Honking in the tunnel

Blogger Dan Tutor recounts his experience of coming to L.A. on business and the insanity of driving the 101 and 405 ("Avoid it at all costs.  Unless, of course, you enjoy going 7 miles per hour in bumper to bumper traffic") But what he really found bizarre was the L.A. experience that came next:

Then something interesting happened.  The traffic headed into a tunnel.  All of a sudden, a chorus of honking horns rang out.  Little car horns.  Big car horns.  Truck horns.  It was crazy.  We inched through the tunnel and almost every driver was sounding their horn.  I even rolled down my window to hear it all a little better.  When we emerged at the other end, the horns stopped. OK, here's my point in telling you this story.  Actually, my point should start with a question that hit me as I emerged from the tunnel:  "What made everyone honk?"

What do you think? Does tunnel honking annoy you or feel like community? Hit the comment button and have your say!

Comments

[Shannon]

I live over in NJ and we have some very short tunnels here located in residential areas–houses literally at the entrances/exit mouths of the tunnels.
While i don't care very much if some folks honk in a tunnel in the middle of nowhere, it does strike me as very inconsiderate to the folks living nearby these. I googled the issue b/c i was dumbfounded as to why people were honking and so far, i'm still dumbfounded that so many people online think that this is perfectly acceptable.

[Kelly Stevens]

I have always honked in tunnels. I was raised in Washington state.
I have heard that honking in a tunnel weakens the tunnel structure due to the sounds waves or reverberation from the horn noise. Has anyone else heard of this and does anyone know if its true??
Kelly Jo

[Char]

When we were children we loved going through tunnels and going beep, beep, beep, beep, beep and waiting for the other car to answer with beep beep back! It was a fun connection and made people smile. It sure makes me smile to remember my family all together and doing it. And of course we always had to roll the windows down so we could hear the echo too. Nowadays very few beep back...back then in the 50s and 60s everyone did.

[William Isenberg]

Honking in tunnels is FUN, lets off steam and does not hurt anyone.

If you happen to be on the phone, sorry, but you should not be phoning while driving anyway.

Next thing, there will be a ban on singing in the shower !

[Sheila]

Well, I'm originally from the midwest, Indiana, and I witnessed adults honking in tunnels for fun, not that there were many tunnels in Indiana. Other odd car traditions included holding your feet up in the air while going over bridges (uh, not the driver) or holding your breath going over bridges (I guess that was what the driver could do to participate in the fun). When I moved to LA 24 years ago I noticed that the tradition of honking in tunnels was alive and well here, too.

FYI, I only do it when the tunnel is long and there are few cars around otherwise it is way too loud - inside of the car or out.

[doug]

Wow, westerners have some strange habits that I must have forgotten. I live near Boston though I was raised in SoCal, and NO one honks for fun in the many tunnels here, including the Big Dig. (By the way, thank you, my fellow Americans, for funding that baby -- $14.5 billion as of the moment. Heck of a tunnel, and it only leaks a little.)

[A.L. Hern]

Everybody in the tunnel obviously either loved Jesus, was against the Iraq War, or both.

[Dan Tudor]

This is Dan Tudor, the blogger referred to by the Times in this article.

I love the comments! I was trying to apply the "honking in the tunnel" principle to sales and business (see the live link above), but I think one of the comments above really goes straight to the point: IT'S FUN!

Kate made the comment that doing it is "deafening and juvenile", which I kind of agree with (then again, so is my 9 month old son!). To that I say, that's probably what makes it so much fun!

I loved the fact that here were a group of road-weary adults letting loose and having some fun for a few seconds. There are some interesting parallels to business in all this, so I hope you take a second and visit www.landingthedeal.com.

Thanks,

Dan

[Tiki]

I usually honk in tunnels but only if there are few or no cars around. I don't think I'd want to add to the noise of a tunnel jammed with cars.

The 2nd St. tunnel on weekends is usually pretty open.

Its fun.

[Kate]

Laura: But there's a difference between holding your breath (something we still do, too) and honking in an echo chamber. Holding your breath isn't imposing your fun on anyone else. Somewhere we've lost the idea that being part of a community means respecting the space of others--and when your horn is echoing in my car and drowning out my conversation or music in that car, you're not respecting my space. It's like the middle school kids (and it's always middle school kids) who get on the public bus and shriek. They're sharing that space with everyone else, but they're acting like they're the only ones in that space who get to decide how it's used. Can't you find a way to enjoy a tunnel that doesn't impose on people outside your car?

[Laura]

K, here's the thing. It's fun. I'm a native Chicagoan and, well, there weren't any long tunnels like this where I grew up. Not only did we honk in the tunnels, but when the kids were little they liked to hold their breath until they couldn't see any part of the tunnel out the back window anymore. Not exactly sure why, I think it had something to do with dreams coming true. Ah, the mystery and magic of the tunnels. Never thought twice about why we honk or why my kids, one in college one on the way, still hold their breath. Just something we've always done 'cause it's fun.

[Kate]

Hey, Rob D. Have you ever ridden a bike through a tunnel full of honkers? My husband has, and he thinks you ought to try it. He also thinks that honking creates community, in his words, "if you're three and a half." We recycle and appreciate rainbows, so I guess your analysis is faulty all around. Bad enough we're all in traffic all the time--is it necessary to increase the noise pollution on top of that? But, hey, as long as you've formed a lasting bond with that minivan next to you.

[Rob D]

What is so wrong with people honking in the tunnels. With the busy lives this state's citizens must hustle through each day, if the simple act of honking with other motorists in a tunnel feels like community, so be it! Only a malcontent who despises the sight of rainbows and never recycles might see this practice as "juvenile."

[Matt]

Honk if you love LA!

[brian]

they do that up in SF coming thru the Waldo Tunnel in Marin before crossing the GGB ... on weekends when the traffic is bad people honk like idiots going thru. they don't do it in the Treasure Island tunnel though. ?

[Kate]

Honking for the sake of honking, particularly in tunnels (even short ones like that found in the northern SFV), is deafening and juvenile. New York City imposes steep fines on anyone honking in the tunnels that lead in and out of Manhattan, and I never heard more than a couple of honks in the time I spent in traffic in those tunnels. Community building involves actual interaction. Honking in tunnels isn't it.