train horn

[runaway parents]

So a while back I  announced I got a train horn for x mas got a lot of opinions about train horns on trucks a few of you old geezers out there didn't think it was appropriate might startle them might wake them up while they are asleep at the wheel maybe they might spill there Geri tall while drinking and driving . Oh yes lets not forget the younger generation the ones that swerve all over the road texting. After dealing with a lot of these kinds of drivers maybe they should have the crap scared out of them so they will pay more attention to the road .Finally decided enough was enough the horn was sitting on a shelf in the garage since x mas. Truck got a new train horn yesterday. Old geezers and texters  beware. .Better have a extra set of depends on board. do something stupid and you will have the crap scared out of you .

 

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

LOL.

I have 3 horns on the truck...

The factory electric "City" horn which is the nice little nudge that says "the light turned green let's go".

The factory air horn which sounds like the Road Runner from the cartoons.  "Meep Meep"... Use this horn and people laugh at the truck...

And then the train horn, or the cheap plastic facsimile of it, works great and is LOUD.  Generally used in heavy traffic when the car next to me is coming over into my lane and I can't see the bumper of it... It's the general warning that "I'm bigger than you and you're about to do something stupid.  Shut up/ stop texting/put your pizza down and drive" horn.

[I'mdonewiththis forum]

I have a smaller version of a train horn on my LGT. It is rated at 150db at 150 psi. I am only running about 120 psi but I can tell you that I have scared the crap out of a few with it. One woman decided she HAD to get out in front of me and do almost 10 MPH under the speed limit (35 mph). She just about unscrewed her head when I hit the horn!

[alan0043]

2 minutes ago, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

LOL.

I have 3 horns on the truck...

The factory electric "City" horn which is the nice little nudge that says "the light turned green let's go".

The factory air horn which sounds like the Road Runner from the cartoons.  "Meep Meep"... Use this horn and people laugh at the truck...

And then the train horn, or the cheap plastic facsimile of it, works great and is LOUD.  Generally used in heavy traffic when the car next to me is coming over into my lane and I can't see the bumper of it... It's the general warning that "I'm bigger than you and you're about to do something stupid.  Shut up/ stop texting/put your pizza down and drive" horn.

Hi Everyone,

I like Jim's statement. " Shut up/ stop texting/put your pizza down and drive" horn." I thought I was going to choke on my coffee. LOL. I wish I had a train horn on my newer truck. On my older truck the train horn saved me from being cut off in the pouring down rain with a gray colored car with no lights on.

Al

 

[jkoenig24]

Are there some states where train horns are illegal on HDTs?

[gjhunter01]

If your loud horn causes someone to have an accident, a lawyer will soon own your rig.

Greg

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

4 hours ago, gjhunter01 said:

If your loud horn causes someone to have an accident, a lawyer will soon own your rig.

Greg

 

I believe that the dash and side cameras will show the truth that I was trying to avoid an accident where I was the victim of someone else not paying attention.  

[Ronbo]

5 hours ago, gjhunter01 said:

If your loud horn causes someone to have an accident, a lawyer will soon own your rig.

Greg

Do you have any evidence of this?

[Big5er]

7 hours ago, gjhunter01 said:

If your loud horn causes someone to have an accident, a lawyer will soon own your rig.

Greg

I'm with Ron on this one. Exactly how can MY horn cause YOU to have an accident? If YOU are driving, YOU should be aware and in control of your vehicle. The 18 wheeler next to you having a blow out is loud and sudden but as long as the tire or vehicle doesn't come into your lane, it can not "cause" you to have an accident unless YOU fail to control your own vehicle. The baby in the back seat suddenly filling the floorboard with vomit, can not "cause" you to have an accident. Any outside factor, that does not physically interfere with you, your vehicle or it's path, can not "cause" YOU to have an accident. Things happen all around us as we drive. We need to be prepared for "stuff" to happen and control our vehicles accordingly. 

Sorry, but if a loud horn goes off and you have an accident, YOU are the cause of that accident. There is no "it scared me" defense when YOU cause an accident.  

[gjhunter01]

If a sudden loud horn scares another driver and causes a fatal accident, a good lawyer would be all over that case. Remember the famous Mac Donalds case where the woman won 10 ML for spilling too hot coffee on her lap?? You shouldn't try scaring other drivers on the road in the name of teaching them a lesson, defensive driving is a better action. I disagree with Big5er, in that misuse of a loud horn could be considered road rage (or the beginning of a road rage incident) and some states have laws against that.

A train horn being used near an unsuspecting vehicle on a highway would send most drivers into a panic. It's the reason train horns have a unique sound.

Greg

[BlueLghtning]

1 hour ago, gjhunter01 said:

If a sudden loud horn scares another driver and causes a fatal accident, a good lawyer would be all over that case. Remember the famous Mac Donalds case where the woman won 10 ML for spilling too hot coffee on her lap?? You shouldn't try scaring other drivers on the road in the name of teaching them a lesson, defensive driving is a better action. I disagree with Big5er, in that misuse of a loud horn could be considered road rage (or the beginning of a road rage incident) and some states have laws against that.

A train horn being used near an unsuspecting vehicle on a highway would send most drivers into a panic. It's the reason train horns have a unique sound.

Greg

The McDonalds case is a poor argument in this case. It seems silly, but McDonalds actually kept their coffe about 30-40 degrees hotter than any other restaurant served it and thus it was proven that difference in temp causes substantially more risk for severe burns and that was why McDonalds was found at fault. Over the 10 years prior to this, they had hundreds of cases against them where they continually refused to reduce the temp of their coffe which basically led up to this one that became so famous. And actually, that lady didn't even walk away with 10mil, not even 1 mil. She originally only wanted $20k, but they went to trail. She was awareded $160k from the judge and about $480k in punitive damage.

Reading bits
- http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm
- http://segarlaw.com/blog/myths-and-facts-of-the-mcdonalds-hot-coffee-case/

With that said, a train horn specifically used to scare people like you sometimes see in videos could probably get you in trouble if someone wanted to persue it, but if someone was just using it to protect themselves, I think a laywer would have a hard time proving it was the cause of the accident if the person was already doing something stupid like not paying attention or texting and driving. 

Air horns in HDT aren't exactly quiet either so trying to say a train horn is more distracting then a just a loud air horn? 
- 

[noteven]

One time I was riding my bike and a train blew it's train horn which caused me to look over and wave Howdy to the head end crew and they waved back. I had my dark visor on at the time. 

[WeBeFulltimers]

19 hours ago, jkoenig24 said:

Are there some states where train horns are illegal on HDTs?

I drove professionally from 1990 until 2010 and train horns were illegal during that time on commercial vehicles.  FEDERAL law not state. Those drivers that had them tried to conceal them somewhere inside the frame.

[gjhunter01]

In Defensive Driving courses, it is taught that using a horn in a traffic situation is considered aggressive driving and is on the same order as giving another driver the finger. The general public has a dislike of big trucks and responsible truck drivers should refrain from doing stupid actions to further the big truck disdain. If a big truck is involved in an accident, they will face extra scrutiny for fault. There is a reason commercial truck drivers pay $15k in yearly insurance, in great part due to their exposure to lawsuits. If you drive a HDT, you are member of the commercial drivers group in most public’s eye, don’t add to their problems.

.

Greg

[Shawn Patterson]

Michigan law is all I am versed in... Now what the definition of "unreasonably loud" is would be up to a judge or prosecutor.

MICHIGAN VEHICLE CODE (EXCERPT)
Act 300 of 1949

257.706 Horn or other warning device; siren, whistle, air horn, or bell; theft alarm signal device.

Sec. 706.

(a) A motor vehicle, including a motorcycle or moped, when operated upon a highway shall be equipped with a horn in good working order and capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than 200 feet but a horn or other warning device shall not emit an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or a whistle. The driver of a motor vehicle shall when reasonably necessary to insure safe operation give audible warning with his horn but shall not otherwise use the horn when upon a highway.

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

My horns are loud enough to get your attention when your driving highway speeds, with your windows up, radio on, and talking on your phone.  All trucks have air horns.  There is a difference in the air horns we can buy on Amazon that are called "Train Horns", and true train horns.  Kinda like a boat horn, and a Kahlenburg Ship Fog Horn.

 

[VegasFlyer]

15 hours ago, gjhunter01 said:

If a sudden loud horn scares another driver and causes a fatal accident, a good lawyer would be all over that case. Remember the famous Mac Donalds case where the woman won 10 ML for spilling too hot coffee on her lap?? You shouldn't try scaring other drivers on the road in the name of teaching them a lesson, defensive driving is a better action. I disagree with Big5er, in that misuse of a loud horn could be considered road rage (or the beginning of a road rage incident) and some states have laws against that.

A train horn being used near an unsuspecting vehicle on a highway would send most drivers into a panic. It's the reason train horns have a unique sound.

Greg

The reason a train horn is loud, has nothing to do with being unique.  They are loud so that they can be heard from a longer distance because a train at operating speed takes such a greater distance to stop than an automobile.

While it is true that anyone can bring a suit against anyone for anything, you would be hard pressed to ever find a LEO charging someone for using any sort of horn to wake up another driver who was not paying attention or someone who was doing something stupid.

If you want to go down rabbit holes regarding altering your life on the premise of not being sued, you probably don't want to be driving one of these large death machines, because there is no reason for a normal person to have something that large on the road for non commercial reasons and if you had not been driving such a huge vehicle, thier client would not have been so effected that they can no longer drive, work or function. 

As to the mention of the use of a horn being considered aggressive driving, that is only a portion of the story.  The elements of most state's aggressive driving laws involve multiple acts by the driver, namely DRIVING in an aggressive manner.  If you follow another vehicle, a few feet off thier bumper at normal driving speeds, while honking your train horn or racing in front of another driver and pulling into thier lane and brake checking them, while blowing your train horn, yes, you will get a ticket and in some states go to jail.  However, it was not because you were blowing a train horn.  The same result would occur if you were blowing a cazoo while doing any of those actions.

[Big5er]

15 hours ago, gjhunter01 said:

.I disagree with Big5er, in that misuse of a loud horn could be considered road rage (or the beginning of a road rage incident) and some states have laws against that.

Greg

Sorry Greg, but I never said anything about "mis" use of a train horn. You need to learn to read without inserting things into the topic that are not there. In your first post you didn't say anything about "mis" use either. Stop changing the facts to suit your argument.

[gjhunter01]

On Sunday, May 7, 2017 at 8:05 AM, runaway parents said:

So a while back I  announced I got a train horn for x mas got a lot of opinions about train horns on trucks a few of you old geezers out there didn't think it was appropriate might startle them might wake them up while they are asleep at the wheel maybe they might spill there Geri tall while drinking and driving . Oh yes lets not forget the younger generation the ones that swerve all over the road texting. After dealing with a lot of these kinds of drivers maybe they should have the crap scared out of them so they will pay more attention to the road .Finally decided enough was enough the horn was sitting on a shelf in the garage since x mas. Truck got a new train horn yesterday. Old geezers and texters  beware. .Better have a extra set of depends on board. do something stupid and you will have the crap scared out of you .

 

Hey Big5er, did you read the OP's post, that is classic misuse of a horn., and scary he drives and thinks that way.

Greg

[Big5er]

LOL, that is not even close to what I call "scary" but your post said you disagreed with ME, not the OP. And misuse of the horn is almost impossible to prove unless you see it first hand. The driver is going to say he was honking at "something" due to a perceived hazard. Prove otherwise.

And I still say that someone honking at anything, can not "cause" you to have an accident. That would be your own poor driving skills causing the accident. "I got startled" is not an excuse to lose control of a vehicle. 

[runaway parents]

Ok so first things first I do not use my air horn to complain it is used  strictly for self defense. If you think I am going to let some one possibly endanger my family buy driving like an idiot and I can prevent a collision with them by blowing my air horn   I am going to blow it till it runs out of air! Road  rage I don't think so. You don't know me well enough to make that kind of judgment.  Big5r you seem to be a strait up kind of guy like to meet you someday. Thanks for the backup. When I posted this topic it was ment to be funny .But instead I got described as a driver that blows his horn at every thing that moves and full of road rage. this is far from the truth. gi hunter you might try to get to know someone before you pass judgment!

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

2 minutes ago, runaway parents said:

 I am going to blow it till it runs out of air!

 

Tried it... the truck compressor kept up just enough to keep the brakes working and the horn sounding like a drunk trumpeter.....

[runaway parents]

8 hours ago, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

Tried it... the truck compressor kept up just enough to keep the brakes working and the horn sounding like a drunk trumpeter.....

Good to know this because I would not want to sound like a drunk trumpeter  coming down the road might startle someone  lol

[rickeieio]

1 hour ago, runaway parents said:

Good to know this because I would not want to sound like a drunk trumpeter  coming down the road might startle someone  lol

I now have the task of cleaning coffee from my screen............

[gjhunter01]

Sounds like some HDT drivers need the big trucks to haul their egos around.

Greg