I feel that there is a thin limit between alerting and 'honking'. While the average Joe uses the horn as an expression of his mood and feelings, I prefer to use the horn to alert folks and to make my presence felt. Over using the horn is too bad an idea- I am very much against it, and not using it at all may put you in potentially dangerous situations, at least in the Indian sub continent.
As Muztariq mentioned, non suspecting animals can also be harmed if they are not alerted with the horn
Some honkers are people who are not well experienced in riding/ driving. This group usually comprises of elderly and women[ no offence meant, it is proved that males have a better motor control on vehicles], who on the slightest provocation end up using large amounts of it. These, particularly are the people who need to rework on their left thumb control..

People strolling absent minded may never notice a flashing headlight, but a honk may help in situations like this . moreover if everybody keeps their headlight on it will go unnoticed as its a common sight!


Yes this really works, when i bought the RX it didnt had a horn but the core of muffler was a modified one. the result, the scream of the 2 stroke engine is enough to keep people at bay.The scream of the engine is such that even at 50KMPH people just think that something is coming so fast and they scuttle to the side. I have literally experienced this!

Moral of the story, try to use the horn a little bit early, it usually happens when we are very close to somebody and when they hear a honk they suddenly jumps right in front of us. Sudden braking can be done but not the horn. In emergency situation its always better to brake in the last second rather than honking the last second and then going for the brakes as this results in loss of precious time. These are just a few of my thoughts

There are these people who think the horn switch is an extension of his limb and keep it pressed. i too hate these honkers and even i have did what you have done in a few situations!! Thats the best way to teach them a lesson!

Cars and bus driver never even look at their mirrors probably because when ever they notice any pothole they just steer to their right or left with no respect for the bika walas ,hav almost lost cintrol due to this more a couple of times.instead of this honk awareness mirror awareness should be provided first
Btw Before when I had removed the snorkel and air filter sensor bike used to provide big roar so whenever I needed to overtake a car or bus I used to downshift and rev to make the drivers realize that a guy in tiny bike is their but now have to horn since I reverted to stock
And I don't honk just use the horn only in emergencies but in that emergencies it won't work(horn) as I would have pressed near the switch edge maybe
Sent From My Google Phone

I'll advice you NOT to practice this. This way you will have a stressful ride in the end. Just like you even I was annoyed with horn sounds while riding and said to my self that I wont contribute to the noise pollution on road but trust me, in India you can kill or get killed if you do not let others see or hear you. No body is obviously encouraging excessive unnecessary honking here but one should definitely honk when you feel somebody gonna get run over. This gets even more practical for car drivers. I have just started driving and there are lots of bikers and uncle ji's on road who never check their mirrors. A simple one time press on the horn let them know that I am behind.

I for one use pass lights first for two three times to let the vehicle I am overtaking to let them know that I'm coming. I use short bursts of horn if they do not respond to the flashes or still come cutting into my way or lane. Again I use indicator lamps ALWAYS while overtaking. These practises are standard while overtaking in any road, I believe.

But in the case of pedestrians flashing lights are a big help. I keep using pass lights in dark areas as if I don't have a clear view of the road sides I might run over a jaywalker. I try my best to keep the Headlamps in low mode and using the pass light has become kind of a habit.

unnecessarily honking should be avoided, of-course there are situations which warrant the use of horn, but other than those, i prefer not to honk.

I do this every time...
Another case is when someone from behind honks , i give him side as he/she can go, if he continues i will try to give more than enough space and if he still honks and doesn't overtake or remain at same speed , then i move in front of him and try to ride as slow as i can probably less than 15kmph till the point he stops honking and then i just fly away...

Yes, i do use the horn, but I don't go bonkers on them.
The thing is, here in India, or let me be specific, in Kerala, Not a soul uses the RVM's, most people here think its an eyesore, and remove the RVM's from the bikes as soon as they get it, cars and jeeps too with broken or no RVM, similar with heavy vehicle drivers. Now the guy's who have rvm's put it in such an angle that they see only their face in it while riding, I wonder why...!!???

The thing is I fear people who don't use RVM, they just swerve in like a maniac when we are travelling peacefully, though panic honking in such situations does not help, When i see such people and feel that they are going to make a move, i just give 2 short burst of horn to signal my presence. I for one ride at 60kmph average speed, so I manage to avoid a lot of honking for pedestrians, by slowing down and signalling them to pass or using the pass switch when i'm in a hurry. I also find that using the pass light at the 4 wheelers is often of no use. They just push us around by riding in the center of the lane and not allowing us to pass, for people who don't follow rules it's simple, they pass through the left side, which is freaking scary to do. So in such situations honking does work to an extent.

When in a block I do not honk and add to the chaos. I just wait for the mess to clear out and then go along my way.

Cheers
Ride Safe
Krishna

Very trve! Majority of bikes on road here are without RVMs and here honking is an absolute necessity when overtaking.
Here in Hyderabad, people have common notion that honking clears traffic, be it at the signals or at the jams. The way people drive here, you better not dare to take your thumb off that horn button. For instance, at junctions, if one has to take a left turn, he will cut into traffic from extreme right to take that turn[there's atleast one vehicle at every junction doing this].

May be a little OT but concerned with safety..how many people ride with their headlights ON all the time be it evening or morning?
It is said to be a safety measure and people will notice u more and hence more safer u are...in many countries it is mandatory and some vehciles be it cars or bikes come with the feature of head light going ON with ignition ON...while some have DRLs


What do u guys suggest? as a part of safe riding should we keep the headlights ON...which might well result in u to less HONK as u will be noticed more and might not have to honk ur way in or out...

What effect is on the battery electricals and the engine and FE keeping headlights ON always?

Yea. I do practise that,not to the extend of headlights on full time. Many times i get fed up people signalling me the 'boob press' with their hands and have gotton pulled over by cops for that. Instead i keep the pilot lamps on full time be it morning or noon , it's not a high intensity light but atleast it's something

Cheers
Ride safe
Krishna

The flipside of that is that everyone on the road wants to tell you that the lights are on. Added safety is always a good thing. It has no effect on the battery draining unless you use the vehicle for very short trips which might not give enough time for the charging to take place.

I think the Harleys come with the lights on always as a standard feature.

Prajwal

Well I do ride with headlight on, night or day, but only on the highway. Not that it helped this woman spot me at all, but still, I do stick to this practice.

There is not much effect on the electricals if the bike you ride doesn't have full DC electricals. The issue arises when you have a Full DC bike with a battery on its last legs. If you ride with headlight on all the time, it will ensure that your battery will die sooner rather than later (because its charge holding capacity reduces with time). This is no issue on most bikes but if your bike happens to be a kick-less Pulsar(like mine) / R15 / FZ etc., it would mean that the dying battery will cause more inconvenience than it would otherwise.

Wouldn't that be more of a distraction to other commuters, especially in a place where people are more concerned, they stop concentrating on their riding and are more interested in pointing out that your head lights are ON.

People who get distracted by headlights should be off the roads anyway. A headlight to keep them off the road would be a perfect tool.

Prajwal