Lots of angry honking (San Diego, San Jose: renting, home, living)

[Gene&Hyun]

I’m trying to be very careful with my words, because I don’t want to give the impression that I’m complaining about something in SD. We love living here, and we expect to continue to love it here. But I have noticed one very obvious thing.. Why do so many drivers honk (not nice, friendly honking) so much at other drivers for every little perceived transgression? It seems that I can’t get through a day without someone angrily honking their horn at me, even though I follow all the rules of the road, don’t drive too slowly, etc. Coming from the San Jose area, it was a rare thing, and traffic is considerably worse up there.

I’m not complaining (too much), because we love San Diego. It’s just something I noticed even long before we pulled the trigger and bought our home here. I have a couple theories as to why this is the case, but I don’t want to offend anyone by presuming. Have any of you noticed the same thing, especially those who have lived in other cities or states? Maybe it’s a Southern California thing? There’s definitely more of a road rage culture, whatever the reason is. The really strange thing is that people down here are super friendly in person, while up in San Jose, not nearly as nice in person. But behind the wheel, it seems to flip-flop..

[Axxlrod]

I only honk when it's deserved.

Are you texting while driving?
Not paying attention that the light has turned green?
Driving slowly in the left lane?
Holding up traffic in any way?

If you're getting honked at often, then you're obviously doing something to irritate other drivers.

[cruitr]

I'm with Axxlrod... you're doing something wrong. No one honks at me and I'm far from a perfect driver.

Here's one possibility and it's a long shot. I think CA law says you should wait till all pedestrians are completely out of a crosswalk before proceeding to drive. If you are waiting to move (or maybe turn right) until all pedestrians are completely out of the crosswalk, I'd probably honk at you too. As soon as the pedestrians are safely out of your driving path, just start driving. Don't wait till they completely leave the crosswalk. This crosswalk issue has been discussed before on this forum.

If you're not sure what I'm talking about, read this:
https://patch.com/california/campbel...-the-crosswalk

[Gene&Hyun]

Originally Posted by Axxlrod

I only honk when it's deserved.

Are you texting while driving?
Not paying attention that the light has turned green?
Driving slowly in the left lane?
Holding up traffic in any way?

If you're getting honked at often, then you're obviously doing something to irritate other drivers.

No to all listed questions, although they are all fair points. One thing I have noticed though, is that people generally drive a lot faster and more aggressively here than up north. It seems there is much less traffic enforcement here, which might be part of the reason. I’m not complaining though, because traffic tickets are expensive, and I’d rather put up with more aggressive drivers if it means my chances of getting pulled over is lower. I generally drive at least 10 mph over, so I’m not holding up traffic. I also usually stay out of the #1 lane on freeways.

Cruitr’s crosswalk example is actually a good one.. So in Santa Clara County, it’s very, very common to be cited for not waiting for the pedestrian to reach the other end of the crosswalk before driving over it. I don’t necessarily agree with the law, but it is actively enforced up there and tickets are very expensive. Come to think of it, this might be the one where I do get honked at the most.

Times when I’ve seen other drivers get honked at a lot are usually in parking lots, where it seems that moving cars will not slow down and wait for parked cars that are slowly backing out of a stall. Instead, they’ll drive very fast (way too fast for parking lot speeds), lay on their horn, keep up their speed and assume that the person backing out (who often has a hard time seeing both directions behind him due to the angles and other cars parked around him) will stop for him. I just found it to be odd and pretty dangerous. Maybe it’s just the area we’ve been staying in? We’ve been renting a place off Balboa Arms for the past several months.

I guess the driving culture is just different down here, which I’m mostly ok with, especially if it means I’ll get fewer tickets from cops. I was a street cop myself for 16 years, so I’m not what you’d call an overly-defensive driver, the type of driver that would annoy most people on the road. Anyway, it’s all good and I appreciate the input. Just something I noticed that’s different in SD.

[Gene&Hyun]

I just remembered a couple other examples.. when making a legal, complete stop at a stop sign, I’ll occasionally get honked at by an impatient driver behind me, as though he’s saying how dare you actually follow the law and stop properly. Same thing for making a right turn at a red light.. And no, I’m not stopping for a long time, in fact most times they are not even complete stops, just not fast enough for some drivers.

Just so there’s no misunderstanding, most of the honking that I’m seeing is directed at random, other drivers. It’s just not something I’ve seen before to this level.

Again, not complaining, just honest observations from someone who hasn’t lived here for a long time. I just don’t want to get cited, but it seems that the rules are more loosely enforced, which I’m totally cool with. I can adjust to that. Living here is more than worth it!

[cruitr]

Originally Posted by Gene&Hyun

Cruitr’s crosswalk example is actually a good one.. So in Santa Clara County, it’s very, very common to be cited for not waiting for the pedestrian to reach the other end of the crosswalk before driving over it. I don’t necessarily agree with the law, but it is actively enforced up there and tickets are very expensive. Come to think of it, this might be the one where I do get honked at the most.

This seems to be a subtle difference between Northern CA and Southern CA. It's been discussed on this forum many years ago. In SoCal, don't wait for pedestrians to reach the other end of a crosswalk. If you do, I'll be honking at you. And I rarely use my horn.

In Boston, 3,000 miles from here, they never use their horn for anything. I blew my horn at some slow-moving idiot a few weeks ago and the cop threatened to give me a ticket.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by Gene&Hyun

I’m trying to be very careful with my words, because I don’t want to give the impression that I’m complaining about something in SD. We love living here, and we expect to continue to love it here. But I have noticed one very obvious thing.. Why do so many drivers honk (not nice, friendly honking) so much at other drivers for every little perceived transgression? It seems that I can’t get through a day without someone angrily honking their horn at me, even though I follow all the rules of the road, don’t drive too slowly, etc. Coming from the San Jose area, it was a rare thing, and traffic is considerably worse up there.

San Diego drivers take the prize for being some of the most reckless speedballs on the road.We frequently had jerks driving on our residential street at 50 or 60 mph in a 25 mph zone. I saw a woman with two little kids in the car driving a junky old Honda at 85 mph down Tierrasanta Blvd.

I think this problem is worse in San Diego due to the high use of methamphetamine there. At any given time a certain percentage of drivers are probably whacked out on meth or some other kind of drug.

San Diego: Addicted To Meth | KPBS

[Czechsix]

Originally Posted by Gene&Hyun

I’m trying to be very careful with my words, because I don’t want to give the impression that I’m complaining about something in SD. We love living here, and we expect to continue to love it here. But I have noticed one very obvious thing.. Why do so many drivers honk (not nice, friendly honking) so much at other drivers for every little perceived transgression? It seems that I can’t get through a day without someone angrily honking their horn at me, even though I follow all the rules of the road, don’t drive too slowly, etc. Coming from the San Jose area, it was a rare thing, and traffic is considerably worse up there.

I’m not complaining (too much), because we love San Diego. It’s just something I noticed even long before we pulled the trigger and bought our home here. I have a couple theories as to why this is the case, but I don’t want to offend anyone by presuming. Have any of you noticed the same thing, especially those who have lived in other cities or states? Maybe it’s a Southern California thing? There’s definitely more of a road rage culture, whatever the reason is. The really strange thing is that people down here are super friendly in person, while up in San Jose, not nearly as nice in person. But behind the wheel, it seems to flip-flop..

Now that's kind of interesting.

Having lived here for over forty years, and driven in this area for over forty years, I can count the number of times I've actually been honked at on one hand.

Thinking back, it's been years since I can recall getting honked at. Either you live in a very different area, or maybe it's something you're doing?

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by Gene&Hyun

I’m trying to be very careful with my words, because I don’t want to give the impression that I’m complaining about something in SD. We love living here, and we expect to continue to love it here. But I have noticed one very obvious thing.. Why do so many drivers honk (not nice, friendly honking) so much at other drivers for every little perceived transgression? It seems that I can’t get through a day without someone angrily honking their horn at me, even though I follow all the rules of the road, don’t drive too slowly, etc. Coming from the San Jose area, it was a rare thing, and traffic is considerably worse up there.

I’m not complaining (too much), because we love San Diego. It’s just something I noticed even long before we pulled the trigger and bought our home here. I have a couple theories as to why this is the case, but I don’t want to offend anyone by presuming. Have any of you noticed the same thing, especially those who have lived in other cities or states? Maybe it’s a Southern California thing? There’s definitely more of a road rage culture, whatever the reason is. The really strange thing is that people down here are super friendly in person, while up in San Jose, not nearly as nice in person. But behind the wheel, it seems to flip-flop..

Frustration because of the crowding, self focus as they want to be where they want to go and want you out of the way, irritated over pressure from living pay check to paycheck. Basically stress.

[snpdragr]

I moved from San Jose and don't really notice much of a difference. Other than you can drive faster here because there's less traffic.