Honking hullabaloo as Cobram citizen of distinction gets letter calling for a stop to tooting

Tooting while passing a mate’s place has long been a hallmark of rural life — but the practice has caused a honking hullabaloo in country Cobram.

Cobram residents are threatening to make more noise, after a resident received a letter about too much tooting.

An anonymous letter dropped in a popular Cobram man’s mailbox complaining about too much horn honking outside his home has resulted in a tsunami of support for tooting in the town.

Resident Darren Laffan posted a copy of the letter he had received on a public, community Facebook page pointing out that his was not the only house in the street, so he was unsure how and why the complaint could be directed at him and inquiring if his neighbours had received a similar letter.

“While we appreciate your charity and what you do for our farmers, we don’t appreciate your friends and followers tooting their horns every time they drive past your house,” the typed letter states.

The letter calling for less tooting in Cobram.

Country Victorians often toot when passing a friend’s home.

“This has been happening day and night, every day, for almost the entire year you have lived here. Apart from being extremely annoying and waking people up, it is illegal to toot your horn except under emergency situations,” adding it would be appreciated if Mr Laffan’s friends stopped honking their horns.

The overwhelming majority of Cobram residents responded to his post by calling for people to “toot more” and asking for Mr Laffan’s address so they could join in the drive-by beeping brigade.

However, one resident agreed car honking could be annoying — especially if neighbours had babies or were shift workers trying to get some sleep - and said the letter was not “a joke to be mocked”.

Darren Laffan with others at the Pride of Australia State Medal Ceremony for his Need for Feed work. Picture: Josie Hayden

Mr Laffan was last year the recipient of a Cobram Rotary Citizen of Distinction award for his work co-ordinating 40 hay runs for the Need for Feed program, which delivers hay to struggling farmers.

He also helped co-ordinate trucks, merchandise and delivery of food packages to farmers experiencing milk price and water problems.

Mr Laffan declined to comment on the honking hullabaloo when contacted by the Herald Sun on Friday.