I have appreciated the suggestion because it has caused me to notice things that I might not otherwise observe. Turning smells into word pictures exceeds my capacity for description, but let me try to transform some of the sounds into words. My first reaction in Tibet, when I heard the constant honking of our Chinese driver, was that this was some kind of ethnic commentary by a Han Chinese man in regard to the local Tibetans. Since then I have come to realize that drivers do that everywhere regardless of the identity of the parties involved. Conditions vary somewhat, from the taxi driver who honked about once every seven seconds to another who did an entire trip from downtown to the university with only about three beeps.
Some drivers honk every time they come up behind another vehicle or a person on a bicycle.
Since the roads are full of people at all hours, this theory calls for almost constant horn exercise. Apparently the overriding rule of the road, after You should at least slow down when you see a traffic light, is Get where you want to go by the most direct means possible combined with Size, horsepower, and chutzpah prevail. Sometimes this means driving on the left rather than the right for a stretch, sometimes using the bicycle lane, sometimes turning a corner in a motion that doesn t match with any system I have been familiar with in the past. There IS one good reason for honking-people walk around without the slightest glance at the traffic. They often wander out into the street, or stroll across, or stand and chat with a friend without any regard for bicycles or automobiles, not to mention trucks and buses.