Queen City Confidential by Anonymous

Like sirens on emergency vehicles, horns are a way for motorists to communicate with each other. But for people not encased in fast-moving metal and glass shells (a.k.a. pedestrians and cyclists) they’re incredibly loud and startling.

Sometimes, perhaps, the societal benefit of reprimanding a driver when they do something stoopid outweighs the annoyance non-motorists suffer. But many drivers these days are too quick to take offence. Just because someone intrudes on what you regard as your “open road”, you know, forcing you to take your foot off the gas for a sec or (horror of horrors!) even brake, doesn’t automatically entitle you to lay on the horn.

Then there are the A-holes. The other day I was sitting at an intersection. A car was turning left on a moderately busy cross street. Traffic was backed up a bit, and the driver ended up being overly cautious and passed up a turn opportunity.

That earned them a lengthy blast on the horn from a taxi waiting to proceed. Understandable, I suppose, except there was an innocent cyclist wedged between the taxi and turning vehicle.

I cycle, and if a dickhead motorist ever did that to me I’m not sure what I would do. So in the interests of urban harmony let’s keep horn use to a minimum, okay motorists?


Queen City Confidential is an open forum for Prairie Dog readers to anonymously share their petty rants, workplace gripes, romantic woes and complaints about friends and family. E-mail your submission to confidential@prairiedogmag.com (type CONFIDENTIAL in the subject field). Change everyone’s names and identifying details. Submissions must be 100–200 words.