Is it illegal to honk at a police officer in the USA?

Question

Suppose a police car is stopped at a green light and not moving. Is it illegal for me to honk at him? What if I can't drive around him?

What if it happens to be a civilian vehicle and a plainclothes officer? Is it illegal in this case?

I see several videos of uniformed and plainclothes officers stopping cars for honking at them.

As a context I'm giving a link to this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAl2UBSgCZU

I find this video shocking behavior behavior from the police. But I want to know legally what's allowed and not allowed. Is the police legally allowed to stop at a yield sign for police related business which is a phone call?

Answer 1

england-and-wales

In England, the use of a horn when stationary is restricted solely to advise other road users of your presence "at times of danger". Not spotting that the light has gone green would certainly not fit that description.

Use of audible warning instruments

99.—(1) Subject to the following paragraphs, no person shall sound, or cause or permit to be sounded, any horn, gong, bell or siren fitted to or carried on a vehicle which is—

(a) stationary on a road, at any time, other than at times of danger due to another moving vehicle on or near the road...

_{^{The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986}}

The policeman would be well within his rights and duties to provide you with a fixed penalty notice of £30.

Answer 2

germany

In Germany, the horn can only be used for two reasons:

• As a signal for overtaking outside of city limits only.
• As a warning signal for imminent danger.

So, in the situation described in the question, it would be illegal to honk at the police officer, but the fact that they are a police officer is actually irrelevant – it would be illegal to honk in that situation, period.

Answer 3

france : Yes, unless

• you are outside a city
• it is daytime
• you can convince the cop or the judge that doing so is a "necessary warning for other road users". Not my specialty, but barring extraordinary circumstances, I expect that defense to fail.

Code de la Route, articles R416-1 and R416-2:

Hors agglomération, l'usage des avertisseurs sonores n'est autorisé que pour donner les avertissements nécessaires aux autres usagers de la route.

En agglomération, l'usage de l'avertisseur sonore n'est autorisé qu'en cas de danger immédiat.

(...)

De nuit, les avertissements doivent être donnés par l'allumage intermittent soit des feux de croisement, soit des feux de route, les signaux sonores ne devant être utilisés qu'en cas d'absolue nécessité.

Outside city limits, klaxon may be used solely to give necessary warning to other road users. [For instance, when driving around a mountainous road, you are supposed to honk when approaching a curve without visibility, so as to warn drivers coming ahead.]

Within city limits, klaxon may be used only in case of immediate danger.

(...)

At night, signals must be given by flashing headlights, klaxons must only be used in case of absolute necessity.

Failing to respect those rules is a second-class contravention (currently set at €35). Technically, those apply to any vehicle, including bikes (even if bike klaxons are much less noisy than car klaxons).

While in theory it is irrelevant whether there is a cop in the car in front, behind, or sideways of you... I imagine less than 0.1% of wrong klaxon uses are penalized, and all of those occur when a cop was on-site.