Image: Shutterstock/> To an Indian driver, honking feels like invincibility but this illusion of invincible power causes speeding, accidents and deaths. Even the smallest bike can blast through blocked traffic with a loud-enough horn. The deafening horn compounds the effects of other dangerous-driving behaviours like lane-cutting, jumping signals and drunk-driving. It lets us believe we can drive faster, weave in and out of traffic with impunity. We assume that the person ahead should move when he hears us coming. When he doesn’t, we are aggrieved, and blast him with an even longer bout of the horn. Although noise pollution from honking adversely affects physical and mental health and aggravates road rage, honking is not perceived as a violation of the law.