Blow the horn to pass?

[LTC8K6]

The thread about yielding made me think of this. This is what my state says you are to do when passing. The point about placing the other driver under a legal obligation is very interesting. Almost no one blows the horn when passing, though.

When passing another vehicle:

Look ahead and behind to determine when it is safe to pass.

If it is safe to pass, signal to alert the drivers ahead and behind you of your intention so they can plan their moves accordingly.

Give a left turn signal so the driver behind you will know that you are about to pull out and pass.

Blow the horn to signal the driver ahead.

The horn signal places the driver of the car you are passing under a legal obligation to help you to pass. While passing, be sure you have plenty of room and keep a steady speed. You cannot pass safely unless you can see far enough ahead to insure that you can get back to the original lane of travel before you meet oncoming traffic. The law requires at least two feet of clearance between your car and the vehicle or bicycle you are passing. You have not passed safely if the vehicle you have passed must slow down to allow you back into your correct lane. Never exceed the posted speed limit while passing.

 

[Arkaign]

This is probably a very old law from when it made sense to do something like this. Ever driven an old car, like a Model T? It's hard as hell to hear other drivers, and rear visibility is negligible at best unless you turn around and physically look. Not to mention that roads are much much better now than they were long ago. So, back in those days, running a noisy creaky heap down a narrow road, it was probably a help to get a heads-up from the passer so that you're aware when they come by. These days, it'd be a nuisance to have everyone honking all the time.

There are loads of obsolete laws that are still on the books. Accumulative law/gov't FTL.

 

[LTC8K6]

Nope, it's the only question I missed on the driver's test, which is why I remember it.

 

[LTC8K6]

When your vehicle is being passed:

When you are being passed, you are required to help the other driver to pass. If the driver of the passing car blows the horn, move to the right edge of the road. Never increase your speed.

If you increase speed and fail to give way to a passing vehicle, you will be charged with a misdemeanor if a crash occurs resulting in bodily injury or property damage.

 

[Arkaign]

Your OP states that the passing driver is instructed to blow their horn before passing. This is obviously an old law, as stated in my post. What else is there to contemplate on this?

 

[LTC8K6]

Well, I don't think it's an old law at all. I just wondered if any other states required it, or if anyone actually did it.

If I thought it were an old law, I wouldn't have asked about it.

 

[bruceb]

That probably mainly applies on 2 lane country roads, where you
would be passing within an area with the dotted line on your side.
In cases like that, they want you to make the pass as quickly and
as safely as possible.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
Well, I don't think it's an old law at all. I just wondered if any other states required it, or if anyone actually did it.

If I thought it were an old law, I wouldn't have asked about it.

Plenty of old stuff just stays on the books until someone with common sense finally shitcans it.

Are you in Ohio by chance?

http://www.angelfire.com/falco...ens/pointlesslaws.html

"The Ohio driver's education manual states that you must honk the horn whenever you pass another car."

Think about how impractical that is for daily driving. Then think back how far you'd have to go for that law to make any kind of sense at all. On the average freeway during moderate traffic, people are constantly passing each other. How disruptive would constant honking be? It would make emergency vehicles hard to hear, would make warning other drivers of danger more difficult, and so on. Back when you'd rarely see another car on a little country road, it probably made plenty of sense to alert the other driver, who was driving something loud enough that he may or may not be able to hear your approach.

 

[LTC8K6]

The law is not old at all, actually. It's still a misdemeanor if you don't blow your horn to pass in NC, along with several other times when you are required to signal other drivers or pedestrians.

Almost no one does it, though and I'd imagine the driver in front would be confused as almost no one has a clue as to what the rules of the road are.

 

[LTC8K6]

"Think about how impractical that is for daily driving. "

Dude, it's only when crossing a broken yellow line. That is, a two lane road where it's indicated that you may pass.

Why in the world would you signal a pass anywhere else?

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
"Think about how impractical that is for daily driving. "

Dude, it's only when crossing a broken yellow line. That is, a two lane road where it's indicated that you may pass.

Why in the world would you signal a pass anywhere else?

Where, in your OP or any of your other posts, does it say "only when crossing a broken yellow line"?

 

[LTC8K6]

What does that have to do with your insistence that it's an old law?

You could certainly have pointed out much earlier that I was not specific.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
What does that have to do with your insistence that it's an old law?

You could certainly have pointed out much earlier that I was not specific.

My insistence on that it's an old law is that the way you stated it in the OP made it painfully obvious that it couldn't possibly have been written to apply to modern driving conditions. Honking at passing any car? That's arcane. Honking to gain attention on a 2-lane non-divided country road? That's somewhat sane.

Anyway, do you have info on when that law was originally put on the books? You do realize that many of our laws are many decades old, and some centuries old, right?

 

[ElFenix]

people in colombia honk when passing. i think it's a good idea. around here, though, if you started doing it you'd probably just offend everyone else.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
The law is not old at all, actually. It's still a misdemeanor if you don't blow your horn to pass in NC, along with several other times when you are required to signal other drivers or pedestrians.

Almost no one does it, though and I'd imagine the driver in front would be confused as almost no one has a clue as to what the rules of the road are.

It's not? When was it enacted?

 

[LTC8K6]

I believe the DMV instruction and the test question come from this law. Not sure when it was enacted, but it definitely applies today.

http://www.ncleg.net/enactedle...pter_20/gs_20-154.html

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
I believe the DMV instruction and the test question come from this law. Not sure when it was enacted, but it definitely applies today.

http://www.ncleg.net/enactedle...pter_20/gs_20-154.html

I apologize if I gave the impression that I meant that the law no longer applied or was no longer on the books. My educated guess was that this was a law that was put on the books quite some time ago, hence; and old law.

 

[steveox]

I agree with Arkaign. Idk why it's so hard to understand what he's saying... lol

 

[Eli]

That would be weird. Nobody does that, I don't think people around here would understand what you were doing. They'd think you were pissed at them or something. lol

Also,

The horn signal places the driver of the car you are passing under a legal obligation to help you to pass.
...
You have not passed safely if the vehicle you have passed must slow down to allow you back into your correct lane. Never exceed the posted speed limit while passing.

Right. How exactly does this work? You're both supposed to be going the speed limit. He's supposed to "help you pass". You can't exceed the speed limit. He can't slow down.

Yeah. That will work out real well.

 

[IronWing]

Wisconsin has a similar law. People used to follow it too. It seems to have fallen out of fashion in the last decade or so.

 

[M2008S]

"horn broken; watch for finger"

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Eli
That would be weird. Nobody does that, I don't think people around here would understand what you were doing. They'd think you were pissed at them or something. lol

Also,

The horn signal places the driver of the car you are passing under a legal obligation to help you to pass.
...
You have not passed safely if the vehicle you have passed must slow down to allow you back into your correct lane. Never exceed the posted speed limit while passing.

Right. How exactly does this work? You're both supposed to be going the speed limit. He's supposed to "help you pass". You can't exceed the speed limit. He can't slow down.

Yeah. That will work out real well.

You're not necessarily both going the speed limit...in fact, if you are, no passing will occur.

And it's not that the other driver "can't" slow down, it's that he shouldn't have to...however, how else are you obligated to "help" someone else pass if not by slowing down? I guess all that it means, legally speaking, is that if you're not going the limit and someone from behind who is honks their horn, you are not allowed to speed up until they finish passing you. Weird.

 

[vvatts]

I believe the DMV instruction and the test question come from this law. Not sure when it was enacted, but it definitely applies today.

http://www.ncleg.net/enactedle...pter_20/gs_20-154.html

So was the text in the original post from the DMV instruction in NC? That law may apply today but I don't see how it correlates with what you described in the OP.

The only mention of a horn is in the first part which says nothing about passing.

The driver of any vehicle upon a highway or public vehicular area before starting, stopping or turning from a direct line shall first see that such movement can be made in safety, and if any pedestrian may be affected by such movement shall give a clearly audible signal by sounding the horn, ...

It said the same thing 8 years ago also.
https://web.archive.org/web/2008042...utes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_20/GS_20-154.html

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[Gerle]

Would the legal text really use the word "insure" rather than "ensure"?

 

[twinrider1]

Balderdash! I've no time for this. I must board the trackless trolley uptown before the hatter closes.