Duck Ponderings: Time to honk your horn

While celebrating the ending of 2018 and the beginning of 2019 in sounding off party horns with some good friends, I thought of this article temporarily placed in my writing files. I started with an unfinished and untitled song:

I'm a horn honker
A perfect driver I am
If you make a mistake
No matter how small
Then I'm gonna honk away
Because I'm a horn honker

What's the main reason for a horn in a vehicle? Is it for people to express to others displeasure about their driving? There are times I wonder!

When driving on an unfamiliar road close to a shopping center in our van, I was likely driving too slow. Then, I got to an intersection and probably looked to my left and right too many times before turning. Suddenly, I heard a horn go off multiple times from a truck not far from my bumper. The last time I looked in my mirror, there wasn't anyone behind me. Well, the horn honker certainly got their message across!

It wasn't long before another horn honker caught my attention. I was unsure of where to turn for a restaurant where I was meeting a friend and slowed down. Even though my turn signal was on with two other lanes available, I apparently upset the driver behind me as once again a horn went off. At least, this driver chose to only hit the horn a few times.

In both cases, I felt badly and wanted to apologize. At the same time, to be honest, I wanted to honk my horn back at them. Then again, I have read about similar cases ending up in a gun battle and just shake my head in disbelief.

While visiting our daughter in London, I constantly heard horns while riding with someone else or walking. I am quite sure they were often sounding due to a driver not being happy with another driver.

It would make for an interesting study to count the number of times for hearing a horn at a busy intersection in London or in a large city in the States for one hour. Then, it would be interesting to count the number of times a horn goes off around the Hope Town Square for one hour. Undoubtedly, it would be quite contrasting, one of several reasons why I prefer Hope and country roads.

Just as I was thinking only negatively of horn honkers, something happened to make me appreciate the invention of the horn again. As I was driving my 89 Cad on I-465, I found myself having difficulty staying awake despite opening the window, turning up the radio, adjusting the temperature, and changing positions in the seat. I kept on thinking I had to find a place to get off the interstate and take a nap. Well, I fell asleep at the wheel. Fortunately, a horn sounded! I awoke to find the Cad drifting to the other lane, and I quickly corrected and returned it to my lane. The rush of adrenaline then kept me wide awake for the rest of my trip.

So, every time a horn goes off due to someone being upset at my driving abilities, I now think about how a horn possibly saved my life as well as others.