CONSIDERABLE improvement has been noticed in this city and other parts of the country in the unnecessary amount of horn-honking noise as a result of the activity of traffic officers a few weeks ago in warning motorists who sounded their horns too freely and the efforts made in that direction by the American Automobile Association.

“Certain types of motorists,” says H. K. Maples, General Manager of the New York Automobile Club, affiliated with the A. A. A., “entirely through thoughtlessness, of course, never find themselves in any sort of traffic predicament that their first thought is not for the horn button.

“When approaching a street intersection, regardless of the fact that the pedestrian has the right of way, they resort to the horn in a seeming attempt to force the walker out of his legal rights.

“There are times when use of the horn is absolutely imperative. When passing another vehicle one is legally compelled to give a warning. A warning is enough.

“Rounding curves usually calls for the use of the horn. Here is another case where there is a reasonable limit to its use. A signal is a signal only so long as it does not become acutely annoying to the person whose attention one is trying to attract. After that, too often it becomes a distinct challenge.

“One of the most annoying of noises is that created by the motorist who wants to attract the attention of some one inside a building.”

Police Chief McRell of Newark, in a recent talk before the Safety Council of that city, called attention to the common practice of excessive horn tooting in traffic delays.

“I believe,” said the Police Chief, “that a motorist using his horn to annoy a traffic officer doing his best to relieve the traffic conditions should be given a summons. Too many autoists are impatient and always in a hurry, and, at the slightest traffic delay, blow their horns steadily, annoying the entire neighborhood in which the delay occurs.”