The Surprising Reason Why You Shouldn’t Honk in the Orange Street Tunnel in Missoula

Honking in tunnels is a tradition in a lot of places and Missoula is no different. Many of us grew up asking our parents to honk their horns when driving in the tunnel on Orange Street in Missoula.

Why People Honk in the Orange Street Tunnel, According to Reddit

It's such a popular tradition that there's a whole Reddit thread about it and people talk about some of the reasons they honk.

• "Gool [sic] ol fashion fun my friend!" - jamescuz17
• "Just a thing to honk when driving through tunnels" - ScrewAttackThis
• "I had a teacher in 7th grade at Roosevelt, Mr. Cannon, somewhere in the early 80s. His son died that year, he wasn't much older than I was, he had medical and health issues. Mr C had told us his son loved it when his dad would honk the horn in there. My kids honk their horn for Mr. C and his son still.😃" -MightyDollyllama

Why People Don't Like it When People Honk in the Orange Street Tunnel

But there are people on the same thread who don't like honking. I heard a story from a colleague who said his wife used to walk through the tunnel on her way to school every day and had to cover her ears the whole time because the echoes of horns honking were so loud it hurt her ears.

This raises the question, we may like to honk in tunnels, but is it legal?

What Montana State Law Says About Honking

Title 61 Chapter 9 Part 4 of the Montana Code addresses horns and says, "The driver of a motor vehicle shall when reasonably necessary to ensure safe operation give audible warning with the horn but may not otherwise use the horn when upon a highway."

So, is the Orange Street tunnel a highway?

Yes. 

If you look at this screenshot from Google Maps you can see that the tunnel is considered Old U.S. 93., a highway.

That means unless you need to "ensure safe operation" while driving through the tunnel, you probably shouldn't honk.

via GIPHY

It probably won't change anyone's behavior, but you can share this random fact at the next dinner party you attend.