Not REALLY about Bikes, but Kinda

[Jeffery Raymond]

Driving in the 'ol Bus this afternoon, I encountered 2 bicyclists wandering down the middle of, well, MY lane on a pleasant Sunday morning taking in the beauty of Florida's lush green countryside, apparently exuberant from their sojourn into the countryside.

Ah, the wonders of nature. Of course, driving a 52,500 pound bus and coming on one of these guys (who pulled out in front of me), I paused and wondered, gosh, we're both traveling the same road, enjoying much of the same things, I just have, well, a few more wheels and a little more weight.

The first decision point here is to think to myself, "If I blew the horn that would be inappropriate use of the horn, might scare the guy."

And then there is the, well 'other' thought that we have sometimes.

Any guidance from fellow POG'ers?

[Jerry Winchester]

Well the horn would be a useful item depending on what you wanted the outcome to be.

Case in point. We had a problem with deer on the road and our company trucks hitting them causing lots of damage to the trucks. Shop foreman says, "Hey, lets put those whistle things on the bumpers to warn the deer and they will stay our of our way". Well after we install the deer whistles, the deer strike rate almost doubles. Seems the deer who had been grazing on the side of the road were startled by the whistle and jumped up and ran across the road in front of the trucks.

I always think about that before I honk the horn, especially an air horn. Some moron gets startled, turns the wrong way or swerves and smack. But I almost always reward the guy who thinks he can just merge in front of me with his brakes on (causing me to rearrange the inside of the coach) with a honk of the horn. Makes me wish I had a train horn.......

[ken&ellen]

I agree...tap the ole air horn. Some folks just need a little extra encouragement to motivate them. Reminds me of a story my wife told me. At the end of Oct 2005 I was in an ambulance, heart attack, and my wife was following in our car. The ambulance was running a full compliment of lights, sirens, and the full strengh air horns....yet the young lady in her Honda would not give way to the approaching ambulance!!! After several blasts from the air horns, again, the young lady pulled over, but gave a look of disgust as the rig pulled by. Music too loud? Cell phone? Not paying attention? Honk!