Driving in New York City can be very intimidating and a task that very few people are willing to tackle. I was 16 the first time I drove in the city and found it to be somewhat invigorating. I saw it as a challenge and have never really had any hesitation about driving in this city (or any city for that matter).
My biggest complaint about NYC drivers is the incessant use of the car horn. If your foot doesn’t hit the gas pedal as soon as the light turns from red to green, you’re bound to have a horn blown in your direction. And I hear car horns all day long when the windows are open in my 4th floor office building.
I’ve recently noticed a number of signs posted at intersections that simply read: “Don’t Honk – $350 Penalty.” It got me thinking about how often these citations are handed out by the NYPD. So, I did some research and found an article that stated that the NYPD issued 580 tickets in 2006 for ‘unnecessary use of horn’; this means that just over 1.5 citations were issued per day in NYC that year.
The fine for violating Section 24-221(a) of the city code (which bans a “claxon” from being sounded “except as a sound signal of imminent danger”) started out at $50, grew to $125 when the first “Don’t Honk” signs went up in the mid-80s and is currently a wallet-emptying $350. I’m not usually a proponent of over-policing, but I just don’t understand why you take the time to put up the signs if the violation isn’t going to be enforced more regularly. And it’s of my opinion that the fine is a bit too large. Wouldn’t it be more effective to revert back to the $125 and hand them out more regularly to reduce (or eliminate) this noise pollution?
Sign on Lexington Avenue: “Don’t Honk – $350 Penalty”
My answer to your question is no and yes.
My office is on Broadway near Times Square on the eighth floor. We have one of these signs on the corner. We also have been treated to the cacophony of lovely union protesters for 2 months now….
Their protest? It has absolutely nothing to do with our office.
They have been screaming, yelling, eating, whistling, harassing, eating, harassing, using vuvuzelas, using bullhorns… and several of them sit in cars and honk their car horns. We have called the police repeatedly. I doubt very much that they have been ticketed because this has continued for 2 months, including the harassment of female workers entering and exiting the building. And by harassment I not only mean nasty suggestive comments, I mean going right up to our faces and blowing the whistles and horns an inch from our ears.
So, should we revert back to $125? No, but we should hand out fines much more often.