on the horn and other questions

Fuinseog

what is the best way to react if someone behind starts honking the horn, i.e at traffic lights?
it is difficult to just ignore and very off putting.


what about when someone is directly on your rear? slow down? turn on hazards?
it I am on a hill and someone is less than a metre away from my rear and I roll back, who is to blame?

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

_Conrad_

You really do have to ignore them, it's difficult i know, but i'm assuming you've got L plates up.... they're there as an indication/warning that you're not entirely up to scratch and only learning so other drivers are ment to take note of that and be cautious around you as you may do something stupid or unexpected, but a lot of people are ignorant pr*cks and will continue to be, so they'll try and bully you or intimidate you. You really do just have to try to ignore them.


As for if someone's driving too close to you, taking any actions like putting your hazard lights on or slowing down isn't recommended, it'll probably make the person behind you worse, and in the case of braking when they're behind you, make it more likely they'll crash into you.
If it's really bothering you or making you scared or nervous then maybe find a safe place to turn off the road or pull in and let them past if it's safe to do that. indicating well in advance of course.
If someone's driving really aggressively behind you in a dangerous fashion, take their reg and report them to the gards. Nothing may come of it, but with a bit of luck they'll be pulled for speeding later and will have already had a bad report about them ;-)


In the case of rolling back, if you're worried about it practice hill starts a lot, and know what to do if the car starts to roll back. IF the handbrake is working properly it'll stop you pretty damn quick if you're rolling back on a hill.
From a rear world perspective it's both people's fault, theirs for stopping too close and yours for not being in control of your car, but i've know people claim the person behind them rear ended them, as if you hit another car from behind you're pretty much automaticly blamed, but DO NOT rely on that because you still need to be in control of your own car.

Valmont

During my very first lesson I flipped off a woman beeping behind me as I felt that one stall was not enough to warrant a beep.

Despite the satisfaction, my instructor advised against me ever doing it again during our lessons. After a few hours on the road over the weeks, I hardly noticed anyone beeping. If I stalled I simply took my time, relaxed, and got going in my own time.

I found that once I was considering holding up traffic behind me, my nerves went to pieces and it took even longer.

Sparkie93

i hate it when people beep at you its really inconsiderate when i was on my third lesson with my instuctor i stalled at the traffic lights (lol iforgot to go back to first gear) and this guy behind me started beeping and putting his fist out the window he just made me stall again twice
lol whats the point he just ended up waiting longer