Ode to the Car Horn

A horn is a wonderful thing. Now that I think about it, I didn’t use mine nearly enough when I was driving in the United States. Really only to honk at friends passing by. Oh boy, did I miss out.

After a few months of being here, I think that I’ve finally gotten the hang of the different beeps here in Honduras. So in case you ever come to visit me and have to drive, here is a short lesson.

One short beep = Hey person in front of me. I am now going to pass you even though we are going up hill at 90 kph and there are some sharp curves in the road. I know that I am putting all the passengers in our cars at risk but at least I’m giving you fair warning.

Two short beeps = Hey person stopped in the middle of the road. I don’t know if you realize this, but you are stalled in the middle of the street. So I’m just going to beep and let you know that you’re blocking traffic. Oh, it’s the gringa. Maybe she doesn’t know the rules of the road…maybe we should double beep again.

One medium beep = Hey gringa driving the 15-passenger van full of kids. I know that you’re learning to drive stick and that you’re car says Jericho Ministries so I’m trying to be patient with the fact that you’re stalling every 3 feet. But I’ve got things to do and places to be, so hurry it up a bit or I’m going to have to go around you and make three lanes in this street instead of two and that’s not going to be pretty.

One long beep = This is a good time to close the windows, lock the doors and not look in the rear-view mirror because now all the “semi-patient” drivers are annoyed because you’ve cut them off, or broken a traffic rule that only you have to follow because you’re the newbie. It is also a good time to switch drivers.


Ok, so maybe I have a tendency to exaggerate a little. But sometimes I do honestly believe that these are the thoughts going through the heads of my fellow drivers. One will never know.