Horn Vs. Brake

[scooterwolf]

One of the things I've trained myself to do is to cover my horn. I do this whenever I'm passing a car that has the potential of making an unexpected left turn in front of me, while I eye their front left wheel for any signs of a change in direction.

It's muscle memory for me at this point, and I'm actually surprised how quickly my thumb will react in hitting my horn in emergency situations. It's both saved and has gotten me out of a lot of close calls.

A few days ago a SUV cut into my lane on a four lane highway. I was in a center lane and they were in the cruising lane on the far right. It was during rush hour and the flow of traffic was about 60 mph. When the car swerved into my lane my thumb instantly hit my horn button followed my both my hands going for my brake levers. In the time this took the SUV swerved back into their lane on hearing my horn, allowing me to stop myself from grabbing my brakes in a full panic stop which could've had the potential of casing a lock up and low side crash.

The horn gave me the time I needed to access the situation and make the decision not to panic fully.

Does anyone else favor their horn to the point of it's a reflex, or have you had other experiences where the brakes are your first response, and done so in a controlled way?

- Wolf