Comments on: The Ahem Signal

By: aaron

aaron — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:19:27 +0000

I disagree. I think another signal, and the extra thought in using it, would be pretentious.

By: aaron

aaron — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:15:14 +0000

Honking is pushy, but I don't know what a good alternative is. I think the best option is to make honking more socially acceptable. Tyler Cowen disagrees, only because horns are obnoxious.

By: Fritz

Fritz — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:55:41 +0000

Or the right turning driver can just be patient and wait. We don’t need more noise on the streets.

By: ScottF

ScottF — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:52:16 +0000

The streetcars in Germany have a gentle warning sound that sounds much like a bicycle bell. In fact, one time I was walking and heard a *ding* *ding* behind me. I turned my head, expecting to see a bicyclist, and discovered I was about to be run over by the Strassenbahn!

By: Lee Watkins

Lee Watkins — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:41:38 +0000

Jerry Seinfeld actually had a skit on this very subject. Thought there should be two horns, one that is polite, and one that was pushy. He also had another car horn joke about men trying to get women’s attention. Both of them were really funny, as I remember. – Lee

By: Crosius

Crosius — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 03:23:17 +0000

Having a softer alternative to the horn sounds like a good idea, but any cyclist can tell you that “polite” noisemakers frequently provoke _no_ reaction from the people with whom you’re trying to communicate. This problem would be further aggravated by the soundproofing and sound-systems of current automobiles. You almost need a horn to reach through all that insulation and the 7-speaker sound system.

It may be a moot point for many drivers, anyway. Edging around a car stopped at an intersection to make a right turn is illegal where I drive. If the road has n lanes, it’s illegal to position your vehicle as though there are n+1 lanes without sufficient cause (being in a hurry doesn’t count).

By: Michael

Michael — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 01:34:01 +0000

Hello/goodbye is bad enough, but the horn hooked to the door locks/alarm is worse. Walk through the parking lot and hear HONK!, panic momentarily, then realize that it’s just someone unlocking his doors.

By: geografree

geografree — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 00:30:47 +0000

In Auckland where we share a bike lane with buses (don’t ask), I think it would be great if buses had a way to let us know they were approaching (they are very quiet when they slow down to the cyclists speed). Perhaps they could have something like a cat-bell that alerted us to their presence without scaring the bejeezus out of us.

On a similar subject, one of my pet-peeves is people that honk at each other as way of saying hello or goodbye. I find the act selfish since everyone in earshot is expected to look since the purpose of the horn is to alert people of an impending collision or similar? Maybe we need a whole range of horns: hello, goodbye, ahem, LOOK OUT…

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 23:54:15 +0000

How about a bell like the Ice Cream has. The old fashion bicycle bell doesn’t get much negative reaction.

By: Donald

Donald — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 23:19:58 +0000

As a bicyclist, I can say that I already have such a distinction. The bell for a gentle “hey, look” (generally to pedestrians or motorists with their windows down) and my Airzound for the 2-ton monstrosities that seek to end my life on a regular basis. However, I don’t think the bell would generally work for cars since drivers are sound-proofed from the world around them. That’s why horns have to be so loud. One possibility though is something mono-tone and fairly high (think “chipper”) pitched. Maybe at a common, happy note like C. And maybe electronic.

Regarding the original post, though, I have to say that most of the time when I observe such a “creeping” of a car by another one, the person is impatient and has the attitude of “how dare you hold me up?” When you’re behind a car at a light waiting to turn right and there’s not room, here’s a simple solution: wait patiently.