Why Bother Honking Your Horn at People on Bikes?

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  • Опубликовано: 18 ноя 2024

Комментарии • 84

  • @leafdaleaudiovideoengineer4763
    @leafdaleaudiovideoengineer4763 Месяц назад +25

    I remember from years (decades) ago in the California DMV Driver's Handbook that drivers were supposed to honk as they approached a cyclist from behind, to alert them a car was near. As a cyclist, however, I find a honk more startling than anything else. I immediately assess if I've done something stupid, then when I know I haven't, tend to assume the driver hates my mere presence on the road. Please DO NOT honk at cyclists just to let them know you're there. Most of the time I can hear you coming (EVs are a different story.) Trust me, I'm acutely aware your 6000 lb vehicle is near me.

    • @RidingBikesinSanDiego
      @RidingBikesinSanDiego  Месяц назад +12

      The supreme court recently declined a case, thus upholding the CA law, "It is prohibited to honk the horn for unnecessarily loud or prolonged periods of time, or for any purpose other than to ensure safe vehicle operation." There's nothing safe about honking at someone who is in the space they're supposed to be in.

    • @AlphaHorst
      @AlphaHorst Месяц назад +3

      That's what happens when you do not punish people for misusing a WARNING SIGNAL. It loses the "warning" aspect.

    • @RidingBikesinSanDiego
      @RidingBikesinSanDiego  Месяц назад +5

      @AlphaHorst There's no need for a warning because nobody is in any danger. In the first scene, I'm in my own lane, and in the second scene, the driver has already moved over into their own space. This is simply drivers expressing their annoyance that someone else is on the road.

    • @AlphaHorst
      @AlphaHorst Месяц назад

      @@RidingBikesinSanDiego I simply stated what the horn is intended for.
      And the fact that thousands of bikers die each year due to traffic from behind, and that many argue for biker to drive on the wrong side of the road to avoid getting hit from behind shows that there is a need for a warning in the current system of bikelanes or lack thereof.
      Not everyone is as lucky to have a rare gene mutation allowing them to have eyes in the back of their head after all.

    • @will_rides_bikes
      @will_rides_bikes Месяц назад

      I've noticed that most drivers who honk at me are elderly (60 plus anyways). I do recall my driving instructor in 86 suggesting I do the same but I knew better. Why don't we retrain drivers every 10 years??

  • @johnsampson2544
    @johnsampson2544 Месяц назад +27

    All honking like that does is startle the cyclist, possible causing them to veer directly into the car. I bought a radar taillight for this season, so at least now I know these idio… I mean motorists are, are coming up on me. A lot less surprise honks that way. I still get the honks, just not surprised.

    • @bestbehave
      @bestbehave Месяц назад +6

      The number of people that think it's necessary. No dude, it's intimidatory
      "Oh but I don't mean it like that - I'm just letting oyu know I'm there"
      So how am Ito distinguish between you and someone who is out to intimidate? I'll tell you. Those not out to intimidate don't beep their horns

    • @johnsampson2544
      @johnsampson2544 Месяц назад

      @@bestbehave 💯

    • @eyeq1451
      @eyeq1451 Месяц назад

      @@bestbehave If a car is far away, there is no one else around who could be meant by the honking and the honking is very briefly then it's not meant to intimidate.
      That said, in 99.99% of times that's not the case and someone in a metal box is just frustrated they are spending so much money on a car and the running costs just to sit around in traffic jams way too often.

  • @shawnamelva583
    @shawnamelva583 Месяц назад +11

    The horn of a car is for one purpose - to let another driver know you are there. Parking lots, lane changes, backing up. NOT to be a jerk to us riders.

  • @andiesgames9542
    @andiesgames9542 Месяц назад +6

    I live in Belgium and honestly, this is insane. The worst we have is called 'moordstrookjes' which translates to 'murder lanes' but even that's better than in san diego...

  • @paulflory3532
    @paulflory3532 Месяц назад +2

    When someone toots at me, my immediate reaction is "what exactly do you want me to do, disappear"? If every car tooted at me, the road would be a noisy place. If I were in my car, would you toot at me to let me know you're there? Your job is to pass me safely so a toot is superfluous.
    Fact is, I KNOW you're there. I can hear traffic approaching behind me (even EV's: most internal combustion engines are quiet these days, the main noise comes from the tires). And I've seen you on tail radar, which also tells me how fast you're going and how far back you are. A shoulder check as a backup.
    I do my best to avoid giving someone the finger, as that ends any possibility of rational interaction should they stop. Sometimes a slow-down wave if radar says they're going 20mph over the limit. A thank-you wave if radar shows that someone slowed behind me and waited for a safe opening to pass. I avoid waving motorists past: too often oncoming traffic suddenly appears.
    Agree with you that every lane is a bicycle lane, and the shoulder is not a traffic or bicycle lane. Around here shoulders vary wildly in width along the same road (even state highways!), and disappear completely in places.

  • @OnYourLeft
    @OnYourLeft Месяц назад +1

    Thumb's down is a far more memorable gesture than the finger.
    Yeah, those bike lanes suck. It's pretty obvious most people that plan cycle infrastructure don't know the struggle.
    I remember several years ago, I was riding in the right lane of a 4 lane street, similar to the 2nd part of your video. Traffic was passing just fine, but one guy decided to honk and make a big issue of me riding in the lane. There wasn't enough room to share the lane safely, so I was riding in the middle of it like you are. The guy honked, close passed, pointed to the side, and flipped me off. Naturally, I caught up to him at the next light, and he started yelling at me and telling me I needed to ride on the edge of the road. I said, "Not according to that sign," as I pointed to a big black and white regulatory street sign that said, "Cyclists may use full lane." "I don't give a ****," he shouted, and proceeded to argue. Some people just don't care.

  • @rb810810
    @rb810810 Месяц назад +2

    I have an AirZound on my bike, and when this happens to me, I repeat the honk back at them. Nearly every time, the driver LOSES THEIR FUCKING MIND. This tells me that they were not honking to alert me of their psychotic presence in the first place.

    • @RidingBikesinSanDiego
      @RidingBikesinSanDiego  Месяц назад +1

      The bike I ride most of the time doesn't even have a bell on. I'll keep an eye out for something at the next swap meet.

  • @Being_Jeff
    @Being_Jeff Месяц назад +12

    Those so called bike lanes would be death traps in the UK crossing an acceleration lane joining a dual carriageway come on, who in their right mind came up with that?
    And painting a picture of cycle with a couple of chevrons on a on a road lane just seems like total laziness on the highways dept part.
    As for the middle finger gesture don't do it you have no idea who is driving the car it could be a psycho and a road rager driving a tonne of metal against a 100 kg bike rider there's only one outcome.
    Maybe point at the road markings instead.

    • @RidingBikesinSanDiego
      @RidingBikesinSanDiego  Месяц назад +7

      Admittedly, the middle finger is a reflex I'm trying to avoid. But I disagree about not provoking road ragers. A driver can kill a cyclist at any moment with their car, and often do completely unprovoked. It's a power imbalance our road design encourages and our society promotes.

    • @will_rides_bikes
      @will_rides_bikes Месяц назад

      One of the big problems we face in Canada and the US is how transportation projects are funded. Municipalities are left to build infrastructure, and they'll get Federal or Provincial/State monies to build that infra. There's always an "Active Transportation" component and they look for the cheapest way to maximize the distance of the Active Transpo, which is paint on the road. There are some places they'll build protected bike lanes but overall, the painted "lanes" outnumber proper bike lanes 20:1. It's all political. Just like the "Vision Zero" nonsense that is being quoted everywhere - it doesn't address the real problem, which is shitty, unqualified drivers, so it dumbs down infra to the lowest common denominator, which is the shitty, unqualified driver.
      My middle finger also gets a good workout riding here in Canada. Only had one driver get so offended by it that he turned around to try and bully me. Wee little man with a polished noggin and cute tribal tats, driving a minivan. Clearly a cuck.

    • @kailahmann1823
      @kailahmann1823 13 дней назад

      It really shows how American road designers (no, they are worth the name "engineer") have no clue what they are doing. Germany is full of "bike path crosses slip lane" and it's always done at a 90° angle. Slows the cyclists down a bit, but keeps them alive.
      And sharrows with 35 mph in an urban environment is wrong on so many levels.

  • @argonsparrow
    @argonsparrow Месяц назад +2

    Don't people know, from pedestrian experience, that horns are unpleasantly loud? I could never be a bicyclist but I try to respect them on the road. My car could kick their ass. I am mindful of that so my car doesn't kick their ass. Keep biking mate. Roads should be designed better for all of us.

    • @RidingBikesinSanDiego
      @RidingBikesinSanDiego  Месяц назад

      I often think about how a car horn is actually multiple notes. It's a chord, and it's meant to be dissonant, so that it's unpleasant so people hear it as a disruption.

  • @Servergmr
    @Servergmr Месяц назад +2

    Based, you're literally me. I flip off drivers who honk at me and closely pass me and all that.

  • @hatingontruth9118
    @hatingontruth9118 Месяц назад +2

    I rode a bike for a year and a half every day and most of it was on the road. Every day a few cars would honk. I never understood why. Some people are being azzholes and I think some are genuinely scared when they see a bike and don't know what to do.

  • @dperreno
    @dperreno Месяц назад

    I think a double honk like that is intended to let you know that they are going to be passing you. But it's really ignorant if that is the case, as all it does is startle you. I've had that happen to me countless times as well, and I just let it go. Now a long, sustained honk - yeah, that warrants a long, sustained finger in return!

  • @derekjolly3680
    @derekjolly3680 Месяц назад

    This place makes me think of certain stretches I ride a road bike on which I'm not willing to do except on certain days of the week (like a Sat. or a Sun.) or certain times (very early) because they're simply too dangerous with too little space for the cyclist and the drivers don't want to slow down at all. I think it is important to keep yourself safe and out of some kinds of segments and situations by choice and not by chance. This seems like one of those spots. On the honking, some drivers are just frigging idiots who like to show contempt for the guy on the bike because they don't think he's supposed to be there. Same thing with yelling out the window at us. Same thing with passing close.

    • @RidingBikesinSanDiego
      @RidingBikesinSanDiego  Месяц назад

      I'd agree that Lake Murray is worth avoiding if only it weren't two lanes. There's plenty of room for people to get around without doing more than swiveling their arms ever so slightly. I'd actually be more worried about riding this in off hours. When there are a few drivers, one usually sets a tone for the others. Maybe I can demonstrate that in another video.

  • @donotneed2250
    @donotneed2250 Месяц назад +1

    I was taught growing up cars should give a light toot when approaching bicycle riders from the rear so they'd know a car was behind them.

    • @RidingBikesinSanDiego
      @RidingBikesinSanDiego  Месяц назад +4

      You're not the first person to mention this. I'd suggest that lesson is outdated, and was thought of by people who didn't ride bikes for transportation. I don't think it was maliciously intended, but it's a practice that does more harm than good. If the driver has control of their car, and isn't inclined to murder, there's no reason for this notification. We know cars are behind us. We also don't like sharing the road with drivers. But this is the design we have until the city changes it.

    • @donotneed2250
      @donotneed2250 Месяц назад

      @@RidingBikesinSanDiego, they do the same thing in South Korea I found out first hand.

    • @FrameDrumAndFlute
      @FrameDrumAndFlute Месяц назад +2

      Honking your horn is aggressive. Keep your distance from the bike if you are really concerned

    • @eyeq1451
      @eyeq1451 Месяц назад +2

      @@RidingBikesinSanDiego At least here in Germany you are expressly allowed to alert cyclists to your presence by honking (StVO § 16), but only a) if you're about to overtake outside of built-up areas or b) if you think you or others are in danger.
      I don't mind if someone honks very shortly when they're far away and no one else is around, that's what this is about, but when they're just 5 metres/15 feet behind you and only then honk that's not "alerting to your presence", that's more like "get out of my way, peasant"...
      That said, I have a rear view mirror on all of my bikes plus a radar which is connected to the headunit so the headunit alerts me as well, but most (99% of) cyclists have neither of those, in addition to 100% of cyclists not having eyes in the back of the head.

  • @gregdolecki8530
    @gregdolecki8530 Месяц назад +3

    A bike lane on an expressway crossing over on-ramps seems like a really bad idea and a good way to die while riding. I'd also be riding on the shoulder (if possible) of that secondary road. Car against bike - car wins every time. As a cyclist, I'd rather be alive than "right" all the time. But yeah, the honking is not needed. In lieu of horns, people sometimes yell at you, even on back roads.

    • @RidingBikesinSanDiego
      @RidingBikesinSanDiego  Месяц назад +7

      I'd avoid these routes if I could, but the Cities of San Diego and La Mesa don't provide alternatives with better design. But the larger point is that I'm not actually "against" anyone driving here. I'm in spaces that are literally designed for me to ride in, and there are open spaces drivers are using. The conflict is coming from the poor tempers of drivers.

  • @casperornadepentagonsfrogp5352
    @casperornadepentagonsfrogp5352 Месяц назад +15

    I'll be stealing the thumbs down. Cars should never have been allowed to travel as fast as they do on city streets. There should be no roads for speeds over 20mph outside of highways and freeways. It's the high speeds that make drivers feel like every other road user including other cars doing the speed limit are in their way.

    • @SmallSpoonBrigade
      @SmallSpoonBrigade Месяц назад +1

      That's just stupid. As long as the roads are properly engineered, there's no reason why 30-35mph isn't a reasonable speed. Especially when you realize that the main reason that the speed limits are being lowered is due to cyclists and pedestrians that can't figure out how to deal with the streets.

    • @RidingBikesinSanDiego
      @RidingBikesinSanDiego  Месяц назад +7

      @SmallSpoonBrigade The reason speeds are being lowered is because drivers regularly kill people with cars that are getting increasingly full of distractions, while getting heavier and higher up. It's a combination of poor road design, drivers' being reckless, and vehicle design that is more dangerous for people outside of cars. But keep blaming the victims if it makes you feel better. Thanks for watching.

    • @bestbehave
      @bestbehave Месяц назад +4

      @@SmallSpoonBrigade Residential areas, or anywhere where where there are likely to be pedestrians should never be more than 20. There is no reason to go faster (overall journey times are unaffected) and it is safer and less intimidating for those without car privilege eg children, perdestrians, cyclists - in other words those with less impact on others.

    • @donotneed2250
      @donotneed2250 Месяц назад +2

      I don't know about other states but in Georgia a vehicle has to be at least 3 feet from a cyclist when passing them. It's been a law for a few years now.

    • @RidingBikesinSanDiego
      @RidingBikesinSanDiego  Месяц назад +3

      @donotneed2250 That is also the law in CA. Just imagine if it were enforced!

  • @CommutebyBicycle561
    @CommutebyBicycle561 Месяц назад +2

    The horn blows. Does the driver?

  • @billwylde4846
    @billwylde4846 Месяц назад

    So what IF the one honking is a complete douche bag? That driver doesn't know how you ride and you don't know how that driver drives. It takes two to tango.
    So don't be mad if you get hit by the nervous motorist who didn't bother honking at you.

    • @RidingBikesinSanDiego
      @RidingBikesinSanDiego  Месяц назад +1

      That's a silly argument, @billwylde4846. The driver knows how I ride because they can see me in front of them as they're driving up. If they need more time to figure it out, there's a brake pedal right there that gives a driver more time. As the person who is in front of these people, it's drivers' responsibility to read the road.

  • @acalora123
    @acalora123 Месяц назад

    It's definitely them just letting you know they're passing. If you take it as hostile rather than them being concerned for your safety, that's on you, not them. I know you know they're there, but do you let them know you were aware of them with a wave or are you flipping them off? Why meet unnecessary concern with such hostility?

    • @RidingBikesinSanDiego
      @RidingBikesinSanDiego  Месяц назад +2

      @acalora123 The thing is, they're not honking as they approach. They're honking when they're passing. Trust me: I know they're there. It's not safe to honk a horn right next to a person on a bike.

  • @bikertime1
    @bikertime1 Месяц назад +5

    Car drivers are just not very smart. That's why they honk.

    • @jm6841
      @jm6841 Месяц назад +1

      people who make blanket statements about other groups of people are just not very smart. That's why they make these statements.

  • @charleshill506
    @charleshill506 Месяц назад +2

    The middle finger salute really helped.

    • @RidingBikesinSanDiego
      @RidingBikesinSanDiego  Месяц назад +1

      It's a response, and something of a reflex. I'm working on it.

    • @charleshill506
      @charleshill506 Месяц назад +1

      @@RidingBikesinSanDiego I understand. I can't help but do it when I see a trump flag or sticker.

  • @andreasspachmuller7002
    @andreasspachmuller7002 Месяц назад

    so you´re driving in the middle of the lane because "the entire lane is a bike lane" really cranking on about how that´s the law and everyone should just keep to the law just to seconds later switch lanes into the car lane because it´s convinient to you.

    • @RidingBikesinSanDiego
      @RidingBikesinSanDiego  Месяц назад +11

      @andreasspachmuller7002 If you're referring to 0:38, I have no choice but to cross the lane to get to the bike lane. If you're talking about 2:22, I'm moving over to avoid stopped traffic and to not get in the way of a turning bus. And every move I'm making is legal, and the way the roads are designed. Meanwhile, there's no such thing as a "car lane."

  • @TheFoxholeLife
    @TheFoxholeLife Месяц назад +3

    These short horns aren't meant as a middle finger.. They are the equivalent of "on the right".
    By the way, 'I am allowed to use the entire lane, so I will use the entire lane' is just a terrible, terrible idea, when it comes to your own safety.

    • @RidingBikesinSanDiego
      @RidingBikesinSanDiego  Месяц назад +15

      They're unnecessary, and I don't need to know that a car is "on the right." Also, again, this is a bike lane. Not just part of it, but the whole thing. It's the safer way to ride, even if drivers can't emotionally handle that.

    • @jm6841
      @jm6841 Месяц назад +3

      @@RidingBikesinSanDiego I'm sure you are well aware of the risks in using a bike lane that is a retrofitted car lane. In this situation your indignant attitude will do nothing expect get yourself hurt. sometimes you just need to accept realty.

    • @WaffleAbuser
      @WaffleAbuser Месяц назад +8

      Why wouldn’t he use the whole lane? What else would be in it? There’s not enough room for him and another car to be there safely at the same time.

    • @waldolemmer
      @waldolemmer Месяц назад +8

      Cars don't beep when passing motorcycles, so why would they beep when passing cyclists unless they're trying to tell them off?

    • @adhilchalil4489
      @adhilchalil4489 Месяц назад

      ​@@RidingBikesinSanDiego The horns make complete sense though. It is a way to make sure there is no risk of you turning suddenly or drifting into traffic. This wont happen if you try to stay farther from the traffic like someone who wants to be safe would do IMO

  • @dno8025
    @dno8025 Месяц назад +4

    You said you didn't know if the horn was directed at you and then, knowing this, the best idea you can come up with is to give the driver the middle finger. There is something wrong with you imo.

    • @RidingBikesinSanDiego
      @RidingBikesinSanDiego  Месяц назад +2

      What you're seeing is a reflex, @dno8025. Your defense of the drivers is weird.

    • @gixer912
      @gixer912 Месяц назад +19

      I'd say there's something wrong with you if you think this is live commentary.

    • @dno8025
      @dno8025 Месяц назад +1

      @@gixer912 - So your idea is to give the finger first and then think about why later. You're what's wrong with many bicyclists including the OP.

    • @gregdolecki8530
      @gregdolecki8530 Месяц назад +1

      The middle finger is a bad idea these days. You could end up dead very quickly on a bike.

    • @skyroach7158
      @skyroach7158 Месяц назад +3

      Tell me the last time you lost your patience with someone and I will judge if there’s something wrong with you or not.