Using car horn to signal goodbye

[frankiefirstyear]

A small issue in the grand scheme of things but incredibly disrespectful of the driver to sound their horn upon leaving a neighbours house. A couple of weeks ago this annoyance began. I live close to the end of a dead end road and my house is near the turning area. The car(s) in question turn then beep as they drive off meaning the horn is sounded directly outside my home. Not only does it shock me (it's a new build with excellent windows and doors that are very effective at keeping out noise etc) but it also disturbs my sleeping baby and this makes me so angry.

I'm not sure which neighbour it is but tonight it was 10pm and quite dark due to the weather. Tomorrow I plan to watch to find out who is involved. It's every night ranging between 7-10pm. Other people have young children and I imagine they too won't be happy about it.

AIBU? I was sure horns were only meant to be used to alert others of danger?? I can't remember the last time I used my horn! Should I let it go?? WWYD?

Even if it did not shock you it is unreasonable. Incorrect use of the horn should be an offence with repeat offences being a driving ban.

My house looks out over a dairy farm and the farmer has now recently switched to rounding his cows up for morning milking (about 5.30am) on a quad bike whilst beeping the quad's horn repeatedly. What the actual hell.

The worst is the calling beep. When picking someone up and they can't be arsed to knock the door. This is the worst offender- becasoe they've parked , they are waiting, and WE ALL KNOW THERE IS A PHONE IN THEIR POCKET! If you can't be arsed to go knock the door, phone whoever is inside! You have a phone, they have a phone- this is literally the function of them! Whereas a car horn is for emergencies only!

(Can you tell I have a collection beeper everyday at 7.30am?)

Hate hate hate this habit.

My friend suffered through this for years. Neighbours had friends round every Friday night, left about 1am and toot toot toot down the street.

She watched them roll into the car one week and reported them for drink driving (which she said they clearly were). She never heard what happened but the tooting stopped.

@staceyflack not Sussex 😊

Thanks. I do the tiniest beep possible and its never after 10pm or early.

Stacey you should knock on the window i think as a nice "farewell" obvs tell her in advance.

Other old people might be startled by randam beeping

fem 100 % my thoughts, we have this with several mums doing the school walk [they never run] and they stand outside my house doing this twice a day, the second time they've got about 8 kids with them racing about and dodging in and out of parked cars while macbeths crones are yaddering.
come to think of it my front garden gets very dry, now where's the hose pipe ? i'm evil !

Ugh I hate this so much. My ex h used to do it.

I'd need a spiderwoman suit to knock on her window.

Are you in Holland? do they shout Doooeeeeiii very loudly out the window at the same time.
Because we have that problem every weekend around midnight. My next door neighbour and I think it may be the new people who moved in last year but we're not sure. Thing is we all have kids, people have work and it's just generally unnecessary to be doing this..
My neighbour said he would string them up by their balls if he catches them doing it, he is seriously pissed off at it. So I'm leaving him to do the confrontational stuff.

@TheGrapefulDread - I also live in a touristy bit of Cornwall, and the only time I beep my horn, other than at daydreaming emmets doing 25 in a 60, is when coming down the a30 and we pass over the county line into Cornwall. If there are cars near us I don’t beep and make do with a fist pump! (Also watching for the nearly home trees at cookworthy knap!)

🙄 bloody hell. The things that are a big deal on Mumsnet!

Our house is on a corner (middle of nowhere in the countryside) and the occasional absolute dickhead hoots when they’re driving round it (not clear what they think would happen if eg farmer moving sheep or someone riding a horse and not able to hoot back). Drives me mental every single time.

We had the opposite, whenever someone came round to pick up one of our neighbours, they would honk their horn to let them know they were there, right outside my DD's bedroom. One night it was gone 11pm when they did it.

When I was a kid we had a lound, screechy neighbour. Whenever anyone in her family went on holiday they would precede the 6am airport run with a visit, peeping the horn as they left with her screeching "TAKE THE SUN WITH YOOOOOOOOO" as they left.

My mother could imitate her to perfection and every time we went away she'd call me and screech it down the phone 😂

I have these neighbours too. Older couple, and their grown up daughter who visits regularly always beeps several times as she speeds (never gently) away!

Stacy - I really don’t get why your mum needs a toot. It’s like ringing her doorbell as you leave. You could explain to her you don’t want to disturb every neighbour in her block of flats every time you leave.

I see no problem with this at all and think it quite charming and old fashioned

I don't think this would bother me, but then I don't have it happening nightly or have a small baby.
However go and talk to them when you track down the culprits. They probably just don't realise, but leaving an anonymous note is a poor way to deal with it.

honkers can shove their car horns where the sun doesn't shine.

Some people just can't help emitting noise.

Have you noticed it's always the ones with the worst taste in music who feel the need to share that music with the maximum number of fellow road-users/neighbours who are unfortunate enough to surround them?

Take your Robbie Williams and rap and shove it, please.

Likewise the mobile-phone bellowers, braying with laughter/crumb spraying types in restaurants, loud performance parents, and others of that ilk. Newsflash: the rest of the world doesn't want to hear it.

As for the valedictory beepers, they deserve nothing less than a row of pine cones inserting into their ... exhausts.

The horn is to let other drivers know you are there if they haven't seen you/ dangerous.
Glare and ask where the bloody danger is, they are twats, especially when they do it at night, not supposed to after 11pm anyway.

A friend suffered something similar.

A Very Important Man lived opposite, and he was So Very Important that every evening when he arrived home he would honk the horn and the wife and daughter who were Not Important would scurry out and open the gates (poxy suburban 3 bed house not a mansion)

It drove my friend and her housemates mad.

They did get revenge by honking their horns at the house and getting the poor sods to scurry out only to discover it was a false alarm. Alas my friend moved away and i never found out how the tale ended.

I do this. But not if it is early or late.