Honked Off: Car Horns More Harm Than Good

The next time you honk your car’s horn, you might want to ask why you're doing it. Grabbing the horn by the bull for Slate, Dave Johns thinks you’re probably too close to do anything but tell your obstacle to get out of the way. That’s because drivers use their horns “as a tool for scolding rather than safety,” one expert says.

Although honking might encourage more reckless driving, drivers still love it. Authorities the world over have responded with various bans for decades, but often with little to show for it. In Cairo, drivers reverted to clownish squeeze horns when authorities acted against them, showing that even if citizens can’t enjoy a right to free speech in some countries, they’ll fight for their right to honk. (More Car horns stories.)