Train Horn on a Car? Is this legal?
Discussion
One of my customers is a police inspector and wanted to give a "Kong 2" American train horn to a member of my staff as present. He checked out the legal situation before presenting the gift. On a quiet day this can be heard up to 12 miles away!!!
There is no legislation in the UK to prevent you having one of these fitted to your vehicle or using it but you are obviously bound by all the standard rules regarding the use of normal car horns.
There is no legislation in the UK to prevent you having one of these fitted to your vehicle or using it but you are obviously bound by all the standard rules regarding the use of normal car horns.
Motor Vehicles (Con and Use) Regs 1984 says it all:
1. A motor vehicle which has a maximum speed of more than 20 mph shall be fitted with horn,
"horn" means an instrument, not being a bell, gong or siren, capable of giving audible and sufficient warning of the approach or position of the vehicle to which it is fitted;
The sound emitted by any horn, other than a reversing alarm or a two-tone horn, fitted to a wheeled vehicle first used on or after 31st December 1976 shall be continuous and uniform and NOT STRIDENT.
Latin strident-, stridens, present participle of stridere, stridere to make a harsh noise
: characterized by harsh, insistent, and discordant sound <a strident voice> ; also : commanding attention by a loud or obtrusive quality .
2. A person shall not sound, or cause or permit to be sounded, a horn, gong, bell or siren fitted to or carried on a vehicle which is -
(a) stationary on a road, at any time, other than at times of danger due to another moving vehicle on or near the road; or
(b) in motion on a restricted road, between 23.30 hours and 07.00 hours in the following morning.
3. A motor vehicle shall not be used on a road in such manner as to cause excessive noise which could have been avoided by the exercise of reasonable care on the part of the driver.
This has been used at Brighton in the past where cruising Chavs with windows open have radio on at full blast. Why not a Bull moose horn?
dvd
1. A motor vehicle which has a maximum speed of more than 20 mph shall be fitted with horn,
"horn" means an instrument, not being a bell, gong or siren, capable of giving audible and sufficient warning of the approach or position of the vehicle to which it is fitted;
The sound emitted by any horn, other than a reversing alarm or a two-tone horn, fitted to a wheeled vehicle first used on or after 31st December 1976 shall be continuous and uniform and NOT STRIDENT.
Latin strident-, stridens, present participle of stridere, stridere to make a harsh noise
: characterized by harsh, insistent, and discordant sound <a strident voice> ; also : commanding attention by a loud or obtrusive quality .
2. A person shall not sound, or cause or permit to be sounded, a horn, gong, bell or siren fitted to or carried on a vehicle which is -
(a) stationary on a road, at any time, other than at times of danger due to another moving vehicle on or near the road; or
(b) in motion on a restricted road, between 23.30 hours and 07.00 hours in the following morning.
3. A motor vehicle shall not be used on a road in such manner as to cause excessive noise which could have been avoided by the exercise of reasonable care on the part of the driver.
This has been used at Brighton in the past where cruising Chavs with windows open have radio on at full blast. Why not a Bull moose horn?
dvd
Dwight VanDriver said:
The sound emitted by any horn, other than a reversing alarm or a two-tone horn, fitted to a wheeled vehicle first used on or after 31st December 1976 shall be continuous and uniform and NOT STRIDENT.
So it would appear that all that is allowed is a sort of apologetic cough.DIW35 said:
Place to toot that thing for best effect would be for people walking across a level crossing.
I thought exactly the same thing... It would cause a true animal versus logic reaction... I can hear a train... but I can't or didn't see it when I looked... should I run anyway...Wasted Bullet said:
DIW35 said:
Place to toot that thing for best effect would be for people walking across a level crossing.
I thought exactly the same thing... It would cause a true animal versus logic reaction... I can hear a train... but I can't or didn't see it when I looked... should I run anyway...Back in 2007 I asked the DfT the following...
"I am considering importing some horns for my vehicle, and am curious about any
laws governing their volume? Is there any upper decibel limit for horns on a
privately registered vehicle in the UK?"
The reply I got suggested that the matter is a bit of a grey area :-)
"Use of horns is controlled by the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use)
Regulations 1986. Under regulation 37, every motor vehicle should be
fitted with a horn not being a reversing alarm or two-tone horn. There
is no specific upper decibel limit for horns on private cars in the UK.
A horn is defined as being capable of giving audible warning and the
sound emitted is to be continuous and uniform and not strident (overly
loud). This regulation also prohibits, with certain exceptions, the
fitting of a bell, gong, siren or two-tone horn. A two tone-horn
produces a sound which alternates between two fixed notes. It is
therefore illegal to fit a two-tone horn to a car, however, a
single-tone horn would be legal.
In addition, regulation 97 prohibits the use of any motor vehicle on
the road so as to cause any excessive noise which is avoidable by
reasonable driver care. You may wiah to note that it is not for the
Department to interpret the law in relation to vehicles. That is a
matter for the courts."
"I am considering importing some horns for my vehicle, and am curious about any
laws governing their volume? Is there any upper decibel limit for horns on a
privately registered vehicle in the UK?"
The reply I got suggested that the matter is a bit of a grey area :-)
"Use of horns is controlled by the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use)
Regulations 1986. Under regulation 37, every motor vehicle should be
fitted with a horn not being a reversing alarm or two-tone horn. There
is no specific upper decibel limit for horns on private cars in the UK.
A horn is defined as being capable of giving audible warning and the
sound emitted is to be continuous and uniform and not strident (overly
loud). This regulation also prohibits, with certain exceptions, the
fitting of a bell, gong, siren or two-tone horn. A two tone-horn
produces a sound which alternates between two fixed notes. It is
therefore illegal to fit a two-tone horn to a car, however, a
single-tone horn would be legal.
In addition, regulation 97 prohibits the use of any motor vehicle on
the road so as to cause any excessive noise which is avoidable by
reasonable driver care. You may wiah to note that it is not for the
Department to interpret the law in relation to vehicles. That is a
matter for the courts."
iva cosworth said:
I have noticed that a lot of larger HGVs now have a pathetic car sounding horn.
Older ones always had an impressive big airhorn,not any more.
Older ones always had an impressive big airhorn,not any more.
I don't use the horn in the truck anymore because it's so embarrassing! On the older Stralis models we had they were fitted with air horns in addition to the standard 'bip bip' car horn but the new 64-plate ones we have just have the 'bip bip' horn and sounds like it's actually IN the steering wheel in the cab!Merc trucks over the past decade have always been known for their car horns too, especially the Axor.
iva cosworth said:
I had an 05 Stralis for 2 years,don't think the horn on that was much good.
I then changed jobs and have driven 12T lorry since and my expectations were low.
Our Stralii may have had them fitted as options from the factory. The company only buys the very basic spec stuff now I then changed jobs and have driven 12T lorry since and my expectations were low.
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