First Take

In one moment the other day, I saw two of the most common driving discourtesies I see in general on area streets.

It started when someone backed out of a public parking space without noticing or caring that another car was about to pass behind. I see this happening a lot. I’ll call this syndrome the Reckless Reversal.

In this case, the offended motorist slammed on the brakes short of a fenderbender, then laid her hand down on the horn. And kept it there until the offending driver was practically gone from the parking lot.

We’ve all honked at drivers who screwed up in traffic. And they deserved it. And let’s admit it, we’ve all been honked at.

But leaning on the horn after, say, about a second or two is belaboring the point. It’s overkill. Especially if we’ve been guilty of the same mistake.

Call it the Horn Harangue. Or the Holier than Thou Honking Horn.