Walking to get coffee, a car honked at me. Not a mean “get out of the way” honk, just a friendly “it’s your turn to cross the street” honk. But it still pissed me off! Austin is not New York City. There is zero reason to honk unless a wreck is imminent. Be more patient.

@manton You should come to India sometime to experience sensory overload from just the honks. 😂

@manton did you yell back “aaayy I’m walking here” in a New York accent?

@manton A honk of a full second or more is totally obnoxious, but I consider a quick “beep” a courtesy saying “I acknowledge you.” But then again, I’m a California driver… Austin is probably way more chill. 🤣

@manton With all the tech going into cars these days, you’d think someone would’ve figured out a better way to communicate.

@gildotdev Haha. Need to work on my accent. I just laughed.

@manton Lorries and tractors here honk as a way of saying ‘hello’, right outside my house. It annoys me greatly.

@manton I’m guessing the driver is not normally a walker and hasn’t experienced how violent this feels. I won’t even do that in DC unless I see a very dangerous situation.

@manton Waiting is often best. And pedestrians need more love.

@manton I’d love see all cars have a 2nd sound option. How about in addition to the honk, we also have a ding? Specifically this ding. (It’s from ​the Knog Oi Luxe bicycle bell.) And maybe we could find some way to activate it other than a center-body palm heel strike?

@manton Sounds like a job for Mark Rober’s NICEST Car Horn Ever

@manton.org I had a job as a UPS driver when I was in college (in Austin), and I remember one part of our training was “how to honk politely” — two light short taps is what was recommended to say “hey, just want to make sure you see this big truck”

@manton I had a job as a UPS driver when I was in college (in Austin), and I remember one part of our training was “how to honk politely” — two light short taps is what was recommended to say “hey, just want to make sure you see this big truck”

@masonhale.bsky.social That makes sense. Maybe there are different rules for big trucks too.

@masonhale.bsky.social That makes sense. Maybe there are different rules for big trucks too.