Horn or not?

[thirdcrank]

My own feeling is that horns on motor vehicles are probably one of those things that would not have been compulsory if we'd known then what we know now. No doubt in the olden days, if the horse bolted, it was normal - neigh - expected, to scream a warning and if you believe the Christmas cards, mail coaches at going fast post haste(?) had somebody on top murdering the Post Horn Gallop to get the peasants out from under the hooves. The pioneers of the motor vehicle should have been obliged to concentrate on better brakes, rather than continuing with those traditions.

IMO, pretty much a waste of time for cyclists and if the worse came to the worst, the shabby victim-blamers would just see it as evidence of aggression.

[Steve Kish]

Saw a great bell in Decathlon today. Rather than the usual little 'drrring' or 'ting ting' sound, this gave a real 'DING-DONG', just like my door bell. Not bad for less than £4!

[[XAP]Bob]

No point in a bell - the human voice (or a squeaky disc brake) is enough for pedestrians, an AirZound (or very loud shout) is required for motorists.

I normally cover my Zound several times a day, but only rarely have to use it. Anticipation of motorists disregard for your life is key to Zound usage...

[Vorpal]

I have wished a few times that I had something like an AirZound, but I can't actually think of a situation where it could have changed anything for the better. All of my worst altercations with my fellow road users have been the result of a driver doing something I didn't expect (no time to use it), yelling at me about my mere existance (horn would potentially make it worse), or clearly seeing me (horn doesn't add anything) and doing something stupid, anyway.

I have shouted at motorists a few times, but it's usually a response rather than an attention-getter.

[[XAP]Bob]

I have wished a few times that I had something like an AirZound, but I can't actually think of a situation where it could have changed anything for the better. All of my worst altercations with my fellow road users have been the result of a driver doing something I didn't expect (no time to use it), yelling at me about my mere existance (horn would potentially make it worse), or clearly seeing me (horn doesn't add anything) and doing something stupid, anyway.

I have shouted at motorists a few times, but it's usually a response rather than an attention-getter.

The AirZound is most useful as a "wake up" I've used it on a couple of occasions where the driver has clearly seen me, but decided that they can just pull out anyway. A quick blast reminds them to assess my speed.

[wyadvd]

I have found a couple of short blasts on the zound most useful in these situations as a preemptor of trouble rather than as a reaction to it (almost regardless of any other circumstances): 1. approaching a high speed leg on a large roundabout. 2. When not integrated into a stream of traffic (ie a lone vehicle) approaching a junction with cars waiting to emerge.( where motion camouflage comes into play) 3. when a car starts overtaking me on a blind bend ( a long blast often required to stop em here).

[wyadvd]

http://plus.maths.org/content/they-never-saw-it-coming