You were a learner once too!

A question: What to drivers expect to happen when they beep their horn at learner drivers? Do the owners of the horn really think that the driver of the car in front has (a) fallen asleep at the wheel (b) is colour blind and does know the difference between red and green lights, or (c) needs to be told when to move off.

What actually happens is the learner gets upset at holding up the traffic, forgets all that has been thought to them about moving off from busy junctions/lights etc. There foot usually either freezes to the clutch pedal or leaps off the clutch pedal causing the car to stall. They then proceed to handbrake, neutral, put car back into first and try again to move off with great difficulty and embarrassment.

In fact all that the owner of the horn has achieved is to delay traffic even further.

Now god forbid that poor learner is sitting on a hill (example: Hill Street Bridge, Dundalk) The chances of the pupil ever moving off once beeped at is slim or none. they are so terrified of rolling back onto the horn owner that they refuse to take their foot off the clutch resulting in the instructor in having to use the dual controls and reassuring the pupil that it was not their fault.

So to all horn users out there, look at the car in front, and if it has "L" plates on it or a giant cone on the roof then the changes are that there is a learner driver in tow. Give them a change and we will all get there in the end.