Auto horns
August 4, 2008
seem not to be used for safety purposes.It occurred to me that the primary uses of auto horns are to indicate
- the light is green, I am in a hurry!
- somebody touched me, I am ALARMED!
- you did something stupid!
By the time the horn is honked, whatever danger there was, is past. I don’t think any of these uses justifies the cost and noise of auto horns.
I did, once, see a horn used for safety. A semi-trailer hauling rocks lost its brakes and was headed towards an intersection. He jake-braked and blew his horn all the way into, through, and past the intersection. So, once in 40-some years, I saw a horn used to avert an accident.
