Car Horns

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Re: Car Horns
« Reply #60 on: June 05, 2013, 12:23:09 AM »
Motorised transport makes you more important. This cannot be denied. But I think we owe it to the Chinese to tell them about horns. Just as cars are a measure of personal importance, a horn is a girlish shriek. So don't let yourself down, China! Be a man!
when ur a roamin', do as the settled do o_0

Re: Car Horns
« Reply #61 on: September 13, 2013, 05:50:50 PM »
I often wonder, when they review their learning practises, if I could set up my own 'UK' style driving school, I'd make a fortune, methinks!
400,000 miles with no points or crashes is a good stat!

Re: Car Horns
« Reply #62 on: September 14, 2013, 04:38:14 PM »
Car horns used 40 times more often in China than in Europe

"In Europe, a car horn is used 10,000 times on average," Pierre Frederic Lebelle, head of the company's Shanghai-based China Tech Centre, told Le Monde newspaper. "In China, it's 400,000 times."

Peugeot is not the only carmaker adapting its horns to Chinese tastes. US carmaker Ford came up with an electronic horn for its Chinese customers, wrote motoring blogger Nooralia Zaharin, because they "drive with one hand on the steering wheel and one hand on the horn … they want it to sound melodic".



Plainly, it's not 400,000 miles they want.

And that thing about melodic? Yeah, that's not working.
when ur a roamin', do as the settled do o_0

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Tree

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Re: Car Horns
« Reply #63 on: September 16, 2013, 05:50:29 PM »
The wife and I were laughing about this topic this morning, and maybe there is something we are missing, but for the life of us we can't figure out the reasoning behind some of this incessant honking.

For example, I live in new construction down a side road, so for roughly a mile or so there is nothing but cement walls and almost no turn-offs or driveways. Despite the fact that the road is almost completely empty of traffic, and there are almost no intersections to speak of, drivers lay on their horns anyway. They just drive down the road hand on horn. It's just non-stop honking. I'd understand if the road was busy, or if there were a reasonable amount of mammoth trucks barreling out of the dirt roads, but no - there isn't anything of the sort.

Maybe they are just trying to liven up an otherwise boring dirt road?
The greatest and most important problems of life are all in a certain sense insoluble. They can never be solved, but only outgrown.
- Jung

Re: Car Horns
« Reply #64 on: September 16, 2013, 06:57:49 PM »
I was thrilled to see very few cars in Male Maldives. I thought, great, no horn honking. Then I noticed for a population of about 150,000 people, there were about 3 million motorbikes. Like a Bollywood movie, these guys honk in unison!
For you to insult me, first I must value your opinion

Re: Car Horns
« Reply #65 on: September 16, 2013, 07:17:20 PM »
My understanding of the horning is, aside from just picking up the behaviour from others, they're trying to manage their environments. Compared to what happens on Chinese roads, people in other countries operate like precision teams - they obey lane conventions, they sit on the one speed limit, they stop at lights, they even indicate. Chinese driving, which is increasing in speed, is developing horn conventions instead.

And since it's more or less only horn conventions, and not anything else, they're stupid conventions. Like approaching from left rear and planning to both overtake and then turn in front of - that's horn time.

I think they do all this to positively avoid the creation of social institutions that grant other people right of way. Thus on the roads as in all other aspects of Chinese culture.
when ur a roamin', do as the settled do o_0

Re: Car Horns
« Reply #66 on: September 17, 2013, 12:19:08 AM »
I think that last post by CP is about right: there is a reason to honk in many situations, it's just not a GOOD reason. And Tree: just because there are no obvious places for cars, e-bikes, tractors, tuk-tuks or other vehicles to ingress onto the road, doesn't mean they aren't going to appear just in front of you!  Stuff comes from outa nowhere in China.  Look both ways before crossing and you're going to die because you forgot the other ways to look.

Re: Car Horns
« Reply #67 on: September 20, 2013, 05:40:48 PM »
So the freshmen are here, being taught at length how to stand on one foot and have heatstroke. They're clogging the roads less than usual too. Either the military trainers have been asked to keep the roads clear or there's fewer freshers than usual. but still they get on the roads and teachers honk at them to get out of the way. I find that vaguely disturbing. I mean, sure, they're a horde of iggnant rice-fed post-secondary children, but they're in uniform.

What are the teachers learning by doing this? What are they teaching? I need to see a therapist.
when ur a roamin', do as the settled do o_0

Re: Car Horns
« Reply #68 on: September 22, 2013, 05:08:47 AM »
As for right of way, non cars have priority, so if a car hits a moron who wasn't looking, still the cars fault. Money changes hands so police aren't involved.... Cue honking at everything! But in reality, the Chinese ignore the honking anyway as the car will stop, making honking totally redundant. Glad I worked out the subway and bus routes so I can ignore the chaos!
I thought the Chinese had nerves of steel, but now I know they are simply lemmings.....! Splat!