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Gothamist Asks NYC Drivers: WHY ARE YOU HONKING?
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Apr 30, 2018
Modified Apr 30, 2018
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Apr 30, 2018
Modified Apr 30, 2018
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Shakespeare's Macbeth famously described the noise of New York City drivers' honking as tales "told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
From the hatchback's tinniest toot to the 18-wheeler's flatulent shock wave to the guy in a black SUV blocking the crosswalk HONKING so they can make a left turn to HONK get out of the HONK way of the cars multiplying HONK behind HOOOOOONK them, we New Yorkers have come to accept horn honking as a jaw-clenching, ear-splitting, fact of life. But why?
Gothamist sent video provocateur Jeff Seal to one of Manhattan's loudest cauldrons of rage—a few blocks from the entrance of the Holland Tunnel—to ask drivers the question on every helpless pedestrian's mind: why are you honking?
We also spoke with Dr. Arline Bronzaft, an environmental psychologist who has been studying noise in New York City for more than four decades, to try and understand how street noise affects your health, and why the city no longer enforces its $350 penalty for unnecessary honking.
You can watch more of Jeff Seal's videos here, but we suggest that you not emulate the practice of wandering out into traffic and interviewing enraged motorists.
Tagged
jeff seal
original
noise pollution
vision zero
noise
honking
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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