Hooting as you go round corners - outside our house

[boxcutter12]

We live on a remote country lane and there is a blindish corner outside our house. People quite often hoot as they go round the corner - and it irritates me. I genuinely don't understand why people hoot when they go round corners. There are often kids on ponies riding along this lane - hooting doesn't make any difference as to whether they're there or not. They're not going to have time to move. You also get the occasional loose sheep etc too. Basically, AIBU to be pissed off about people hooting at this corner (I think it's antisocial twattery to hoot outside a house too, but we are behind a hedge so it's possible eg delivery drivers don't realise the house is here).

If your horse is easily spooked enough that a beep on a horn will cause an issue, they probably aren’t safe to be out on the road at all. All my horses are trained to not care about horns.

I know it's in the Highway Code, but I think it's idiotic. If horses are allowed on the road (which they are), then having halfwits hooting and then driving around the corner at speed (which is what they do) is lethal. I think the Highway Code is wrong! Still, it's fun to watch when two fools hoot and drive round the corner simultaneously (which they do surprisingly often!).

It's not that they'd necessarily be spooked, there just wouldn't be time to get them out of the way. By definition, anyone dim enough to hoot going fast round a blind corner probably won't have time to stop for a horse.

Just because something is in the rules doesn't mean it's not daft. That's why rules get changed quite often.

Not from the uk, I thought this was going to be people on walks acting like owls. As I clicked I imagined either a method to keep safe from predators or a way to protect some fragile animal in the local fauna.

It’s been accepted practice for a hundred years or more so you would think any real problems with frightened horses would have become apparent by now.

But young lads with the windows up playing music or tractors with the racket of their engines won't hear your horn, but you will be driving under the false reassurance that they have.

I guess a horn might work for cyclists and walkers, but could spook horses or loose livestock. As well as causing noise pollution.

This is a rare occasion where I disagree with the Highway Code.

Ooo when I read your op I thought 'omg what a good idea to keep everyone safe' 😭🙈

Sounds like the issue is not so much the honking, but the failure to slow down for the bend.

Well I drove down the road not long ago to find a loose herd of cows wonder what would've happened if I'd just beeped and continued at speed? Maybe I could've quoted the highway code at them?

Why would they not expect to meet traffic?

In Hanoi there were signs on every junction telling you not to hoot.

Its so disruptive and bad for sleep for the residents and hotels. Going on all night long

And because it's happening on every junction in a tight knitted road system, I'm sure it doesn't help that much to avoid collisions because you could hear a hoot from a junction very close by and think it's ok to go

Quite. If your speed matches the circumstances, no need to hoot.

That refers to passing horses, not approaching blind corners in general.

The reason for hooting is the oncoming driver that may not be driving at an appropriate speed to stop, not so you can tear round the corner yourself. 😂

I understand the nuisance for the OP. I also understand why people do it.

Just remember 99% of Range Rover drivers don't need one, and 25% of people with a licence are unfit to hold one for various reasons.

@boxcutter12 I think you've lost all objectivity on this as you find it so annoying. There will be fewer hours of hooting as the nights draw in, as driver can see the headlights coming.

Just because you slow down approaching a bend on a narrow country road doesn't mean the other person will, so if you toot they'll hopefully have time to slam the brakes on before they hit you. My parents live on a road like this and lots of people beep there. I can't imagine people not beeping on the very small chance there might possibly be a horse around the corner. Obviously at night you don't need to beep because they'll see your lights.

YANBU. I'm in the same situation and it drives me wild. There's no need to drive at full speed round blind bends blaring your horn. It's so bloody arrogant too - "OUT OF MY WAY, I'M COMING THROUGH". Just slow down ffs.

There has been an exponential increase in selfish, entitled driving over the last few years. Don't get me started on the small dicked little scrotes who drive round town with huge backfiring exhausts, upsetting people on purpose. Ditto motorcyclists.

No.

Everyone drives as if they are always going to encounter a worst- case- scenario round that blind bend. No need to hoot.

I live in a village of nearly 2000 souls that can only be reached by single track lanes, with ample blind bends. Nobody hoots- it would be hellish if they did, there'd be constant hooting all day long! Nearly everybody drives defensively (teenage boys aside 🙄).

We do not have "a stream of ambulances" coming. There have been accidents, but they usually seem to occur after dark, which leads one to assume that it's factors other than blind bend visibility causing them 🤔. The main roads are far more deadly.

It's to prevent oncoming drivers from ploughing in to you. I sometimes cross a small bridge with a blind corner and it's common for some stupid boy racer or bmw driver to come tearing through without using their brain. My horn lets them know I'm crossing the bridge and can't see them.

Today I learned that “hooting” isn’t just what owls do and there is more than one word for beeping.

i genuinely believed (until I read the Highway Code comments) that people were driving, cycling and riding round your corner shouting “twit twoo”.

You realise that slowing down to travel around the corner and honking your horn to make anyone fast approaching on the other side (or straddling two lanes) aware of your presence are not mutually exclusive? 🙄
I specifically didn't buy a house over a single track blind bridge because no matter how slow you go over it, you can't see oncoming traffic.
Save your energy to campaign to improve the road instead of calling people "dim" and "fools" for trying to drive safely then pretending it's because you care about horses.