💬 Every time I fly home from Jeddah, the honking is the first thing that hits me

Every time I fly home from Jeddah, it's the honking that gets me first. Before the heat, before the food. Last trip, in the cab from Shamshabad, the driver honked 63 times before Mehdipatnam. I counted. I was bored. Most of them were for nothing. Signal turns green, honk. Car in front is already moving, honk. Empty road, honk. I asked him why. He said, habit, sir. At least he was honest about it. In Jeddah people honk too, don't get me wrong. Saudi drivers are not shy. But it's a different kind. There it's angry and rare. Here it's constant, like a background noise everyone has stopped hearing. After 3 days at home I stopped noticing too. That's what scared me a bit. My mother lives near a junction and says she can't sleep before midnight because of it. My nephew, who's 19 and just got his licence, honks more than the cab driver did. I asked him why too. He said if you don't honk, people think you're not there. I didn't have an answer to that. Maybe that's how it works now. Everyone honks so nobody hears it, so everyone honks louder. The horn has turned into a way of saying hello, I exist, don't hit me. Is it getting worse, or have I just been away too long? People living there, tell me straight. I'm not trying to be the NRI who comes home and complains about everything. I love the place. But 63 honks in 1 cab ride. That number has stayed with me. Next trip I'm going to count again. If it's more than 63, I'm moving to a village.

Disagree slightly here, some honking in narrow lanes near markets is necessary given how many blind corners and parked carts there are around here. The problem is people using the same aggressive honk for both an actual warning and pure impatience, no distinction between the two anymore, which makes it hard to tell which situation you are even in.

Drove behind someone in Kompally last month who honked at every single pothole rather than slowing down for it, as if the horn itself would somehow smooth the road out ahead of them.

Drove behind someone near Koti last week who leaned on the horn the second the light turned green, car had not even moved yet. Made me realize how much of it really is just reflex rather than any warning meant for anyone in particular. Wonder if it would change at all if every single honk cost a little money, even a rupee or two.