Social and Behavioral Norms: Why do people honk so much on Indian roads? Is there a solution or will there ever be a day when we can have sensible and disciplined drivers who can make use of their honk judiciously ? What will it take to educate the Indian drivers for honk-free driving ?

This is a very good question. I think if we need to answer this we need to go beyond bad roads and too many cars argument. It is something deeper. I think Indian culture is inherently chaotic. We are seldom organized as a mass. Compare that with the Europeans and the East Asians and you will notice the difference. Following strict rules and structured organization are hallmarks of their culture. Take for example classical music. The most popular and common form of rendition of western classical music is through orchestra which is something that requires organization and structure. In our culture classical music is carried forward by maestros who sing or play instruments mostly alone or in a Jugalbandi with another maestro. This is also true for sports. The team sports have all been developed in the West while our ancient sports were mostly individual sports like Archery, wrestling etc. In East Asia too their culture makes them very inclined towards forming organizations and structures. The cause of this difference in culture has to be located in religion and empires. The west had a long history of a very strong central power starting with the Greeks and the Romans and then with the spread of Christianity. The structure and organized Roman society molded the nascent Christianity in its own rigid pyramidal structural form. This actually accentuated the organized form of civilization as with Christianity as its vehicle it could now spread to areas where the Roman influence were limited. So Christianity was able to build strict structural organization among the Goths, Saxons and Normans. In far-East on the other hand powerful Kingdoms, each ruling for several centuries had always been there and they lasted till the last century. With the spread of Islam, which was another very organized and strictly structural form of religion the near east also adopted the culture of strict organized society. However, none of these influences were there in India. India seldom had large kingdoms in its history, nor did it have a centralized religion like the Christians or the Muslims. When Islam spread to India it did it through Sufi saints and not through the Islamic occupation which was the way it did in other parts of the world. So the strict organization of Islam could not be established here. The result is the disorganized, un-structured chaotic India we have today. So it is very difficult for Indians to maintain order and show collective discipline even though many Indians are disciplined in their personal life. The excessive honking is just another manifestation of this. But is it bad? I don't think so. The west is increasingly realizing the limitations of strict organization. As long as the work is physical and requires less thinking, collective discipline is necessary. Assembly lines in factories require discipline. However, as the global production system becomes increasingly mechanized, ideas are becoming far more important than physical work. `Now ideas don't require so much of discipline, in fact the less discipline and chaotic it is the more ideas it can generate. So may be the chaotic argumentative Indians will have their day in the sun.

I have only spent a modest amount of time in India and that was primarily in Delhi. But from the looks of things honking is a way of augmenting sight, given the varied and unusual nature of what's on the road from trucks to rickshaws to bicycles it seemed like the "point" was to make sure it was impossible to miss something in a blind spot. And also to express every other emotion I guess, but it's a thought.

Clearly the population is way beyond what the roads are designed to handle. Everyday, the number of cars being purchased goes on increasing, but the roads are almost the same year long. So obviously there's going to be traffic. And when there's traffic, India or not, honking will always be there. Also, I have observed that a lot of heavy vehicles honk because the drivers don't like using their brakes and like to keep the momentum going. If they slow down, it's a real pain to shift fears and get back to speed.

Personally I hate honking like anything but if I put my analytical hat on and try to get towards the root cause, I would say its not only the drivers, its about the location/setup and about the education level as well. Scenario1 : You are standing at a traffic light. It goes green and few at the back start honking. Why? Because in some previous incident, he saw someone in the front talking on the phone when its red light and took about 10-15 seconds to start the car after the light turned green and in this instance he just wants to avoid that. So basically its the whole setup that needs to be changed, and its not easy. Scenario2 : You are in Old Delhi, crowded as hell. The pedestrians dont have any other way than to get on to the road and to keep them alive and aware, there is no other way than to honk. No honking zones do work at places like VVIP areas in central Delhi where anyways people dont honk much. Try making some in Noida and Gurgaon and maybe Old Delhi ;-) Basically, people need to respect each other and not treat each other as an obstacle. Right now, when people drive in India, the tree, side of a building, another car.. and People.. are all obstacles. treated the same way :)

1. Strict tests for obtaining a driving license. (As in all European countries) 2. Heavy fines for not obeying traffic rules. e.g. Honking = 5000 Rupees 3. Letting anyone with a camera catch the miscreants and get a reward. (As in South Korea) 4. Education at school level for sensible and disciplined driving.

I hate honking. I travel (on my motercyle) about 40-50 km a day from length and breadth of the Bangalore. I would honk about 2-3 times excluding honking at the blind turns. Some of the reasons why people honk are mentioned in the link below. For those who are habitual to honk, No honking on Monday is a change in habit. Lets spread the word and increase more awareness about NO HONKING. @https://www.facebook.com/pages/No-Honking-on-Monday/634318763308956?ref=hl

Most of the comments are interesting – have experienced most myself. 1 – Honking as soon as the light turns green 2 – Truck drivers honking because they don’t want to brake 3 – Jaywalking pedestrians 4 – No notion of ‘right of way’ or ‘noise pollution’   As far as I can see, it’s not primarily about the population or the number of vehicles on the road (although that is a contributor). If it was only about the number of vehicles – honking would instantly follow. I’ve been in traffic jams – in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei (very recently). Sure, there were a couple of errant drivers, but mostly – there was no honking. The strict penalties are a deterrant. Two recent Indian examples – while entering a mall parking, I noticed a man cursing and incessantly honking at a car in front of him (the car in question merely stopped for 10 seconds so that the passengers could alight). Coincidentally, I met the same man inside the mall - we reached the entrance to a store simultaneously. This time however, the same man was the very definition of courteous and polite – he smiled, motioned for me to enter and even held the door open. Was this the same person? The Jekyll-Hyde conundrum! Second – In my local market, a car on the road about 2 metres behind was stopped, the lady passenger was getting into the back seat. Seeing that the car was stationary, I crossed in front of it. In a split second, the chauffeur chose to blast the horn loudly, twice – it was a “how dare you cross the road in front of me, I’m about to move – honk”. Naturally, I was startled and stopped. Looked straight at the driver and lifted up my hands as if to ask “Why?” He chose to roll down the window and start yelling at me – with his employer in the back seat. It made no difference to her. To him – I was in the wrong and he genuinely believed it. To him – I deserved to be honked at and yelled at. Could there be a solution? I’ve always thought that 95% (maybe more) of honking that happens when the car is at a standstill or moving at a slow speed – is unnecessary and unwarranted. This is the bulk of the ‘menace’ of honking. Just like car makers are being told to follow crash safety rules, implement active safety like airbags and traction control – a simple, speed-activated switch could solve the problem. The horn of a car should only be active (i.e., it should only work) when the speed of the car crosses a certain speed – let’s say 30kmph.

Once, one of my friend's car's horn stopped working. I was sitting on co-driver's seat. In traffic, he was frustrated. And not having a horn frustrated him even more. It felt as if he lost his voice while being in a big argument.

All vehicles in India must carry the sign ' No horn please '. The worst part is even if the road is empty like in the middle of the night, drivers will blow their horns. I asked a taxi driver why and he told me it was his habit to blow horn. Is it an ego problem? that when I am driving on the road I dont want any vehicle in front of me - all should move out and give me way. Is it the Indian way that as long as my house is clean I can throw dirt on the road. As in other issues the Supreme Court will have to step in and limit the noise level of horns.