At this point, I think all cars should have an LED display for text. Flashing your lights can get people's attention, but it could mean anything. We should be able to set a message (maybe with a handful of defaults) to be displayed either on the front or rear of the vehicle. It can warn people that their light is out, or their trunk is open, or anything else. It'd clear up a lot of confusion.
this post was submitted on 01 May 2026
133 points (95.9% liked)
ShowerThoughts
3889 readers
214 users here now
Sometimes we have those little epiphanies in the shower.. sometimes they come from other places. This is a home for those epiphanies.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Yeah, being able to actually communicate to other drivers that they really need to go suck start a shotgun and make Hell a worse place isn't going to do much to alleviate road rage.
My Volt has a pedestrian honk that works well for this.
If you have a little electrical training you can install one on the bottom front of your car and with the button tucked away under the dash. That way you can't get caught having one unless they I' impound your car and dig around for it.
I mean everyone's figured this out more or less though.
Gentle horn tap - polite, informative. "The light is green and you're spaced out, mate".
Pronounced depression (or two) on the horn - stern, informative. "You just swerved into another lane without indicating in heavy traffic, your behavior is risky".
Long extended honks, wild honking, something resembling Morse Code - impolite, abusive. "You just blew a stop sign", "you're driving on the wrong side of the road". "You could kill someone you fucking arsehat".
I moved from Boston to Southern California and it’s comical the differences in horn use.
Light turns green, car in front doesn’t go
SoCal: One one thousand two one thousand three one thousand four one thousand beep beep
Boston, one millisecond after the green light hits your eyes BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP
I've had people start honking when the light on the cross street turns red.
PA
Light is still red
BEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP
Yes and it’s ridiculous. Settle the fuck down.
Yeah here in Australia horn use is almost always offensive. Not reallyalways but that's the default assumption. If you're going to toot toot someone you know you do it fucking carefully after making sure there's no one near by that might think you're beeping at them.
My partner and I visited Vietnam about 15 years ago. The polar opposite. If you're in or in a vehicle and another vehicle is presently in or will be in your vicinity them you're toot toot tooting just to make everyone aware of your presence.
I genuinely like thee Vietnam approach if im honest. Very utilitarian.
Yea, NorEasters have zero patience (this now extends down to northern VA)
Trucks already have this. A town horn and a country horn
And a fun horn?
This used to be a requirement in NY - cars actually had a "NY horn circuit" in the 60's and 70's.
Presumably "eyyy I'm drivin here"
I just need a button to play frustrated R2-D2 noises at people. Polite, humorous, and a gentle reminder that there are other humans in those other cars, but still gets the point across.
Mark Rober video with R2-D2 horn sound.
I knew when I had the idea that wasn't original, just couldn't remember where from.
Well shit... I have a new project now.
There are only humans in my car, other cars are filled with assholes, morons, and idiots, some have a “fucking” modifier attached to them too.
A Buddhist priest once taught me a very simple and effective exercise to combat that sort of thinking.
As you drive, imagine your car in a bubble. Then expand your bubble to include the vehicle in front of you.
It started with imagining a bubble around yourself (not in a car necessarily) and then expanding it to include the person nearest you.
It's more impactful than it sounds. You quickly come to see/feel them as part of the "you" team.
You misunderstand the purpose of the car horn
Actually, they do have different volumes. At least, on Toyotas, the bottom of the steering wheel plays a much softer beep if you just tap it. I use that to indicate, "Come on, now," versus smacking the middle for, "Whoa, Nelly!" or "What the @#$% are you doing?"
It’s the same single horn.
I saw this same post somewhere else but have the same reply: the INEOS Grenadier has two horns. There is a button on the steering wheel called “toot” and it is for pedestrians and cyclists.
My old Mercedes had this. Switch on the dash for "city" or "country" horn settings. Had the same for the headlights, city or highway settings. I loved that car.
I've thought about this as well, except I think there should be one polite/quieter one for pedestrians and one loud for cars.
I hate the idea of honking the mega loud thing at a pedestrian being a dumbass. I don't want to scare them shitless and make a dangerous situation worse.
The most common use for the polite one in the US is aimed at other drivers to tell them to pay attention because the light has turned green.
Gen1 Chevy Volt has this feature
A lot of trucks have this. I have only experienced the full Apocalypse Horn Array once, after I obeyed a stupidly placed 40 km/h sign with a truck close behind me as we were both going 80 on the freeway into Melbourne. Slowed my little hatchback down and almost became a speed bump. Good thing the truckie was on his toes. 😄
I will never do that again.
The number of people I see cutting off a semi on a downhill stretch of highway or an icy bridge is too damn high. That's what I get for living so close to Rhode Island.
Oh no. You'll see that anywhere hilly. Worst I've ever seen was call California.
Honk? Shit, they won’t even let you drive it soon.
And a horn that says, "Hi there."
No.
And both horns should only emit a short noise. The function is served with a short beep - anything more than that is just yelling at people in your multi-ton penis replacement.
If vehicles are penises, are Americans that want public transportation eggs?
Also, why are those people even in my penis replacement? No wonder I'm yelling at them.
Unpopular opinion: cars should have no horns. People use them to make incessant noise. Instead of turning the wheel when they are about to crash they just beep as if that's going to make the other vehicle move.
No reason to have them I will not give a full list of why they shouldn't exist and you can forget trying to convince me otherwise.
How would you indicate to someone that they're about to reverse into you when you don't have time/space to get out of the way?
I was playing devils’s advocate trying to come up with something, since I agree that car horns are obnoxious and repulsive if you’re just chilling at home or eating at a cafe
I wonder if theoretically, we could have mandated radios in cars? That way you could ping the vehicles around you directly? Maybe have a panic button that just causes the interior unit on the vehicles around you to flash?
Flash high beams, but you may have given the best example.
All cars after 2018 are required to have back up cameras. Pretty soon people will have no excuse other than idiocy.