The theme photo for February was "What Annoys You Most About Your City" and I posted a photo of a crowded subway train because it was the easiest concept to translate into photography. But in actuality, the thing that annoys me most about living in NYC is the car alarms that seem to go off at 3 AM in the morning right outside my bedroom window. But how does one translate that into a photograph?Well, now I have found a perfect photo to illustrate my feeling. This street sign on the corner of Mott and Spring Street in SoHo says honking (I assume it means at night) will result in a fine of $350. All I have to say is, "Bravo!" If I were Mayor Michael Bloomberg, I would make drivers pay $1 for every honk they make.
What do you think? Do you use the honk frequently?
27 comments:
My daughter's apartment is just on a crossroads with heavy traffic and in front of a hospital: honks and hooters are a real nightmare...
Superbe idee, voila une idee que j'aimerais que le maire d'Evry mette en place (certaine nuit on a l'impression d'avoir droit à un concert). Je n'utilise jamais mon klaxon, mais j'ai une bonne excuse il ne marche pas, et je n'ai pas d'alarme (mais autre bonne excus, je ne ferme jamais ma voiture à clef)
Superb idea, veiled an idea that I would like that the mayor of Evry sets up (certain night there is the impression to be entitled to a concert). I never use my horn, but I have a good excuse it does not walk, and I do not have alarm (but another good excus, I never close my key car)
It's a crossed problem of education. A part those brainless that use horn without any reason, people use it when other people do them something unpolite. I personally do NOT love to use it and I tend to avoid to... But sometime unfortunately, it's necessary.
Interesting narrative. I like your post today.
See the latest windpower technology working here in Brookville.
Come to Naples, Ming - it is so quiet here at night, I have to simulate city noise to fall asleep!
With the exception of the
occasional grunting alligator, of course ;-)
love this
Ming - I agree. Many memories: sitting in unmoving traffic on 10th Ave. (is that right?) at the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel, meaningless horns blaring all around. Same on that awful ramp from the northbound Deegan to get onto I 95 west and the GW Bridge. HHOOONNNKKK. Staying at a hotel just off 3rd Ave. in the 50s, with horns and sirens keeping us up much of the night. A bad thing about NYC.
I posted the third and probably last of my obsessive series about Toynbee tiles today. Time to get back to normal.
Bob
St. Louis Missouri Daily Photo Blog
My most common way to alert a driver that he/she has disturbed me greatly is to flash them (with my high beams). My last resort is to use the horn, but never in a residential neighborhood. Thanks for stopping by jules and for your comments.
that's a great sign. I should've taken the sign in HK ferry that says "no spitting". will be posting new photos today.
Who collects the cash? At 3am?
I rarely honk but our neighbours' guests often take off at 2am with a friendly honk on the horn. They drive me crazy...
Angela
of course! we should meet! what will you be doing in KL? July isn't that far off :)
The French seem to hoot like crazy when they are celebrating. Say after a football match, a wedding or heaven forfend a Presidential election!
In Menton, they forbid motorbikes and hooting when the August Music festival is on, which is all good news for the musicians and the audience.
Jx
You know the word honking is a bit vulgar in UK.
One of the little annoyances of life in Britain is the flashing camera. If you exceed the speed limit by ever so much of a fraction, the camera sets off and records how fast you were doing and you are fined accordingly. The real annoyance though is pontificating politicians.
it's a veritable problem for the people who leave near. So it's very cosy
So it's very cost, escuse-me
bye and goodnight
Interesting! Love the colour combination and the composition of it. Well seems like NY really has lotsa honks here and there. We seldom get penalty for honking here.
Thanks for the lovely comments :D Have a nice day.
Ming - re my photo: Ming: I was trudging home from the station, and I noticed across the road this lovely "kaleidoscope" on the rundown white house, crossed, snapped a pic, and voila! Pure happenstance, and put a spring back in my step.
Oooh, car and house alarms. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
i agree about the car alarm thing, drives me nuts! someone once told me that if a car's alarm is going off, you can go up to it and lift it 40 degrees to make it stop. the car at that angle is supposedly the same as being on a tow truck, so it's designed to stop ringing at that point.
OK, forget elections, important football matches and certain particular weddings and, amazingly, I don't even notice any honks in my neighbourhood. It's forbidden, that's true, but I don't think the reason for people not to honk is the fine... Very odd, indeed!
I use the horn so seldom that I'm not sure I'd actually hit it if I had an emergency and needed it. Road rage is a foreign concept to me for I love to drive and it doesn't bother me to sit in stalled traffic either.
My curiousity with the sign is in line with Angela's - who monitors the "No Honking" rule and ensures it's enforced? I wouldn't put my hand up for that job!
The most annoying thing about NYC is lines. Lines everywhere!
I'm never bothered by car alarms that much, but I never really hear them because i'm pretty high up in my apartment building
i guess the honks in Singapore is used only during an emergency.
wait till you visit Indonesia, they just love to honk! hahah... Its quite funny actually when you sit in the car there.
hmmm are you dropping by spore too? (other than KL? hehe..)
I try to avoid using the honk unless it's to prevent a potential accident from happening. Just as a warning signal. I actually hate the honk cos it usually gives me an "heart attack". Why do people always have to use the honk in traffic jams? I mean, everybody is stuck in the same s***, not just him/her?
If air and water pollution can be imposed with penalty/fines, I guess it's right for a fine to be imposed on noise pollution as well.
I'm totally with you, Ming. I live near a higway and there's a lot of noise early in the morning everyday!
It's such a mess
Hi Ming...nice to be back in NYC. In Britain it is illegal to "sound the horn without due cause"....it's not enforced because there is no need. Horn sounding is rare, considered bad form, and only done for the right reasons (and sometimes if the other guy makes you really wild...) You will find London roads almost toally silent. That's "cultural difference" for you.
I live in San Antonio TX, suburban area.... one neighbor in particular tends to have visitors at various hours HONK to announce their arrival. This honk is intended to alert the individuals in that house that they are being summoned. They do not realize that their honk is heard in every house within a quarter mile radius! I have two children who take naps during the day and go to sleep at 7pm. I also have a small dog that barks at honking cars! You can imagine the annoyance I have when they honk 4 and 5 times until the neighbors or their children's friends come out of the house. What to do? oh, what to do?
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