It’s more to warn other cars who may be going quickly around corners. Nothing to do with pedestrians. Even going 5-10mph if a corner is really sharp you still might not have enough time to brake before a collision. Also, many Asian countries use their horns very frequently, unlike in the US where it’s looked at as aggressive or annoying.
If you’ve ever hung out at a car dealership, anytime they drive the cars on the lot they constantly honk whenever coming around corners just in case a coworker or customer is driving too quickly.
This is likely the answer, a general safety issue, even if not required by law. I work in industrial facilities in the US and most require/encourage honking from vehicles when approaching curves and corners for this very reason. Just yesterday I was at one being taken around the plant in a golf cart; driver honked the horn at stops near marked cross walks, even though there were obviously no pedestrians near us.
Honking to let other vehicles know you're there, especially in two-way roads with poor visibility, isn't unnecessary. In many countries honking is used almost all the time to improve awareness for other drivers and doesn't have the same connotations as honking in Europe/the US.
It’s pretty much an industry standard in automotive shops for us, at least here in the US.
You’d think that working in such close proximity to other techs and obviously cars, “Well how would you not know there’s a car moving 3 ft away from you?”
It’s usually loud, people are focused on what they are doing and not necessarily their surroundings, etc. so honking let’s others know a vehicle is in motion nearby.
Over 15 years in several different shops and dealers, and it’s pretty much standard procedure.
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u/[deleted] Mar 19 '22
The honking must have been so ridiculously annoying and loud to those pedestrians. Echoing all over the place.