The meaning of a horn

Back in the Midwest, the car horn is a powerful weapon. Like any precious tool, it is kept under wraps and only used in extreme circumstances. But its message is clear and well understood - "I'm pissed at what you just did."

But in China, the horn is generally used to mean simply, "Hey! Look at me!"

The most common use of the horn is the "I'm coming" toot. A short blast of the horn from behind is a signal that a car or motorcycle is passing you. It is a simple warning to the vehicle in front to not change lanes suddenly.

This use is quite sensible, because most drivers do not conform to the rigid structure of "lanes" on a road. Because it is used so often, though, it waters down the impact of the horn as any major road is filled with near-constant noise. This is particularly true of taxis, which tend to pass a lot of cars - meaning the drivers are almost constantly on their horns.

Other uses of the horn, however, make less sense to a Western driver. When in a car on a multi-lane road, a longer blast of the horn can precede a slow merge into the next lane....regardless of what may be in that lane (truck, car, small child, etc.). The horn seems to mean "Pay attention to what I'm about to do, otherwise we're both going to be sorry." This use can be adjusted depending on the circumstances that follow; the more dangerous and stupid the action, the more fierce the horn. For example, this week I was driving my scooter (which has a horn as well) in the neighborhood, when I came to an intersection. This intersection has a traffic light and a police officer stationed on the corner, but most people pay little attention to the light. So despite the green light, I approached with caution when I heard long blasts of the horn being repeated. I turn, and sure enough, here comes a car at a high rate of speed barreling through the red light just in front of me. (This is not uncommon.)

So what lesson do I take away from this? As long as you apply an appropriate amount of horn ahead of time as a warning, you can do whatever you like on the roads!

-alan