Car horns and the law
Author
Discussion

FunkyNige

Original Poster:

9,646 posts

295 months

Thursday 24th July 2003
quotequote all
Hi
I'm thinking of buying a couple of air horns for my car (fed up of people taking the piss out of my 'excuse me please' single tone job), and was just wondering what the law says on horns.
Anyone know?
Anyone know where I can get air hornds from?
Nige.

GreenV8S

30,993 posts

304 months

Thursday 24th July 2003
quotequote all
FunkyNige said:
Hi
I'm thinking of buying a couple of air horns for my car (fed up of people taking the piss out of my 'excuse me please' single tone job), and was just wondering what the law says on horns.
Anyone know?
Anyone know where I can get air hornds from?
Nige.


Can't point you at the law so this could be rubbish, but as I understand it you can have any horn you like as long as it makes a continuous steady noise i.e. doesn't play tunes etc. I've got bog standard aftermarket twin air horns on mine which cost about ten quid.

DennisTheMenace

15,605 posts

288 months

Thursday 24th July 2003
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A mate of mine has a set of train horns on his tractor need a powerfull compressor to drive them though

ribol

11,848 posts

278 months

Friday 25th July 2003
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There is a year of car manufacture after which you cannot fit musical horns, not sure but 1972 rings a bell. You cannot have any two tones like emergency services. Other than that as far as I know you can fit what you want.


Ivan

>> Edited by ribol on Friday 25th July 08:17

FourWheelDrift

91,537 posts

304 months

Friday 25th July 2003
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ribol said:
There is a year of car manufacture after which you cannot fit musical horns, not sure but 1972 rings a bell. You cannot have any two tomes like emergency services. Other than that as far as I know you can fit what you want.

Ivan


But what about all those Cortina's/Capri's/Hunters/Maxis I used to see as a boy that played "Dixie", as in the Dukes of Hazzard?

They were made after 1972 or is this a more recent law change? Like a "Good taste ammendment".

ribol

11,848 posts

278 months

Friday 25th July 2003
quotequote all
The Dixie, La Cucaracha etc bad taste horns are probably still available today but you cannot fit them to your F360 etc because it is built after 1972 (assuming that is the right year - bit of a guess, but not far out). We used to fit them in those days quite regularily as well as wolf whistles that worked off the inlet manifold vacuum.

This is the only reason drivers of F360s, Vanquish and F1s don't have them fitted. It has nothing to do with bad taste - honest

Ivan

**999**

286 posts

278 months

Friday 25th July 2003
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Con and Use Regs said:
37(2) Subject to paragraph (6), the sound emitted by any horn, other than a reversing alarm, boarding aid alarm or a two-tone horn, fitted to a wheeled vehicle first used on or after 1st August 1973 shall be continuous and uniform and not strident, unless provided for in paragraph (6).


That'll be the date you're looking for.

**999**

chrisgr31

14,176 posts

275 months

Friday 25th July 2003
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I fitted one of those aerosol fog horns to my push bike once as I was fet up with people pulling out in front of me. Next time someone pulled out in front of me I gave them a blast of the horn, they slammed on their brakes and I promptly hit their now stationary car!

mel

10,168 posts

295 months

Friday 25th July 2003
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One of my clients makes Ice Cream van jingles that are digital "copies" of the music box type ones, what it does mean is that the chip in them in capable of taking pretty much any tune/sound/noise you can think of, he'll put it on there if thats what float your boat

planetdave

9,921 posts

273 months

Friday 25th July 2003
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Any reasonably large motor spares shop should have some in stock.
I got a triple air horn jobbie for £12.50.

Just not got round to...............

sidekick

266 posts

271 months

Friday 25th July 2003
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Got a "Ring" (fnarr) twin airhorn from Halfords for £20 (so it'll be about a tenner anywhere else) as I was fed up with the pathetic noise the standard fit item made on my car. Fitted it in about an hour and 1) it makes a great noise (very Italian sports car like) and 2) people definitely get out of the way a lot quicker than before. All I need now is a megaphone with a "get out of the fcuking way numpty" recording playing thru it .

X000 XXX

1,591 posts

271 months

Friday 25th July 2003
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I believe you can place air horns on any vehicle but multiple note ones can go only on cars registered before 1974 (or thereabouts)

brigadier

21 posts

270 months

Friday 25th July 2003
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What about each of us getting air horns so we may sound our support when passing a talivan

Mind you, it could be dangerous if the operator has a heart condition

brigadier

cortinaman

3,230 posts

273 months

Saturday 26th July 2003
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FourWheelDrift said:



But what about all those Cortina's/Capri's/Hunters/Maxis I used to see as a boy that played "Dixie", as in the Dukes of Hazzard?[/quote]


i have a set of 'dixie' horns that i was going to put on my cortina.........