# Is getting beeped at in the West a huge insult? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 24, 2012, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193 "2012-07-24T01:21:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193/61 "2012-07-24T19:32:29Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Yeah but guess which one always gets the ticket? > > Hint: It’s not the dead guy I just ran over. Yeah. Lucky bastard. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193/62 "2012-07-24T20:12:42Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > What were you wearing? Dancing shoes. Girl’s gotta eat. [Just passing through](http://whitneym49.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/obvious-troll.jpg)… ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193/63 "2012-07-24T20:16:49Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Yeah but guess which one always gets the ticket? > > Hint: It’s not the dead guy I just ran over. Answer: I’ve personally seen more than one jaywalker, including an injured one, receive a citation. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193/64 "2012-07-24T20:27:43Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Answer: I’ve personally seen more than one jaywalker, including an injured one, receive a citation. Do you think that the county will give you the citation money to offset the increase in one’s insurance? ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193/65 "2012-07-24T20:33:11Z")
> [@BMax](#): > > Don’t go to Indonesia. The first question on an Indonesian driver’s exam is “Where is the horn?” How long have you lived in Indonesia, and in what region? I’ve lived in Jakarta for a total of 12 years, and that doesn’t match my experience _at all_, at least not without a significant qualification. It is true that drivers will often give a friendly beep when rounding a blind corner, but the purpose is not to express impatience or anger, it is to be sure that the person who might be around the corner knows that you’re coming. With the incredibly narrow “jalan tikus” (literally, mouse streets) that pass for roads once you get off the main drag, it’s a helpful behavior. I’ve never heard excessive horn usage anywhere I’ve traveled in Indonesia, but I haven’t been everywhere across the archipelago. Maybe Bataks use their horns more generously? ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193/66 "2012-07-24T20:41:51Z")
This reminded me of a bit from Dave Barry: [QUOTE=Dave Barry] The driver was also careful to observe the strict New York City Vehicle Horn Code, under which it is illegal to honk your horn except to communicate one of the following emergency messages: 1. The light is green. 2. The light is red. 3. I hate you. 4. This vehicle is equipped with a horn. [/quote] ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193/67 "2012-07-24T21:10:00Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > If you think a car horn is an insult, you should stay out of New York City. It’s considered nice if all they do is honk. I really admired that about NYC. I was living in Minnesota the first time I visited Manhattan, and the naked aggression was so refreshing after living with the highly passive-aggressive Minnesotans. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193/68 "2012-07-24T21:24:03Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Do you think that the county will give you the citation money to offset the increase in one’s insurance? Huh? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193/69 "2012-07-24T23:07:00Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Due to the extreme lack of zebras in the “West” there almost no places for Zebras to cross streets legally. Assuming you are a zebra, I can understand your dilemma and I do think the driver was probably being a bit rude. But generally getting beeped at is not a black and white issue. And here I thought America accommodated people of all stripes. ---
**Author:** ![Uber\_the\_Goober](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/58956e/32.png) [@Uber\_the\_Goober](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uber_the_Goober)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193/70 "2012-07-24T23:29:30Z")
Sometimes men honk at pretty women. To get their attention, make them look their way, give a wink and a nod, or just to exert some kind of dominance. Are you a pretty woman? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193/71 "2012-07-24T23:45:28Z")
> [@Uber\_the\_Goober](#): > > Sometimes men honk at pretty women. To get their attention, make them look their way, give a wink and a nod, or just to exert some kind of dominance. > > Are you a pretty woman? Well she was walking down the street. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193/72 "2012-07-25T00:18:14Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Huh? If a motorist hits a jaywalker, even if the jaywalker is cited, the motorist will still likely take an insurance hit. At least that is true in my state. The insurance companies jack up the rate at almost any infraction, regardless of fault. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193/73 "2012-07-25T00:48:42Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Answer: I’ve personally seen more than one jaywalker, including an injured one, receive a citation. Are you from California, or is there more than one state that doesn’t view street-crossing as a sport? (When I got a position in California, every person I met from the east coast warned me not to jay walk, and every person from California asked if people _really_ crossed against the light back east. They couldn’t fathom that people would just wander out into the street mid-block. Weird.) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193/74 "2012-07-25T00:52:14Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > If a motorist hits a jaywalker, even if the jaywalker is cited, the motorist will still likely take an insurance hit. At least that is true in my state. The insurance companies jack up the rate at almost any infraction, regardless of fault. That’s why, if you’re the driver, you better roll back and forth over them a couple of times, to be sure they can’t ID you. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193/75 "2012-07-25T02:15:40Z")
> [@Uber\_the\_Goober](#): > > Sometimes men honk at pretty women. To get their attention, make them look their way, give a wink and a nod, or just to exert some kind of dominance. > > Are you a pretty woman? > [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > Well she was walking down the street. Singing do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do! ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193/76 "2012-07-25T02:37:00Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Are you from California, or is there more than one state that doesn’t view street-crossing as a sport? > > (When I got a position in California, every person I met from the east coast warned me not to jay walk, and every person from California asked if people _really_ crossed against the light back east. They couldn’t fathom that people would just wander out into the street mid-block. This doesn’t conform to my experience of California at all; at least, not the major cities. I live in San Diego, visit Los Angeles and San Francisco quite frequently, and also visit places like San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz, San Jose, Monterey and others on a less regular basis, and i see people jaywalking all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193/77 "2012-07-25T03:37:27Z")
Alternate reality department! I live in San Diego, and I almost never see people jaywalking! (And, when I do, they are often shambling street lunatics…) ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193/78 "2012-07-25T03:39:32Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I live in San Diego, visit Los Angeles and San Francisco quite frequently, If you lived in L.A., you wouldn’t make a habit of jaywalking. The traffic cops actively ticket for that. The cops in San Diego (and in the Bay Area), however, don’t. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193/79 "2012-07-25T03:55:56Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > If you lived in L.A., you wouldn’t make a habit of jaywalking. The traffic cops actively ticket for that. > > The cops in San Diego (and in the Bay Area), however, don’t. It was LA., but in my experience nowhere is California is as bad as back east. I have had people punch my car when I had a green light. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193/80 "2012-07-25T04:20:14Z")
> [@j666](#): > > It was LA., but in my experience nowhere is California is as bad as back east. I have had people punch my car when I had a green light. The pedestrian issue is not about courtesy here. It’s simply about the motorcycle cops, who apparently are trained to pay close attention to jaywalking, and cite it. (Regular cops in cruisers won’t bother to ticket you, though.) As for courtesy–people won’t punch your car. But motorists will drive like assholes when they are in similar traffic conditions, such as in downtown L.A.. at certain times. The only real difference is that L.A. doesn’t have such a huge area that obtains those conditions, so most people don’t experience it. I did, when I drove taxi here. I saw just about all the traffic conditions that can occur. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-getting-beeped-at-in-the-west-a-huge-insult/629193.md?page=5)