How often do you get beeped?

[Saffrondoormouse]

I’m an anxious driver who had an accident a couple of years ago and I’m currently undergoing CBT therapy for this and other anxiety issues. My homework this week is to ask people the following questions in order to get a bit of perspective:

Have you ever been beeped while driving?

If so, how often on average do you get beeped?

When you get beeped how often is it for something that was your fault?

Thank you so much!

@BlusteryLake

I get beeped regularly, but that's because impatient idiots driving up my backside at nearly double the speed limit on my road get annoyed at me driving to the limit and then indicating and slowing down to turn into my driveway.

I hate these people!

I drive about once a week and I'd say I get beeped at about once a month! 😂

It's usually on huge scary roundabouts and 90% of the time it's my fault. I'm STILL not confident on them when taking anything past the 2nd exit and regularly seem to annoy people.

I live in London and it's pretty common to get beeped - often for not moving off quickly enough at traffic lights or level crossings (ie within a second!), sometimes for being in the wrong lane at a junction or roundabout. People are very impatient in London and it is very easy to find yourself in the wrong lane if you don't know a route.

Couple of times a year maybe? Tbh probs a bit of mutual road rage in awkward traffic. Can't stand happy-honkers, I get annoyed often but really try to avoid it.

I used to get beeped at on more or less every journey. It’s less now though because I’ve been driving for a long time.

I’m a very careful driver but depending on my mood, I’m slower than other drivers. It’s usually an irritable type of man in a white van. I do also get beeped at lights because I’m not paying attention so that’s my fault but I don’t do anything dangerous and if someone’s trying to overtake because I’m going slowly, I slow down more and let them past so that the person coming the other way isn’t put in danger.

@Saffrondoormouse

I find I also get stressed when I witness aggression directed at others too. The other day I was driving down a residential road alongside a park. There’s an entrance to the park on the road and a very long flat bed lorry was trying to reverse into it to do some grounds work. The lorry didn’t have much articulation / it was a tight turn and the poor bugger driving it was having to attempt the reverse again and again while he blocked the cars that were trying to get past. He looked really stressed and everyone was hooting furiously (like that’s going to help!) when suddenly an idiot sped out in front of him mounted the curb and narrowly missed being squashed as he pulled forward. I was literally shaking it was such a near miss! Wish I’d had a dash cam to capture and report him!

Probably driven by how agressive lorry drivers are. Strangely they’ve been nice to me…maybe it’s my P sign + very obvious dash cam.

I’ve just passed and been beeped at a few times. My fault only twice. But usually they were trying to tell me something. Like letting me go first, or that my headlights not working.

Also got beeped on my TEST for not squashing a cyclist. examiner agreed with my decision 😏

Never been beeped for going too slow out of a turning (yet!)

One useful tip : if you stall, or anything turn on hazard lights so that cars can go past you. As they work know you have issues or are scared, someone might genuinely have car issues! Just let them know and they’ll find a way.

Drivers are generally good at working around things. Especially as the volume of traffic has increased exponentially. Along with confusing and stupid road designs

Very rarely in over 30 years on the road. I tend to be the beeper when people cut me up.

Probably twice a year and I'm at fault.

I was in Manchester city centre the other day ( locals will know what I mean here ) roadworks absolutely everywhere, traveling cautiously over bare Knuckle surfaces - behind others - so as not to wreck out tyres. Got screamed at by a Roadworker driving a ten ton truck behind us, before he turned off.
Missed my destination, had to turn around wherever I could and search for it again..ended up being fined for being in a bus lane 🤬

I've been driving 40+ years and yes, I've been beeped. Usually by a van driver trying to speed past me on a congested part of the road. I drive to the speed limit and won't be influenced by others' driving. I live in a highly populated area and am very aware of pedestrians and cyclists. If necessary, I will pull over and let someone pass.

I’ve been driving for 14 years.
I’ve been beeped at once…by a lorry cause I was a learner and hadn’t yet appreciated the etiquette of letting lorries keep their momentum. My bad, lesson learned. But I was still on L plates at the time so I don’t give it much thought.
I have never beeped at anyone though. I don’t see the point. If someone cuts in and forces me to brake, etc, I don’t gain anything by beeping at them. Life’s too short to get frustrated.

Hardly ever in over 40 years of driving.

I can’t remember the last time I beeped anybody else. Everybody makes mistakes.

@Justleaveitblankthen

I was in Manchester city centre the other day ( locals will know what I mean here ) roadworks absolutely everywhere, traveling cautiously over bare Knuckle surfaces - behind others - so as not to wreck out tyres. Got screamed at by a Roadworker driving a ten ton truck behind us, before he turned off. Missed my destination, had to turn around wherever I could and search for it again..ended up being fined for being in a bus lane 🤬

OMG R U ME? I hope you didn't pay it though, I google and some people have challenged the fines. I'm sad I paid out like an idiot. And I really don't want to drive in Manc again, stupid place to drive, 20 signs everywhere, if you miss a turn it takes 10 mins to get back to the same, people crossing nary a care for their lives.

It's great if you live somwhere with the tram, not so great if you're in say mid-Cheshire...

I've been driving about 25 years. Probably get beeped once or twice a year.

Funnily enough someone behind me beeped me this morning, because I stopped to let a police car through (with sirens and lights on). My most generous interpretation of this is that they couldn't hear the siren and realised what was happening when they saw the police car pass.

I've only thought of it again because of this thread and that's because I'm totally confident that I was in the right, and more importantly that there was impatience but no danger (all other cars around the junction could see the police car and were stopping and letting people through).

However when it's been my fault, which does happen because nobody's a perfect driver, I do tend to mull it over a lot and go over what happened. It can take me a couple of days to shake that off.

Have you ever been beeped while driving? - Yes

If so, how often on average do you get beeped? - Once, possibly twice a year.

When you get beeped how often is it for something that was your fault? - The last time, yes.

Have you ever been beeped while driving? Yes

If so, how often on average do you get beeped? No idea. Last time I recall clearly was about 12 days ago.

When you get beeped how often is it for something that was your fault? No idea. Last one for sure was my fault (nothing bad happened, I don't count the beep as bad).

Life is just a series of almost died moments if you think about it objectively. I rarely ruminate on the ones I know about.

DS & I are convinced that ~50% of the time when I drive him home from work we end up behind a drunk driver, we watch them weave around road, nothing worse has happened yet.

I Grew up in the 70s, passive smoking, no seatbelts, no helmets, rides without restraints on motorway in back of open pickups, toilet roll tubes & egg boxes were for craft activity. Almost no one ever got hurt.

I got beeped at just the other day on my way home from work. It was at a roundabout and the car that beeped was in the lane to my right, turning right. Then he swerved into my lane, almost hitting the rear of my car and beeped me (long beep). No idea why, he was indicating right and was in the correct lane. I was also going right and was in the middle lane (straight on and right). Idiot.

I have to be honest and say that over cautious driving does absolutely infuriate me and is likely to make me beep at someone. Not immediately, but if, for example, at a roundabout they just can't and won't go, it drives me mad. People driving excessively cautiously are dangerous because they're unpredictable. You don't know when they're going to stop/slow down or they don't accelerate at similar speeds to others. I have some sympathy when it's a new or learner driver but that sympathy only extends so far.

I think it depends on where you are driving. I do some city driving and it is usual to hear beeps. I also do a fair amount of driving in a rural area and it is very rare indeed to hear a beep, and if you do it is usually someone beeping at a friend they are passing.

Genuinely never but I live in Norfolk and we don't have motorways and I don't drive in the city. I have, of course, witnessed beeping. Last night for example in a local town. A young chap in a Corsa was careening down a road and weaving in and out of traffic and got beeped at an awful lot.

Most beeping I've seen is people being impatient and angry rather than it being due to fault. I was always taught that I should only ever use my horn to alert people to my presence. So far I've never had to do it. 8yrs driving thus far.

@Triffid1

I have to be honest and say that over cautious driving does absolutely infuriate me and is likely to make me beep at someone. Not immediately, but if, for example, at a roundabout they just can't and won't go, it drives me mad. People driving excessively cautiously are dangerous because they're unpredictable. You don't know when they're going to stop/slow down or they don't accelerate at similar speeds to others. I have some sympathy when it's a new or learner driver but that sympathy only extends so far.

I'm genuinely interested in why you beep though? The driver knows you're there. They're already nervous. Is it just to signal frustration? Criticise? I mean it's not encouraging is it? And not what the horn is for.

I'm genuinely interested in why you beep though? The driver knows you're there. They're already nervous. Is it just to signal frustration? Criticise? I mean it's not encouraging is it? And not what the horn is for.

That's a really good question. It probably is sometimes just frustration. Having said that, people who are faffing and dithering, often DO then go when they get the incentive - someone beeping at them.

But I do take your point. Having said that, I was taught to drive by my dad whose view was very strongly that if you aren't confident to drive, don't get in the bloody car*. And I think I've taken a similar view. It's not necessarily a very sympathetic view but.... [shrug]

• And to get confident to drive, practice, with someone who will help you, and in places where your confidence is less of an issue. So, in my case, I always struggled with the spacial awareness and had a bad habit of driving too far to the right because I was terrified of hitting pavement on the left. So for WEEKS when I was learning to drive, my dad would take me out in quiet residential neighbourhoods, early on Sunday mornings and make me practice driving correctly INSIDE the lines. We did it in these areas and at these times so that my poor spacial awareness was less likely to impact other drivers or cause dangerous situations to develop.

They often do then go when you beep but not because they're making good decisions, but because they're feeling frightened and pushed. It is actually adding to the risk sometimes.

I understand it's frustrating though. Blimey, I have to cross a major A road every morning and there's a lot of nervousness and dithering. I probably do grumble and sigh a lot but I think I try and stay calm because my aggression is never going to help.

Confidence is an issue on the roads and nervous driving is dangerous but beeping when it's not for the reason the horn was designed, is usually pointless. It makes me jump to hear it which it should. It's there to alert you to a vehicle's presence but I really don't see the merit in it being used willy nilly.

Been driving since the late 80s and have been beeped a few times, though not always sure I was the target. The one time I drove in London, I hesitated for a fraction of a second when the lights turned green and a man beeped me and shouted 'Stupid fucking cunt!' out of his window. I never drove in London again.

@Triffid1

I'm genuinely interested in why you beep though? The driver knows you're there. They're already nervous. Is it just to signal frustration? Criticise? I mean it's not encouraging is it? And not what the horn is for.

That's a really good question. It probably is sometimes just frustration. Having said that, people who are faffing and dithering, often DO then go when they get the incentive - someone beeping at them.

But I do take your point. Having said that, I was taught to drive by my dad whose view was very strongly that if you aren't confident to drive, don't get in the bloody car*. And I think I've taken a similar view. It's not necessarily a very sympathetic view but.... [shrug]

• And to get confident to drive, practice, with someone who will help you, and in places where your confidence is less of an issue. So, in my case, I always struggled with the spacial awareness and had a bad habit of driving too far to the right because I was terrified of hitting pavement on the left. So for WEEKS when I was learning to drive, my dad would take me out in quiet residential neighbourhoods, early on Sunday mornings and make me practice driving correctly INSIDE the lines. We did it in these areas and at these times so that my poor spacial awareness was less likely to impact other drivers or cause dangerous situations to develop.

There's a lot more traffic on the road these days however. And not everybody has someone who can help. Some of us have to pay for every second we spend in a car as learners!

Having said that there's no excuse for an experienced driver being overly cautious. P plates exist for a reason.