The American woman demands to recognize the car signal as “the sound of democracy in action”
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California resident Susan Porter, who was fined in 2017 for using a car horn, plans to have the act recognized as an expression of freedom of speech through the Supreme Court.
According to Business Inside, in 2017, police charged Porter with blowing her horn 17 times outside the office of Congressman Darrell Issa during a rally to show her support.
In 2023, an appeals court acquitted the woman, but now she wants to protect other drivers from possible penalties related to the right to honk on their cars, her lawyers say.
So now Porter is challenging a law in the California Vehicle Code that says car horns can only be used in two ways: to “audibly warn” other drivers and as a theft alarm.
| Photo: Phira Phonruewiangping/gettyimages |
Lawyers for the California woman, in an appeal filed with the Supreme Court, argue that car horns should be protected by the First Amendment, which preserves the right to free speech.
“A car horn is the sound of democracy in action”– they note.
Laws limiting car signals are still in place in 41 states, USA Today writes. So, for example, in New York, you can honk only in case of “danger warning”. In May 2022, New York City Council member Eric Bottcher submitted a bill proposing to double fines for excessive honking to $2,000 for the first violation.
Read also: Responsibility above all: how traffic rules have changed in 2022 and what drivers should know
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