Gripping Noise

Most new cars produced (in the U.S. anyway) have little thumb-activated horn buttons. A private poll (two pet store employees) concluded that very few people actually drive with their hands on ten and two, and as a result have limited access to their car's horn in an emergency.

The only time you really use your car horn is when you are driving like a maniac, or when someone else is driving like a maniac. If somebody tries to sideswipe you, your reaction is generally a sharp intake of breath and a tightening of your grip on the steering wheel followed by a quick swerve out of harm’s way. All of this takes less than half of a second, and somewhere in it you are expected to fit the blaring of our car's horn, to let the other driver know you are there.

A car horn embedded in the grip of the steering wheel would eliminate the need to fumble for the horn in an emergency. The steering wheel would have a wire running through a groove beneath the surface of the grip surface, and a metal plate between the grip and the wheel. When gripped tightly, the wire would be forced out of the groove by the pressure and would touch the plate, completing the circuit and activating the horn.

With this mechanism in place, you could devote your entire attention to the obstacles around you when maneuvering instead of fumbling for the horn. This would also discourage white-knuckled crazy driving during rush hour because driving like a maniac would attract unnecessary attention to your car, possibly alerting law enforcement of your nefarious activities. *

*Note: the white-knuckled crazy driving described in this idea does not necessarily reflect the driving of the author or the reader.