The horn on our mini van stared working intermittently then it stopped working all together. The first mechanic said that our model had a complicated horn mechanism so the part alone would be $400. We had to evaluate how badly we needed the horn. Fortunately, when it was at the dealer for service, they discovered that the problem was just a loose connection.
Our experience in South Asia has showed us how valuable the horn is in that part of the world. I am not sure why drivers in that area use their horn so much. Some say that, “People honk pointlessly, repeatedly and continuously. Sometimes out of frustration, or sometimes out of the fear of encountering an idiot.” I once read a story that Dave Barry wrote about New York City. He decided that the cab drivers honk to pass on the valuable information, “This vehicle is equipped with a horn.”
This year I read in a couple of newspapers about a solution to the car horn noise pollution problem in large cities. Municiple officials connect the traffic signal to a decibel meter. When the honking gets too loud, the waiting time for the green light is reset and the motorists are punished by having to wait longer. Here are a couple of pictures and a link to the story.
More you honk, the longer you wait! Signal ..Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/73819813.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
MUMBAI: The city traffic police have conducted trials of what could be a solution to the menace of needless honking—a punishing signal.
Special decibel meters were connected to traffic signals at five locations and when noise exceeding 85dB was recorded, the signal timer would reset itself.
Adventures in Suburbia 