Automotive horns are a significant source of urban noise pollution.
While automotive horns, including truck horns, can be useful signal
devices in an emergency situation, many drivers use the horn
habitually to express minor annoyance and anger, for social
purposes, and to intimidate other drivers. In response to the noise
pollution attributable to automotive horns, some states and
municipalities have passed legislation penalizing unnecessary horn
use. Enforcement of such legislation is impractical since a police
officer is required to identify the vehicle from which the sound
originated, determine whether use of the horn was necessary, and
then stop the vehicle to issue a citation. In New York City, for
example, there are posted notices stating a $350 fine for horn
honking, yet one may readily observe that such signs have no
discernible effect on driver behavior.

The system of the present invention may find immediate application
among operators of fleets of vehicles. For example, a taxi,
limousine, bus, utility, courier or trucking company may employ the
system to identify drivers of its vehicles who use the horn
excessively, where "excessive" may be defined as exceeding a
predetermined rate of horn use versus distance or time (e.g.
uses/mile, uses/hour, etc.). Rental fleet operators may also audit
horn use upon "check in" of rented vehicles, in order to assess
charges for potential citations that may have issued during the
rental term of the vehicle. Furthermore, the audit interface may be
accessed by a law enforcement authority, such as the local motor
vehicle licensing authority, in order to audit horn use during regular
inspection of the vehicle, and to assess a charge or fine based upon
the number of horn uses during a predetermined time period,
distance driven, or in excess of a predetermined allowance of horn
uses.