For years, it has been illegal in New York City to use “any claxon installed on a motor vehicle” except in an emergency or, unfortunately, as one of those irritating car alarms. The fine for unnecessary horn-blowing is steep — $350 per summons — although very few tickets are given out, which may explain the din.

In a bid for a bit more peace and quiet, David Yassky, the taxi commissioner, has now sent word by text message to New York’s 13,000 taxi drivers that they should “honk ONLY in an emergency!” or risk getting a ticket, and he urged them to “be a good neighbor.”

Many taxi drivers were, how to say this, unimpressed. Fernando Mateo, head of the state’s Federation of Taxi Drivers, spoke for many when he said: “Come on, David. You try driving a taxi for 10 hours a day in this city, hustling for the next fare.” We suspect it might take a few of these costly tickets to change minds and habits.

Cities around the world began outlawing excessive horn honking as a safety measure as much as a way to improve quality of life. Officials found that too many drivers used horns instead of brakes when they saw a car or a pedestrian in their way. Jeffrey Muttart, a crash safety expert at the University of Massachusetts, says that these days many drivers use their horns to “chastise” others, and that soon honking will be heard as an insult, not a warning of danger. Mr. Yassky is right to remind his drivers of why they have a horn in the first place. They should listen. So should the rest of the drivers out there.