One Week, No Horn: What I Learnt

I’ve spent the better part of my life either stuck in Mumbai’s traffic, staying at home on the weekend fearing traffic, or planning pit-stops along my 36km daily route because, well... However, despite the pain of dealing with lockjams every single day, I pride myself in being a stingy honker (no euphemism intended). That said, I still land up honking a few times along my way, warranted by jaywalkers, drivers who are too concerned about aerodynamics to keep their wing mirrors open, and the occasional rage blow (again, no euphemism intended).

However, I, or rather, my bike decided that I should take up the challenge of riding without honking AT ALL for a week. Confession: My horn stopped working a week ago and I’ve been too lazy to get it fixed. So, in the past week, what have I learnt?

Staying Calm Gets Easier

Indian motorists get annoyed on the road quite easily, which is why using the horn is treated as a relief. All that does is increase noise pollution, adding to the frustration and increasing the chances of road rage by 58.24 per cent. Ok, that statistic is made up, but you get the point.

When you know you have no outlet, you immediately take a defeatist attitude to driving i.e. you expect nothing, so there’s no room for disappointment. More often than not, drivers get a little too heavy on the throttle, dart forward for all of two metres before braking and slam the horn out of despair. When you know you can’t look to your horn to vent, you work towards avoiding that scenario altogether.

You’re Twice As Alert

The horn is not only an outlet, it’s also a luxury that’s abused by most. It’s used as a safeguard against errant drivers and pedestrians and many assume that honking can prevent an accident. Does this sound familiar?

A bus pulls over on the left and while pulling past, you whack the horn to warn any pedestrian crossing ahead of the bus, assuming said crosser is actually alert enough to listen.

Or

You see a driver who isn’t keeping to his lane and blare the horn while overtaking to be sure you’ve got his attention.

When you don’t have a horn to use, you’re twice as careful while making overtakes or riding past parked vehicles. This means you’re ready on the brakes and it also means…

...Better Throttle Modulation

This may not apply to everyone, but I’ve seen a marginal improvement in throttle modulation. The lack of a horn has made me wary of racing past anyone when I see a small open patch of road in bumper to bumper traffic. Now, even these patches are taken calmly because I don’t know which driver, tired of the clutch-brake tango, may decide to cut me off and leap for the same empty stretch. My only option in such a scenario is to brake, not honk at him in the expectation that he will slow down to let me pass. Overall, not having the luxury of a horn makes you go that little bit gentler on the throttle every time you ride/drive.

Efficiency

Gentler throttle modulation + the attitude of giving yourself a bigger buffer zone will make your riding more efficient. You automatically become a calmer rider/driver, looking to cut down on the need for braking, which can result in quantifiable fuel savings over a few weeks.

You Do Not Need To Honk!

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That’s the bottom line. I’m not saying rush to your car and disconnect the horn this instant. It is still a useful tool, especially around blind corners on the ghats or when you really need to warn a motorist/pedestrian nearby. However, the fact is, even in our health harming-ly bad traffic conditions, where driving courtesy and discipline are mythical terms, you can get by without honking. Is it easy? Not if you’re a heavy honker, but even in that case, I’d say you need a week at best to improve.

This isn’t a public service announcement or Zigwheels trying to give you a life lesson. We really can make Indian roads a more amicable place if we just try with this step. Also, try some Pink Floyd while driving/riding – it’s nothing short of cheat code to keep calm.

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