The Burrow
May 8, 2025
Car horns are a universal language. For people across different states, countries and continents, getting honked at on the road could mean a range of different things.
As experts in comparing car insurance, we wanted to understand how drivers perceive car honks and why we all do it.
To do this, we surveyed more than 3,000 adults across Australia, Canada, and the USA to see their honking habits.
Here’s what we found.
It turns out that American drivers are the most active horn honkers. According to our survey, 13.1% of American drivers reported honking their car horn daily. This was closely followed by Canadian drivers, with 11.7% reporting the same. Australian drivers reported the lowest rate of daily car horn usage, with only 4.5% of drivers admitting to doing so.
Australian drivers tended to be the most conservative with their car horns, with 72.7% reporting using their horn anywhere between once a month and once a year, compared to Canadian and American drivers, in which 54.5% and 55.5% reported the same rate of beeping.
| How often do most people use their vehicle horn? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇺 Australia | 🇨🇦 Canada | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| Frequently (around once a day) | 4.5% | 11.7% | 13.1% |
| Often (around once a week) | 10.1% | 16.1% | 15.3% |
| Sometimes (around once a month) | 31.8% | 26.8% | 28.8% |
| Rarely (around once a year) | 40.9% | 27.7% | 26.7% |
| Never | 5.7% | 5.9% | 5.9% |
| Does not drive | 6.9% | 11.7% | 10.2% |
Note: Values may not add to 100% due to rounding
Across the three countries surveyed, each of their car horn habits tended to be quite similar. Each country hovered around the 70% mark for honking to prevent car accidents.
Australian drivers reported the lowest rate of horn honking to encourage other drivers to speed up, at only 5.8%, compared to Canadian and American drivers at 13.6% and 12.4% respectively.
Canadian drivers might just be the most aggressive on the road, with 24.4% reporting using their horns to express frustration or anger, 32.6% for basic communication, and 33.9% using them to warn other drivers of potential dangers on the road.
| Most common reasons people use their vehicle horn | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇺 Australia | 🇨🇦 Canada | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| Prevent an accident | 68.6% | 69.0% | 70.7% |
| Alert distracted drivers | 52.5% | 58.8% | 60.1% |
| Warning another driver of potential danger on the road | 22.3% | 33.9% | 29.2% |
| Encouraging other drivers to speed up | 5.8% | 13.6% | 12.4% |
| Encouraging other drivers to slow down | 4.8% | 7.1% | 8.6% |
| Express frustration or anger towards another driver | 20.1% | 24.4% | 20.6% |
| Communicating with other drivers (e.g., alerting others to their presence) | 21.0% | 32.6% | 28.5% |
| Saying hello/goodbye to someone they know | 32.0% | 30.8% | 33.1% |
| Other | 1.7% | 0.5% | 1.8% |
Note: Value total exceeds 100% due to multiple choice (3 max per respondent)
The drivers surveyed overwhelmingly reported that car horn usage on the road has been instrumental in preventing road accidents.
Interestingly, Australian drivers responded yes at the lowest rate, at 72.6%, compared to Canadian and American drivers, with whom 81.8% and 81.5% respectively reported car horns had prevented road mishaps.
| Has the use of a vehicle horn (yours or someone else’s) helped to avoid an accident? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇺 Australia | 🇨🇦 Canada | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| Yes | 72.6% | 81.8% | 81.5% |
| No | 27.4% | 18.2% | 18.5% |
Fortunately, the majority of drivers in each country surveyed do not assume other horns on the road are a sign of aggression or road rage. Despite this, Australian drivers are the most likely to feel otherwise, with 32.1% assuming being honked at comes from a place of anger.
In line with this, the data shows that Canadian and American drivers tend to use their car horns for simple communication more than Australian drivers.
| How someone else’s vehicle horn is typically interpreted | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇺 Australia | 🇨🇦 Canada | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| Warning of potential danger | 45.4% | 48.7% | 46.8% |
| Expressing anger or road rage | 32.1% | 26.2% | 27.4% |
| A simple signal or communication | 20.6% | 24.1% | 24.4% |
| Other | 1.9% | 1.0% | 1.4% |
Note: Values may not add to 100% due to rounding
Executive General Manager of General Insurance, Adrian Taylor, notes the importance of comprehensive car insurance for anyone who owns a car.
“As this survey shows, car horns can be useful on the road for communicating with other drivers and hopefully assuage reckless driving,” Mr Taylor said.
“Car horns are just another tool at our disposal as drivers to protect ourselves, and others, on the road.
“In the unfortunate event that your car horn isn’t enough, and you are involved in some form of car accident on the road, comprehensive car insurance can give you another layer of protection for your wallet.
“It pays to compare insurance providers to find the right deal for you, your car, and your lifestyle.”
Always read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (TMD) to check for the inclusions, limits, and restrictions before purchasing to make sure the product is suitable.
Compare the Market commissioned PureProfile to survey 1,012 Australians, 1,010 Canadians, and 1,012 American adults in February 2025.