Honking in Tunnels Used to Save Lives—Here’s Why Some Drivers Still Do It

If you’re not originally from Tennessee, you might find one local custom a little unusual. Traverse the Bote Mountain Tunnel or the Spur Tunnel near the Great Smoky Mountains and you’ll notice that drivers are prone to honking their car horns when passing through. Some motorists going in the opposite direction might even return the honk.

Tunnel honking can also be observed at various tunnels throughout the country. So why do drivers do it?

1. The Origin of Honking in Tunnels
2. Why Drivers Still Honk in Tunnels
3. Is It Legal to Honk in a Tunnel?

The Origin of Honking in Tunnels

Tunnel honking is a practice dating back to the earliest days of automobiles. According to The Citizen-Times in Asheville, North Carolina, freshly-blasted tunnels through otherwise impassable terrain were often single-lane portals. (Owing to a relative lack of traffic, it didn’t make sense to spend the time or money constructing a two-lane exchange.) Because the tunnels were only wide enough for one vehicle, drivers were required to honk their horns to alert vehicles at the other end of the tunnel that incoming traffic was present. Not honking meant risking a head-on collision.

You May Also Like:

• Do Cars Ever Run Out of Honk?
• 11 Features You No Longer See in Cars
• The Reason Why Your Car’s Turn Signal Makes a Clicking Sound

“To avoid the occurrence of two early vehicles suddenly facing off inside a darkened tunnel, or mountain curve, further complicated by the lack of a reverse gear in early cars, early highway safety rules required the driver to issue ‘an audible warning’ to alert any unseen approaching travelers,” North Carolina Justice Academy training coordinator and instructor Kris Merithew told the paper. “When traveling at 10 miles per hour in an open conveyance, the driver could simply announce his intentions by shouting a warning or use of a rubber-bulbed squeeze horn.”

This leisurely manner of travel meant drivers could navigate a tunnel with a poor line of sight simply by honking an air horn or, as Merithew noted, screaming at others to watch out.

Why Drivers Still Honk in Tunnels

As the number of vehicles on the road increased, so did the available real estate. Single-lane tunnels became two-lane tunnels, largely eliminating the need for warning honks. But by that point, a psychological dynamic was in place. Children who grew up with parents honking their horns in tunnels mimicked the behavior. It became something of a regional tradition rather than a road safety mandate.

That’s not the only reason, though. Some honk because they enjoy the acoustics of the horn in an enclosed space; others honk to avoid bad luck. Superstition states that you’re “supposed” to honk in a tunnel, and some fear what might happen if they don’t. Then there are drivers who might honk as a form of social communication. Tunnel honks are the vehicular equivalent of nodding at someone walking by on the street. That’s especially true in the South, where manners tend to prevail. Honk in a tunnel and you might hear someone honk back. 

Is It Legal to Honk in a Tunnel?

Strictly speaking, drivers aren’t supposed to use their car horn unless they need to warn other drivers of danger. Honking as a local custom or because it sounds neat doesn’t really qualify.

There are reasons to abstain that go beyond the law, however. If a tunnel has construction going on, honking might actually startle any crews working inside. It’s also possible honking might scare wildlife. As a result, some tunnels in the Smoky Mountains have had “no honking” signs erected.

While you should certainly observe any warning signs or local road rules, tunnel honking mostly falls in the harmless-tradition category. For some, it’s considered mandatory. Speaking of honking in Portland, Oregon’s honk-heavy Vista Ridge Tunnel, one commuter observed, “it’s my birthright … to honk in that tunnel.”