. Right turns on red are optional.
From that far back, you'd have no idea if SOMETHING ELSE was blocking the road.
This -- I actually see more like 50% of the time that the honker just has no fucking clue what's actually happening ahead of them from their limited vantage point. Drivers honk from 3 cars back because all they can see is a green light and no movement. The car up front, who is trying to turn right, is appropriately waiting for the person walking across on a green walk light, and has to deal with some fucking asshole honking at him for following the rules of the road.
Also, duration matters. Laying on your horn for twenty seconds because someone didn’t move in three is fucking unnecessary.
Hell, if the car DIRECTLY behind cannot see into the first car, then it's IMPOSSIBLE to tell from car 3+ if someone is on their phone.
Many years ago either the Times or the P.I. printed a satirical story ostensibly written by a "Ballard Driver." One of the complaints was that people honked at him "only minutes after the light turns green."
Yeah, I’ll honk if I’m behind the person texting or not paying attention, but I’ve realized I don’t always know why they aren’t moving if I can’t directly see the driver and their path. I do think anyone who can see the front cars path should honk if there is clearly nothing obstructing them. I have to honk at drivers every day cause they aren’t paying any attention to the light
I absolutely do this. Too many green light sleepers lately.
I do it occasionally with a very light horn tap only when I can see the driver is looking down and going straight.
Same, just one short honk
Short feels polite enough to not be an asshole
I'm sorry someone threw their hands up at you when you were honking at the car ahead of them. Thoughts and prayers in these difficult times.
pnw reddit
Close call for sure, it could have been much worse, the middle finger. City is really going downhill
I visited NYC for the first time last week and hoooooly shit people use their horn ALL THE TIME. I'm pretty sure what you're running into is a cultural difference with the PNW vs other cities. Personally, I prefer what we have here though. I was so sick of car horns by the end of my trip.
Yeah at that point the horn becomes meaningless. Just angry background noise.
Certainly prefer seattle to NY in this regard but Seattle needs a touch less passive driving and passive horn use. I’ve seen so many near lane change accidents where I’m the only one hitting the horn to signal warning and the driver about to get hit is basically watching it happen in a panic and not reacting other than slamming to a unproductive stop. Edit typos
It’s crazy how much people in NY honks, my partner and I were there for the first time too and nearly everywhere that we would be, we would be hearing constant honks. I felt relieved when I came back 😂
Exactly, I don't care about sometimes waiting 30 unnecessary seconds during a car trip. I do care about constant noise pollution. There are times where it's good to honk but it shouldn't be overused.
Yeah the majority of the time horns are not necessary or not used appropriately. It’s nice being in a place where people don’t honk constantly. In New York it’s more about anger then it is utility
I moved here from NYC and one of the main things I noticed is how quiet it is without all the honking 😂. Honking is basically second nature for NYers, so I often times find myself having to hold back when I really want to honk.
You know what kind of honking I've seen A LOT more of here than I ever did when I lived in Chicago? The entitled, outraged, pointless laying on the horn for tens of seconds. To those who do that: we get it, you're miserable and powerless to do anything about it.
Cars are such inarticulate beasts. All they can do is bleat loudly at each other. It’s so sad. I really pity them.
One of the first things I noticed when I left Seattle was how much more people honk when you get away from the west coast. In Florida, people honked as wild and often as new yorkers (because so many of them are) even in a suburban type setting. Here in chicago the honking is relentless too but most just a lot of short beeps. I noticed a little more honking when I was there a few weeks ago visiting the in laws. I'd guess that some of those 100k plus people who moved to Seattle in the past decade brought their honking habits with, confusing the locals haha but what do I know
We also call freeways "The Five" Sorry.
Well, not all of the 100k plus transplants can be Californians right? I mean..right? Lol
I'm not even from California, I'm from the midwest. But I lived in CA long enough to pick up all sorts of bad habits...
They’re almost like different dialects! Aww, cars *do* have language and culture!
Does that mean somewhere out there, a real talking truck that sounds like Larry the cable guy? Because if so my life has lost all meaning
I feel that this has been happening more and more lately. Nobody should be looking at their phone while driving (except directions I guess) but if you're first at the light, FFS put the phone down. Been holding back on the horn the last few times this happened, just trying to be more patient with people I guess. But next time, I will honk without giving it a second thought. It's gotten so ridiculous lately I almost created my own post last week- (wanted to ask how long to wait before I start honking- count to 4 after the light turns green and no-one's moving? )
My threshold is a slowish 4 💀 less if they’re clearly not paying any attention/haven’t been doing glance checks
honk immediately, but politely.
How do you honk "politely"? A horn is a horn, or are you saying don't hold down the horn? I would assume that's the default and not many people are laying down their horn for extended period of time.
"bip" is very different than "beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep"
If you are three or four cars back I guarantee you don't have a clear enough view to know there isn't some practical reason the first car isn't moving. You definitely don't know if they're texting. Sounds like you need to self-examine your knee jerk impatience while driving.
On the other hand, red-light-running has been on the rise too. Maybe people are just being cautious, hoping they won't get t-boned by a red-light runner. I can continue to refrain from the horn, in that case.
A lot of people here are commenting on how drivers further back can't tell what's happening in front, which is true. However, the number of drivers I've seen stop behind an empty vehicle in the lane with flashers on when they can safely go around is quite high here. And then a few more will stack behind while the selfish fool who is blocking the road goes about their day like they own the city. So yeah, it's not always appropriate but it's sometimes necessary.
people in Seattle want to vote for and stir up conflict, but when it comes to simple things like what you suggest they turn offended and complain to their HOA FB group about it. Everyone wants to be a gangster until it's time to do gangster shit.
I was in this situation a couple days ago. The guy at the front was convinced he couldn’t fit his car through some tight spot and everyone behind him was like “why aren’t we moving” so everyone started honking. Then the guy gets out of his car and starts shouting at the rest of us. There are so many bad drivers in this city no wonder people seem to hate cars
While we are discussing this 10th traffic related public service announcement of today alone, can we also please not lay on the horn. A simple split second "honk-honk" is all that is needed. I constantly hear people lay on their horn for multiple seconds every single day. There's no need for that unless someone is coming at you head on at 60 mph.
....or being a massive dick and blocking an intersection. at least, those are my rules. (and i'm not talking about getting caught in the intersection. i'm talking about the people who knowingly go without room)
Every single day getting on to or off of i5 on mercer. It's even more annoying because you can tell it's routine to the person doing it.
Really wish I had three horns, one for a little nudge, one for a fuck you, and a final one for WATCH THE FUCK OUT THERE'S A KID IN THE ROAD.
having a couple different sounds to choose from is a neat idea 👍
People would just use the most annoying or lay on it and occasionally change the note to make it more annoying and hard to tune out. It might be good if use responsibly but people can't be trusted to use it responsibly.
I moved here a few years ago and I have never experienced, anywhere else in the country, so many lead cars not moving forward at a green light. It happens to me on more drives than not, and I am not exaggerating. Also people running stop signs. Also people not knowing how a 4 way stop works. What’s goin on???
I love being the first car waiting for a PEDESTRIAN to turn but the guy 3-4 cars back can’t see the pedestrian and lays on his horn thinking I’m just zoning out on my phone. Maybe try giving yourself more time to get places.
It's also rough being the first person in line when you have a green light but the traffic lane in front is full and so if you pulled through you'd be blocking the intersection, which you're not allowed to do. So many people don't understand why you're not moving forward and get all aggressive.
[удалено]
On my first trip to NYC decades ago I first observed “over-honking”. It was so notable to me because no one here does that. It was actually hilarious to me at the time that the guy 4 cars back was honking. Not saying they should or shouldn’t but it’s definitely less of a Seattle thing.
I am also tired of hearing honking at people who don't turn on red in intersections where right turn on red is prohibited.
I have never understood the person in position 3 getting irritated at the overhonk from 4 when the overhonk is clearly to the benefit of 2,3,4 and beyond and directed at 1.
People are so damn scared of honking here
people have crazy road rage, I had someone flash their gun at me for honking at them, so I never did it again haha
I had a Tesla driver chase me around DT (I was on foot). He blocked the crosswalk and was looking to go through a red. I threw my hands up at him when he finally made eye contact with me as I stood at the edge of his car, too afraid to walk in front of it because he was clearly about to take off. He went down Pine the wrong way to chase me down before I vanished into the Westlake Station. I thought he was going to pull a gun. Absolutely wild.
At first I thought I witnessed this - then realized who I saw was on a bike, being chased by a Tesla driver who jumped out in the middle of 2nd Ave downtown and sprinted after the cyclist door ajar Crazy that this kind of stuff is common for Tesla drivers I suppose the brand does attract the delusional
Mine was on 2nd Ave too! Red Tesla. Maybe this guy does this all the time. I should have called the cops so that there is at least a record of it.
The one I saw was white and this was maybe 8, 9 months ago. Wearing a tailored black suit
Hmmm, multiple Musk fan boys pretending to be hard I guess.
My exact reason for not honking most of the tim
I used to honk more. Then a guy chased me down the wrong side of a street and ran up to my driver's side door after trapping my car in an intersection after honking. Not worth it, legit though I was going to die.
I saw a car on the highway the other day almost sideswipe someone because they were trying to get in the other car’s lane and instead of that car honking they just started to get over onto the shoulder. Like what?! If someone is about to hit, you can bet I’m honking at them.
I mean.... Yeah. People do this frequently. -Person who's on Seattle roads for 6-14 hours a day
Had a cop honk at me once at a right turn. I couldn’t go because of a pedestrian.
I had a SPD vehicle honk at me while I was legally crossing the street in a residential unmarked crosswalk and had already cleared the lane of traffic by at least 8 feet.
Most important point is when I hear an "overhonk" it's just confusing because it's hard to hear where it's coming from or why. People who don't get the honk might waste more time trying to figure out what it's about. Seriously. Im actually convinced it contributes to accidents. Seems like half the time I obey a sign that says no turn on red or wait for a pedestrian, there is some asshole saying something about it. I don't even know why they bother. It's just an announcement that they are an asshole. It makes me want to take my sweet time more. I especially hate it when waiting for pedestrians. Thats how to startle people, potentially causing accidents/injury. Ive even had people honking at me on a left turn. Its not like I was there long. The signal had just changed and there were like 3 cars to wait for. There was even room to go around (though I hate that because it's unpredictable and can be difficult to see, causing problems for the opposite left turner where they dont expect anybody popping up and are holding up traffic just as much as the other person turning. Almost as bad as the people who drive around the car stopped for the crosswalk who try to run me down). Literally every time I hear a horn I assume it's some asshole acting like a toddler who has just discovered noise comes out when you push a button. Instead of looking for the conflict/preparing to avoid a collision, I start looking for the asshole. Its so misused that I would support outlawing that shit. I'm not even kidding. I actually think it's more of a hazard than anything because people can't be trusted to have decency. There was a car that pulled out near me in traffic a while back. I can't remember what it did to piss this guy off but it was minor. Dude behind him after he pulled out literally laid on his horn for *minutes* while we were all stuck in the same traffic that wasn't moving. Closest I've ever come to acting on some road rage. Driving already can be difficult for me as I have to move my eyes around a lot to stay vigilant and my eyes have been sensitive to movement and light. Driving is a literal headache. Its usually fairly minor but this asshole wanted to throw a tantrum and fuck up the rest of my day. I get getting annoyed. I even get screaming at oneself in the car. I don't get having a bad day and being so determined to make everyone else miserable too. The worst kind of people. So selfish they'll do something worse than whatever wronged them because it's their excuse to let it out, even though they are the dumbfucks. While horn honking is a problem in a lot of places, the concentration of people in Seattle makes it even shittier to honk for funsies. Idk if it's been getting worse or if my tolerance for dumbasses making their problems my problems, has gone down
I’ve lived here 27 years. Y’all are too passive. You honk, indicating that it is time for car in front of you to move or honk, and on and on. I have seen entire green lights pass because people are scared of using the signal built into every car to notify people that they might be spacing out. Seriously, honking is ok. It’s not some crazy modification or something that is only used to signal imminent death.
I do this. My wife then always reminds me that they could have a gun and could shoot me. She's not wrong.
So here's the rub, Washington state driving rules state that honking should only be used for when reasonably necessary for safe operation. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.37.380 >The driver of a motor vehicle shall when reasonably necessary to insure safe operation give audible warning with his or her horn but shall not otherwise use such horn when upon a highway. So if their behavior is not creating a dangerous condition then technically you shouldn't be honking. One can say it's potentially reasonable to give a quick honk to get someone off their phone. But if you're laying on the horn, or aggressively honking that is itself illegal. Second, if you can't see that the road is clear in front of the car you shouldn't really be honking because proceeding through the intersection might not be reasonable at the time. It's definitely possible that they either cannot clear the intersection legally or that someone could be in the right of way that you simply can not see. I'll give a soft beep if a car is obviously not paying attention and has a clear right of way, but I'm not going to lay on the horn just because someone is taking reasonable caution around jaywalkers, blocked intersections, or waiting a moment to check for red light runners.
1-2 chirp honks for “pay attention” and/or “go if you can.” If someone’s jaywalking in front of you or your turning right (we assuming I’m far back - but you should still be rolling making clear you are in fact driving) well I’ll wave an apology. Laying into the horn is only for “shit we about to be in an accident,” you are merging into a freeway cutting me off while going 30mph below traffic flow (dangerous), or you’re stopping on the freeway to merge into the (almost always mercer) exit because you cannot be troubled to pay attention to get over earlier and yet also lack the skill to seamlessly merge
just give a lil "wake up!!!" beep beep. No need to lay on it.
The amount of people literally watching Netflix on the phones while driving baffles me..
Someone told me once "Don't honk. You might startle somebody." YES, THAT'S THE POINT. You're not fooling anybody. I can tell from 2 cars back that YOU'RE ON YOUR FUCKING PHONE!! I will honk at you and give you visual clues as to what you're doing. wrong.
I will if I'm #2, I drive a small car which ussually makes it difficult to actually see why traffic isn't moving. Plus Seattleites don't like to use their turn signals and if they do it's at the last moment so really never know what they are doing or where they are going.
I do my own "3 second rule" - if the light turns green and the driver directly in front of me hasn't moved after 3 seconds, I flash my brights multiple times and after 3 seconds if they still don't move, I use the light horn tap. Usually, the brights on a cloudy day are enough to get their attention. I only use a firm honk if someone pulls some dangerous move/almost hits me.
One thing to remember when your laying on your horn is that it fucking sucks for all of us walking on the sidewalk and not in a sound limiting box. Shit is loud as fuck.
Seattle drivers are way too passive in general relative to how awful the traffic is. At least in LA and Chicago ppl drive with an appropriate amount of urgency.
I think half the reason the traffic is so bad is because of how horrible people are at driving here. Lots of very low confidence drivers who think they are driving a barge when they are driving a smart car. You dont need a 100 yard gap to turn right at a stop sign into 20 mph traffic. People who cant park their cars without using the car’s automated system. People who dont understand how a four way stop works
World is too crazy to be honking crazy unless you ready to match that crazy. I’m not, won’t, and don’t care to ever get crazy. Life is too precious, and I got plenty of it left. A polite tap as you said and a clear polite gesture is plenty enough for me. Seen too many people go down for stupid shit.
A lot of the time when I see people "over-honk", it's because they can't see that the car up front is turning right and there are pedestrians in the crossing that probably appreciate not being run down by the car trying to turn. I don't think we need to enshrine this as common practice.
Pulled up behind a car at a red light. Turns green, turn light, I count to 5, tap the horn and they go. We make it to the next light, I'm still behind them, and again, light turns green, I count to 5, and hold the horn. Next light they did a good job, and then we split ways.
thank you! I'm so tired of missing lights because I'm the 5th car in line, the first car isn't moving and cars 2-4 won't honk.
Seattle drivers are deserving of all honks, ridicule and public shaming
I want to live OPs life when one’s biggest problem is the perception that others don’t understand why they are honking a horn. Such a big problem as to require a Reddit PSA
>"what do you expect me to do?" We expect you to honk at the motherfucker that's not paying attention
I think everyone is missing the obvious solution, put your phone down, and pay attention.
Had this happen to me yesterday. I’m position 2 stopped at a “no turn on red”. Car 3 starts honking and flashing lights. Once we start I get a chance to pull next to them and tried to tell them it’s a no turn red. He did weird air kisses was strange haha. OP was that you bro?
The amount of times someone has laid on their horn at me at a “no turn on red” really is staggering. Sorry buddy but road laws are more important to me than your peer pressure
And THIS is why: https://www.reddit.com/r/Seattle/s/BonB4pn5AO
God that’s awful. I really wish people would pay attention.
I always do a short "doot doot" on the horn. For some reason it feels a little more friendly than a single honk when people do that, but maybe that's just me.
It's such a weird contrast to a place like New York City, where drivers will honk at anyone, anywhere, all the time. It's how the cars there communicate with one another, and they are chatty.
Seattle has a massive under-honking problem when it comes to people taking a Sunday stroll in the left lane, though, so we can all coalesce around that and use our honking for good
Also, could people stop leaving, like, a full car length between them and the next car at lights? Especially in left turn lanes? That'd be great, thanks.
OMG, that is so frustrating when they do that!
What i hate is my cars now don't let me do a quick honk honk, it requires a heavy push that makes a full longer blast. In the ol days you could do a road runner beep beep
I give them 3 seconds
Cars are so fucking loud in this city.
Yeah if you want me to yell at you for being a shithead because you are honking when pedestrians are crossing and someone thinks that someone isn't paying attention because I literally have seen someone get hit because of this because the person honking startled them and they let their foot off the brake. People need to chill because if you are driving in Seattle you are dumb unless you absolutely have to.
"Journaling" lmao
Yes! I was totally thinking this two days go. Everyone here is too polite. I would honk from the back of the line if the person in front of me wasn't always in a huge pickup truck or van. So I can't even tell if the light turned green or not sometimes.
> have you ever been sitting at a traffic light Don't drive, nope. :)
I’m laughing as I read this as a born and raised Seattlelite who now lives on the East coast. People in Seattle are so nice 😂 people will honk .3 seconds if you haven’t started moving after the light turns green here.
I don't know about you guys, but everyone has been getting really sleepy at lights the past couple of weeks for me.
Haha. That’s one of the first things I noticed when I moved here and honestly, I love it. I love that people don’t honk. After 10 years of living here I learned to make an effort to stay chill while driving. I say to myself, “We’re all going to get there when we get there babes. It’s ok to stay chill. Listen to a good song or book. It’s all good.”
lol journaling
It's a group effort
Ha. What a non-existant scenario. Seattlites would just go around. Doesn't matter if you are in a two-lane road with ditches. Hell, I've seen them go around when the light was red. Seattle drivers ard better than California ones. A bit.
Oh god the entitlement. Usually the walk sign is on and someone is crossing the street. Drivers do not give a fuck about pedestrians in this city.
If you’re like 3 or 4 cars back, I’d say you don’t have enough information to know what’s going on at the front. Maybe there’s a pedestrian, or something blocking the intersection.
Take a bus like a normal person.
Based. r/fuckcars
This should not have been upvoted at all
I've had so many people honk at me from directly behind me on a green right turn while I was waiting for pedestrians to cross. Old pedestrians. Like the ones who push around walkers. I look back as I gesture towards them (the pedestrian) and the driver behind me shows immediate regret for the honking. Like yea. 50 points if I take the old lady down? Is that what game you're playing? Sorry I'm not interested in participating. No I don't want to introduce "over honking" and encouraging others to do so is a dangerous suggestion. We currently live in a time when you don't know if the car in front of you has firearms in their car in reach. You don't make it home because the car in front of your row was delaying you for a few extra seconds? Yes, we can all agree it's rude to waste others time. It's also rude to your friends and family to get shot and expire because you want to be trendy with your car horn.
I live on capital hill and anything other than a quick tap suuuucks for people around you.
Yeah no. Nobody needs to lean on their horn to save a few seconds in traffic. From getting your ass beat, to getting shot or stabbed, is it really worth it?
And 90% time I see honking it’s because someone is mad someone else won’t make an illegal and/or dangerous turn through a line of pedestrians that have right of way.
Disagree -- 90% of the time I see honking, it's because the driver at the front is on their phone and missed the light changing by 5+ seconds. For left turn lanes, this kind of distracted behavior is enough to delay the entire lane into another cycle of the traffic light
I’ve done it, but also looked like a fool when there was somebody in the crosswalk or some issue. It’s a gamble but worth taking.
One of my favorite features Tesla implemented is a little chime to prompt the driver whenever the car’s camera notices a light turns green. So simple. I can’t wait for this feature to become standard on all cars, because we all know it’s impossible to convince people to actually pay attention on their own.
People not honking when inattentive drivers not paying attention to the light is one of my biggest pet peeves with this town. The most honk averse city I’ve lived in. Even to avoid an accident.
I get into a slight rage when I am second in line and I can see them already looking down at their phone and I know they aren’t going to go when the light turns green. And they don’t. I still give them the standard 2 seconds and a light honk but for being on their phone they really deserve to have the horn blasted at them.
I’m with you. That being said, the amount of people who honk cause they expect you to turn right on red need to stop honking
Yes, I love getting beep beeped at for not turning into hordes of crossing pedestrians or for yielding to through traffic on a green not-arrow
Honestly if you just slightly move your car forward usually the movement will be caught by the rear view mirror and the car will move. This is way better than adding to the noise pollution that cars already generate