I was flipped the keys to the company truck a couple of days ago, and while cutting my teeth on the Panamanian jungle of roadways I made a few discoveries, the most important being the use of the car horn.

In Panama the car horn plays a HUGE roll in driver etiquette and survival.

The Happy Horn 1: This is a friendly ‘I want to be your friend’ little toot of the horn, usually accompanied by a smile and a happy wave.

The Happy Horn 2: Cab drivers have mastered this one – they use it every time they drive towards a pedestrian – an effective marketing plan.

The Toot-Toot Horn 1: Use this when entering an intersection – who knows what might lay in wait around the corner!

The Toot-Toot Horn 2: Use this when you move into the lane beside someone – you never know, the driver at your side might not have seen you!

Laying on the Horn 1: Don’t take it personally, but if you do something outside of Panama driver etiquette you’ll have some good Samaritan taking on their civil duty laying on their horn frantically waving their head and arms at you. You also get to lay on the horn if someone stops in front of you, maybe to drop a friend off … great stress reliever!

Laying on the Horn 2: When in rush hour traffic it comes in handy when someone tries nosing their way into your spot! This lets them know that you are onto their sly little maneuver.

Laying on the Horn 3: The get out of my way horn used to warn a leaper (pedestrian) trying to cross without a crosswalk.

Laying on the Horn 4: Why signal when you can honk!

LESSON LEARNED: When you are driving in Panama don’t be shy and do use your horn. This is part of the culture and is the best way to ensure your safety and the safety of those around you…. and for those of us that do not speak Spanish, the language of horn honking is universal – and so much easier to learn!

Happy travels!