Where are your ‘car whistles’

[Polara Pat]

I must admit, I'm always horrified when people admit to playing whistles at red traffic lights. This is dangerous, and would definitely be illegal in the UK. Is it not illegal in the US? If not, it should be.

I don't have whistles in the car. It's not the place for them.

Never at lights but stopping at the grocery store and hammering out a few reels isn't such a bad thing. I take it where I can get it.

[Tyler DelGregg]

I must admit, I'm always horrified when people admit to playing whistles at red traffic lights. This is dangerous, and would definitely be illegal in the UK. Is it not illegal in the US? If not, it should be.

I don't have whistles in the car. It's not the place for them.

Never at lights but stopping at the grocery store and hammering out a few reels isn't such a bad thing. I take it where I can get it.

Do you play at the check out line?

[PB+J]

It's hard for me to see the danger of playing a whistle at a traffic light. What danger do you perceive?

[Tyler DelGregg]

It's hard for me to see the danger of playing a whistle at a traffic light. What danger do you perceive?

If someone rear-ends you and the airbag goes off, your whistle may end up somewhere unpleasant.

[DaveAuty]

If someone rear-ends you and the airbag goes off, your whistle may end up somewhere unpleasant.

Lets not beat around the bush, It would probably end up sticking out of the back of your head! You wouldn't be practicing much after that!

[Peter Duggan]

It's hard for me to see the danger of playing a whistle at a traffic light. What danger do you perceive?

Much the same as using as a hand-held mobile phone, which is certainly illegal in the UK. I'd personally be horrified to see a driver playing at the lights!

[ytliek]

Never while driving or stopped at traffic light. Agreed for parking lots or beaches. The car whistles are for waiting periods while picking someone up at train station or airport or some such opportunity.

[Nanohedron]

I must admit, I'm always horrified when people admit to playing whistles at red traffic lights. This is dangerous, and would definitely be illegal in the UK. Is it not illegal in the US? If not, it should be.

I don't have whistles in the car. It's not the place for them.

Never at lights but stopping at the grocery store and hammering out a few reels isn't such a bad thing. I take it where I can get it.

It's hard for me to see the danger of playing a whistle at a traffic light. What danger do you perceive?

If someone rear-ends you and the airbag goes off, your whistle may end up somewhere unpleasant.

If someone rear-ends you and the airbag goes off, your whistle may end up somewhere unpleasant.

Lets not beat around the bush, It would probably end up sticking out of the back of your head! You wouldn't be practicing much after that!

I agree with the cautionary voices. If you're behind the wheel, DO NOT play the whistle at stop lights. Whatever the potential hazards to yourself, more importantly it compromises driver awareness and accordingly constitutes a potential hazard to others.

I am never impressed when people talk about their multitasking skills. Necessity requiring it is one thing, but as an optional pursuit it is quite another. My observation is that the result is consistently substandard compared to when your full attention is engaged; thus, when whistling behind the wheel, both tasks suffer in quality. What, then, is the point? Mere boredom? I think we should consider higher purposes than that.

Likewise with mobile devices. If you can't ignore them, pull over.

[Wanderer]

Meh. I play at long stop lights. But whistle or no, I do keep an eye on the rearview mirror for situational awareness. For what it's worth, I *have* been rear-ended at a stop-light, but the whistle was out of my mouth and my hand was laying on the horn long before impact.

I have a Dixon DX-Trad in the pocket behind the passenger's seat--I'll use it at red lights (as noted above), and I bring it with me anywhere I might have a long wait (grocery stores, barber shops, waiting rooms, etc). In public settings, I generally play it very quietly unless someone expresses an interest in hearing it.

I keep a Dixon DX005 in my laptop bag, so it's available any time I might travel for work and don't want to bring any more expensive whistles along.

[whistlecollector]

Meh. I play at long stop lights. But whistle or no, I do keep an eye on the rearview mirror for situational awareness. For what it's worth, I *have* been rear-ended at a stop-light, but the whistle was out of my mouth and my hand was laying on the horn long before impact.

The other driver was probably trying to clear the spit from his own whistle just before the tragic incident.

I really don't get doing anything other than paying attention to driving while driving. And yes, being stopped at traffic light counts as driving. You might have yourself convinced that you're situationally aware, but I can guarantee you are not. This is distracted driving, pure and simple, and in the US is the cause of about 20% of all motor vehicle accidents.

[benhall.1]

Meh. I play at long stop lights. But whistle or no, I do keep an eye on the rearview mirror for situational awareness. For what it's worth, I *have* been rear-ended at a stop-light, but the whistle was out of my mouth and my hand was laying on the horn long before impact.

The other driver was probably trying to clear the spit from his own whistle just before the tragic incident.

I really don't get doing anything other than paying attention to driving while driving. And yes, being stopped at traffic light counts as driving. You might have yourself convinced that you're situationally aware, but I can guarantee you are not. This is distracted driving, pure and simple, and in the US is the cause of about 20% of all motor vehicle accidents.

That's basically where I'm coming from.

[DrPhill]

I am never impressed when people talk about their multitasking skills. Necessity requiring it is one thing, but as an optional pursuit it is quite another. My observation is that the result is consistently substandard compared to when your full attention is engaged;

[Peter Duggan]

Meh. I play at long stop lights. But whistle or no, I do keep an eye on the rearview mirror for situational awareness.

I am actively unimpressed.

[benhall.1]

Meh. I play at long stop lights. But whistle or no, I do keep an eye on the rearview mirror for situational awareness.

I am actively unimpressed.

This is one of those occasions - occasional occasions, admittedly - where I'd like a 'like' button.

[Polara Pat]

Wow, this thread took a hairpin since I checked it yesterday. Like most places in the world, it's illegal to operate hand held devices in Canada as well and the fine's keep climbing. This seems to have no affect on the amount of people I see driving with their phones. With the exception of Wanderer and maybe a couple others; I'm in the don't whistle and drive camp. That being said, I find lots of non-driving while sitting in a car by myself time. I'd rather whistle than look at boring crap on social media while I wait.