Expressive Honking and Veh. Code § 27001

Expressive Honking and Veh. Code § 27001: Unnecessarily honking one’s car horn is a violation of V.C. § 27001, even when done for the purpose of expressing a political or social viewpoint.

By Robert Phillips, Deputy District Attorney (Ret).

Have you ever driven by a group of people on a street corner who are enthusiastically waving banners and flags, with one or two of them holding up signs encouraging you to, “Honk, if you __.” (Fill in the blank with whatever it is the group is promoting.)  Assuming you do in fact support whatever it is the demonstrators are advocating, what do you do   You obligingly honk, do you not   Think about it.  You have a First Amendment right to express your opinion, just as does those who are encouraging you to honk.  And if simply honking your car horn conveys a social, political, or other opinion, what’s so wrong in doing so?

Well, California Vehicle Code § 27001 says it is wrong to do so.  Section 27001 makes it an infraction to violate its ....

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