Are you the type of person who honks at the person in front of you at the stoplight? I had an uncle who would lay on the horn as soon as it turned green. I’m sure the other drivers appreciated the notification to move forward.

One day, I was waiting at a very long light, which is now the new normal in my town. I saw there was a larger queue on the other side of the three-way intersection. No one on my side was letting anyone from that side get to the next queue. I noticed at least 20 cars in my queue without one of the others going anywhere. I wanted to ease their suffering, so I let one enter in front of me. I didn’t have to let them go, but I know how frustrating traffic can be. So the guy behind me lays on his horn.

As we approached the stoplight, I waited till I was first in line in the far right lane. It was a right turn on the red freebie, but I waited. As I waited the guy behind me, again, was relentless with the horn blowing. There was a huge stack of cars about to enter the intersection from my left. As this person was about to blow a horn gasket, I gunned it at the last second, leaving him to wait until the next light cycle. I know it wasn’t the safest thing to do, but I was so worth it.

Lesson learned? Traffic sucks; let one person in front of you in jams by either waving them over or leaving some space. Don’t be a hornblower.