# Why, Oh Why, Must Drivers Holler at Pedestrians? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 18, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752 "2005-10-18T15:00:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752/21 "2005-10-18T18:59:23Z")
> [@The Weird One](#): > > Alright, but when a unfamiliar man acts rowdy, or horny, or drunk towards a woman, the woman is likely to feel threatened, whether that was the man’s intention or not. When it’s in person, that’s a good defensive mechanism. When the guy is just driving by in a car, it still triggers a similar reaction. > > I still don’t understand _why_ guys do it. Explanations would be sincerely welcome. Because some guys are assholes, and whenever an asshole has an opportunity to behave like one, they do. A lot of guys drive by you without hooting and whistling and so forth. They are not assholes. Follow one of the guys who yelled at a pedestrian around and you’ll find him treating waiters and waitresses like crap because he can, yelling at his wife, slapping his kids, and being a PHB at work. Because that’s what they are, assholes. ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752/22 "2005-10-18T19:02:19Z")
I’m certainly not above average in attractiveness[1] (overweight, funny hair, deathly pale, no fashion sense), and I get shouted at almost every time I go for a walk in town. I’m pretty sure in my case it’s mocking. I don’t like it, but it’s less creepy than if I thought they thought I was hot. [Footnote 1: At least not to the sort of person who shouts at pedestrians.] ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752/23 "2005-10-18T19:03:49Z")
I’m a guy, and I’m baffled by this phenonenon. Obviously, nobody’s going to get lucky like that. In fact, I almost think they’d be scared to act on their yellings if they got a positive response. I think it’s just a “Hey, I’m a red-blooded man! See how much I like attractive women! I’m straight, I’m tellin’ ya, STRAIGHT!” thing. Or something. Beats the heck out of me. Counterproductive, too, all this lechery. Can’t these people see they’re decreasing the overall approachability of women by doing stupid stuff like this? ---
**Author:** ![velvetjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f9b8f/32.png) [@velvetjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velvetjones)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752/24 "2005-10-18T19:12:39Z")
> [@Jackknifed Juggernaut](#): > > Here in NY, women with attractive features are bombarded by lewd comments, stares, yells and taunts. These come from drivers, construction workers, store employees, etc. The women basically learn to ignore these since they are pretty much constant. And I’ve never seen any of these guys get lucky. Not once in 7 years of working in NY and in countless years of wasting time. I wonder what would happen if they weren’t ignored. What if I’m a reasonably attractive woman and whenever I get a cat call or a whistle I smile and wave. Would that just encourage them? ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752/25 "2005-10-18T19:23:33Z")
> [@velvetjones](#): > > I wonder what would happen if they weren’t ignored. What if I’m a reasonably attractive woman and whenever I get a cat call or a whistle I smile and wave. Would that just encourage them? In my experience, yes. But ducking your head and avoiding eye-contact allows them to continue to see you as an object rather than a person. I usually stare at them, if it is a construction-site thing. I don’t smile or scowl, just maintain eye-contact. It doesn’t stop the next group of assholes, but it usually shuts that one up for a bit. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752/26 "2005-10-18T20:27:24Z")
When I was a college freshman, 1967, there was a guy two doors down in the dorm who would open his window and holler, “chicken leg” or just “leg” at a pretty girl passing by. It was pathetic, really. Here he was, out of his parents’ control for the first time in his life, and close to more pretty girls than he’d ever seen in his small town. Did he go all suave and charming? No, he turned all drooling and crude, bellowing something vaguely sexual at women 50 yards away. Wild bull moose might get away with that stuff, but he got a warning letter from the house mother. I have done a whole heap of stupid stuff, but I have never yelled out a car window at anyone I didn’t know. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752/27 "2005-10-18T20:42:54Z")
Once, when going to see the premier of Harry Potter, I may or may not have been overcome with emotions and I may or may not have shouted this at anything that vaguely resembeled a person along the street. It was sexual, but only in the way that a man can love a fictional character. As to why assholes do it to random pedestrians as a pick-up mechanism, I am equally puzzled. ---
**Author:** ![taxi78cab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47c2d/32.png) [@taxi78cab](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/taxi78cab)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752/28 "2005-10-18T20:48:37Z")
Last time it happened to me, I just turned and kinda scowled at the guys. As long as they keep going and don’t stop, it’s not really scary/threatening (to me), but it’s definitely off-putting. I like a genuine complement at much as the next person, but as others have said, being shouted at from a passing car just doesn’t feel particularly good. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2005, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752/29 "2005-10-18T21:25:02Z")
> [@Jackknifed Juggernaut](#): > > Here in NY, women with attractive features are bombarded by lewd comments, stares, yells and taunts. These come from drivers, construction workers, store employees, etc. The women basically learn to ignore these since they are pretty much constant. And I’ve never seen any of these guys get lucky. Not once in 7 years of working in NY and in countless years of wasting time. There’s a group of women in NY trying to counter this sort of aggressive behaviour. You can read about their activities, as well as stories from women who’ve been at harassed, at the [Street Harassment Project](http://www.streetharassmentproject.org/) website. Check out the “Harassment Archives” section to read women’s experiences, or even add your own to the project. > [@Jackknifed Juggernaut](#): > > The funny thing, no one seems to know anyone who would do such things. Heh heh. true enough. I guess the thing is that people tend to hang out with people who are like them. So if you’re not the sort of person who does this, chances are most of your friends won’t be either. And vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752/30 "2005-10-18T21:25:10Z")
This kind of thing has become quite rare in NZ - when it used to be common place. I remember when I was a uni student, some on-campus construction was going on and the workers did some wolf whistling and calling out, they were warned and one was fired I believe. There was a code of behaviour established and all non-students who came on campus to do work had to read it and abide by it! I wonder if it a combination of things - men unconsiously reinforcing the notion that women are public property; why esle would anyone think they have the right to comment on what a stranger looks like, be they hot or not. Also, maybe there are so few pedestrians these days that someone walking is unusual and exciting enough to warrant some kind of comment. When I was in the states, I wanted to walk everywhere but there were no footpaths and everyone stared at me - I remember Dave Barry noting this too in one of his books. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752/31 "2005-10-18T21:30:54Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I wouldn’t say no one. I’ve done it. > > I was working as a temp, and I had an assignment that was essentially construction. During our breaks, I would stand outside with the construction workers and hoot and whistle at the dames and broads right along side them. I could see myself doing it, and I knew it was wrong, but it was as if some strange force compelled me. > > It was really weird. You had a need to belong to the pack. It’s human nature. That’s how the Nazi’s got away with everything they did, no one wanted to be the odd man out. Godwin? Paging Dr. Godwin? ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752/32 "2005-10-18T21:47:48Z")
> [@SusanStoHelit](#): > > I almost always get yelled at by cars full of guys. Then they high-five each other as they drive off. IMO, a situation like that is not done to pay me a compliment or brighten my world, but to show the pack how alpha you are. > > I could be completely wrong, though. It’s mostly a gut reaction. If any other women feel the same, I would appreciate hearing from them. I’m with Susan on this. I still remember the incident where naive little old me was a sophomore in high school (read: very underage) and got honked at by some trucker when I was tying my shoelace. :rolleyes: (Then there was the time that some cretins decided (instead of honking or yelling) to hit me with a Super Soaker at the bus stop. If I’d been thinking, I could have grabbed the gun and done in the guy’s face, they were driving that slow, but unfortunately not. They thought it was all great fun and drove off hooting. Cretins.) ---
**Author:** ![kimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752/33 "2005-10-18T22:57:01Z")
I had a guy yell out “Nice hair!” at me two weeks ago while I was waiting for the bus. I smiled and waved back at him. When people are offering genuine compliments then I don’t care if they yell them at me out of cars. On the other hand, I’ve had a car full of guys slow to a crawl next to me while I was walking down the street. The guys tried to pick me up with some of the cheesiest, most insulting pickups I have ever heard. When I encounter guys like that I flick them off and tell them to “Suck my dick, bitches!” The ones I hate are the ones where you don’t know what sort of message they were trying to convey. You are walking by a busy rode and a car honks at you. A friend? Most of the time, the car moves to fast to see. Someone trying to pick you up? Are you supposed to write down the plate numbers and track them down? ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752/34 "2005-10-18T23:15:42Z")
> [@kimera](#): > > I had a guy yell out “Nice hair!” at me two weeks ago while I was waiting for the bus. I smiled and waved back at him. When people are offering genuine compliments then I don’t care if they yell them at me out of cars. Absolutely. I had a convertible pull up next to me once with a guy in his mid-40s and tell me I was a goddess. He didn’t try to stop his car or get out or ask for my phone number, just smiled, shook his head, and drove off. Now, he was easily 20+ years older than me, and in most circumstances I would have found it creepy. But he seemed to be genuinely taken with me and made it sound sincere enough that I was flattered rather than threatened. > [@kimera](#): > > The ones I hate are the ones where you don’t know what sort of message they were trying to convey. You are walking by a busy rode and a car honks at you. A friend? Most of the time, the car moves to fast to see. Someone trying to pick you up? Are you supposed to write down the plate numbers and track them down? Didn’t Seinfeld have a routine about this? (Paraphrased) What is the girl supposed to do? Take off her pumps and run down the street after him, yelling, “I didn’t know you felt that way!” ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752/35 "2005-10-19T02:42:16Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Well, I’m a 36 year old male and I always have people yelling at me while I’m jogging. Very annoying. > > I don’t hear it often any more, but I used to have people singing the theme from Rocky when I would come running down the street. Rocky was a boxer, not a runner. Didn’t the movie have long montages of him jogging to get in shape while the theme played over and over? I hate guys who do this. I usually just end up flipping them off. ---
**Author:** ![stringy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@stringy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stringy)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752/36 "2005-10-19T03:05:03Z")
I hate it when I get yelled at by guys as I’m walking down the street. Or stared at on the train. It’s intimidating, and never happens when I’m with friends or my partner, only when I’m alone. Some random yelling at you, commenting on your appearance, does _not_ feel like a compliment. And I know I’m not super-attractive, although there’s nothing wrong with me either. But apparently a woman by herself is fair game. I’ve even had one group of guys complain about the size of my breasts - hey, I didn’t grow them just for you, mate! I’m puzzled by the dog-walking comments the OP had though - very strange. I do know a handful of people who seemingly can’t have a thought without saying it out loud (makes watching movies with them very annoying), maybe the driver was one of those. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752/37 "2005-10-19T15:21:30Z")
I gotcha all beat. . . I was walking home once in Baltimore (carry a six pack) and two men drove up next to me. “Where you going with that beer?” (dismissively) “Home.” “I’ll lick your asshole.” :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752/38 "2005-10-19T16:30:37Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > I gotcha all beat. . . > > I was walking home once in Baltimore (carry a six pack) and two men drove up next to me. > > “Where you going with that beer?” > > (dismissively) “Home.” > > “I’ll lick your asshole.” > > :eek: Hmmm, that must have been some really good beer. Natty Boh perhaps? 🙂 I don’t yell out of the car when I pass an attractive woman, but I DO notice them and I often remark to myself (or whoever else is in the car) about them. One of my friends just honks the horn as he goes past an attractive woman. 😕 Anytime a group of guys are hanging out, any passing of, or by an attractive woman is cause (IMHO) to raise the elbowing/nudging/head-nodding alert. I consider that sort of thing harmless. Sort of like, “Hey check out that 'Vette at the light, that is one sweet car.” or “Check out the redhead at the bar, damn she’s hot.” Yelling out, or daring your friends to otherwise make asses out of themselves is crossing a line though. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752/39 "2005-10-19T18:45:09Z")
> [@Lissa](#): > > SNIP > > Last evening, I took the dog for a walk to the park. “Yep, walkin’ your dog!” someone at a stopsign said, apparently feeling the need to pause and roll down his window to share this astute observation before driving on. > > SNIP Hmmmm. My favorite one was “Hey, you wouldn’t be so fscking fat if you didn’t eat so Ogdamned much!” Well, damn. I had no idea why I was 300 pounds. I am GLAD the pimply-faced kid in the green 12-year-old Honda Civic decided to offer that bit of wisdom to me. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752/40 "2005-10-19T19:01:29Z")
“Hey Malkovich! Think fast!” I’ve been yelled at for crossing the road, with the light; I’ve been yelled at for walking down the sidewalk; heck, I’ve even had a can thrown at me from the street while I was sitting at a beer garden once. I’m sure it’s just a minority of drivers, but they’re a particularly pernecious bunch; they’re like the motorboaters and jet-skiers who deliberately try to swamp you and otherwise harass you when you’re paddling a kayak out of a port. People are just jerks. Not all of the, but enough that we should probably wipe out the lot of them wholesale and start all over…maybe with pandas. 😛 I knew, and occasionally had to share a ride with guys who did this sort of thing in high school. “Hey baby! Why don’t you come and sit on my \_\_\_\_\_,” as if _that_ is ever going to work. :rolleyes: Yet another reason to keep my face buried in a book. Stranger [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-oh-why-must-drivers-holler-at-pedestrians/326752.md?page=3)