Is it against the law NOT to use your horn?

Jada

Hiya, could anyone tell me if they know if it's against the law or the high way code NOT to use your horn in certain circumstances?

I just wrote a REALLY long reason as to why I wanted to know this but it all disappeared under a cloud of 'you must log in again' nonsense.

So if anyone knows the answer or could point me in the right direction I'd really appreciate it.

Cheers,

:staradmin Jada :staradmin

dipsy

I will stand corrected, but having gone on a recent course.. I dont think your obliged to use your horn.. I used mine tonight to warn a cyclist of danger of crossing two roads with no crossing with mobile phone stuck to his ear (on different thing, can he be done..??), so what was the reason you didn't use your horn?

as far as I know I think a horn is to warn of danger...

Inactive

The horn is purely there to warn other road users of your presence.

There is no law to suggest that you must use your horn, however should an accident occur where a driver may have avoided it by using the horm, then it may well be seen as a fault on their part.

iluvmylexus

you cant use your horn at night

Stephen_Leak

iluvmylexus wrote: »

you cant use your horn at night

IIRC, 11pm to 7am.

Badger_Lady

You shouldn't beep at other people! Your horn is there to say "I'm here!", particularly if you're going round a blind corner or if another driver is in danger of colliding with you because they don't seem to have seen you (e.g. pulling out into your lane without checking their blind spot).

Using it to "warn other people about the dangers of what they're doing" is far too ambiguous and comes across as aggressive behaviour. It can be misinterpreted and it can be destracting.

I have sat beside (women) drivers who beep their horn whenever they think someone else is driving badly - this often descends into two-finger responses, raises everyones' stress levels, and sometimes my friends are actually in the wrong because they haven't fully understood the circumstances.

A close friend of mine also insisted on beeping at a Learner driver to encourage them to filter onto a dual carriageway (she was behind them on the slip road). The learner driver naturally froze up and pulled over to let her past - she just stopped behind them and carried on beeping (again, her intention was to say "go on, you can do it!") but it scared the poor lad to death!

moneyuser

Badger_Lady wrote: »

A close friend of mine also insisted on beeping at a Learner driver to encourage them to filter onto a dual carriageway (she was behind them on the slip road). The learner driver naturally froze up and pulled over to let her past - she just stopped behind them and carried on beeping (again, her intention was to say "go on, you can do it!") but it scared the poor lad to death!

Really annoys me when I see people getting annoyed with learners, beeping at them or tailgating them (when they are actually sticking to the speed limit). :mad:
We were all learners once.

Anyway, the only law I've heard of regarding the horn is that it must work

DKLS

Funny how we have different views on the use of horns, compared with fellow drivers in Europe. Using the horn here is likely to result in a road rage incident, while say in Barcelona use of the horn is almost compulsary, and can mean a 100 different things.

vikingaero

In Italy the horn button is pressed only to turn off the horn!

olly300

From the Highway code:
"
The horn. Use only while your vehicle is moving and you need to warn other road users of your presence. Never sound your horn aggressively. You MUST NOT use your horn

• while stationary on the road
• when driving in a built-up area between the hours of 11.30 pm and 7.00 am

except when another road user poses a danger."

iltisman

I think there is no real need for a car to have a horn I have been driving for 35 years and the only time I use it is prior to an MOT to make sure it works.
Drivers seem to use it either to punish some road user for some perceived offence , or as a miracle cure to an incident when using the brakes and steering would be preferable.