It has been a while since I took drivers ed, but not long enough that I forget what the proper use of a car horn is. A horn’s function is to try to prevent accidents. It is there to make a sound that communicates, “Hey! I am the car in the spot that you are starting to change lanes into! Please don’t hit me,” or, “Agh! You are drifting off of the side of the road. Please wake up.” Its use is to make driving safer, not to turn the roads into a road rage battle pitting a soccer mom against a tailgating old man in a convertible, both smashing in their horns in a battle of pride.

Think about this situation that I found myself in when I was first learning to drive. Pitiful, young, new driver sits at the corner of a busy intersection, looking for an opportunity to make a right hand turn. Cars zoom by intimidatingly, and the young driver waits patiently for a clear spot. No need to die today. Grumpy businessman is coming home from a long day at work and sits impatiently behind the young driver, also wanting to make a right hand turn. Suddenly, the young driver hears a harsh sound blasting through the cracked windows. The car behind the young driver is ramming in the horn.

In a panic, the young driver might zoom into the intersection to try to get out of the angry driver’s way. The oncoming traffic steps on the brakes to try to avoid an accident. Although this might turn out fine, this is not why horns were put in cars.

Stop honking your horns for no reason, guys. And no, “He’s driving a bit slowly,” is not a reason to go crazy all over your steering wheel; neither is “I had a bad day and now I want to rage all over the other people.”

“I am in a big hurry,” is not a good one either. The only really good reason to alarm the other drivers is: “There is something worth being alarmed about, and if the other drivers notice, we all might be a bit safer.”