Just heard about Bob whose wife thinks it’s not necessary to use a signal while in a dedicated turning lane. Signals are used to communicate to other drivers your intentions while driving. If you haven’t noticed, good communication throughout our American culture is at a bit of a premium, not to mention while driving. I would agree with Bob and Tom(?) that REGARDLESS of being in a dedicated lane, using a signal let’s other drivers know that YOU know you’re in such a dedicated lane and that you’re intending to turn left. I often see cars in dedicated lanes (or center turn lanes) without a signal and I wonder “Do they KNOW they’re there and is turning their TRUE intention?” The ambiguousness of the situation causes unnecessary tentativeness while driving on the parts of OTHER drivers who are trying to figure out, WHILE MOVING, what the apparently clueless bonehead without a signal is planning to do. My rule: as long as another driver can see me on the road, I’m bound by the PRIVILEGE of having a driver’s license to signal my intentions. Period. End of argument. If Bob’s wife STILL has an issue with this, may I suggest the signal remain OFF while waiting THROUGH MULTIPLE LIGHT CHANGES to turn but as soon as Bob’s vehicle becomes one in the series to turn at the next light change, activate the signal.
The law is clear. There is no state which permits turning without signaling.
Read you’re state driver’s manual again!
You don’t know who else is on the road so you must always signal. Just because you don’t see anyone doesn’t mean they are not there. Please consider pedestrians and children that you are not looking for. They are on the road too.
Exactly. One can’t assume everyone is self-aware enough to drive properly. Why contribute to the potential ambiguity. If you wanted a driver’s license which is a PRIVILEGE, not a RIGHT, then you tacitly agreed to the rules of the road which clearly state: intention of turning right or left must be accompanied by a visible signal indicating to other drivers such intention.
I have been run off the road by drivers who neglected to signal and “didn’t see you”. Inconsiderate driving is a significant cause of accidents. Failure to signal is inconsiderate.
I would suggest you indicate your intentions BEFORE entering the intersection.
I use this good compromise too. I use the turn signal only when a turn is imminent. I use it when entering the turn lane, then turn it off if I have to sit through a long light, then turn it on when I am about to turn. When I am sitting in the lane I am not turning, I am going straight in the lane. This is actually makes for better, safer communication because the signal only comes on just before I actually turn - leaving no doubt that I left it on accidentally. And I don’t have to endure the clicking or wear out the signal/bulbs unnecessarily. By the way, the state driver’s manual is written for idiots.
Ditto the compromise – a potential relationship saver! Especially when it’s a multi-light wait in a long turn lane.
It’s also illegal in all 50 states.
The wife needs to get a set of hearing protection if she is not driving. If she’s driving she should comply with the law.
CharlieTallahassee…The state drivers manual is not for idiots. The idiots are the ones that break the law. The turn signal law is valid in all 50 states so your argument is moot. Obey the law when driving or give up your drivers license and walk, take a bus or a taxi.
You guys goofed on this!
The driver most worried in this situation is the one in the next lane over. (ie. to the right of the mandatory left-turn lane, or to the right of a mandatory left-turn lane.) This lane is usually an optional turn lane. If this driver wants to turn (his turn signal won’t be visible to the other driver), and the yoyo in the mandatory turn lane goes straight - BANG!
So the best advice is for the man in the mandatory turn lane to turn on his signal 10-15 seconds prior to making the turn. It’s senseless to sit through several changes of the light with the binkety-blink blinker ticking off his poor loving wife, and that gives peace of mind to the neighbor who can see the blinker going just before the turn is made.
In Texas the turn signal is mandatory:§545.104 - SIGNALING TURNS; USE OF TURN SIGNALS
How about the arguement that good habits make for good driving. I hate it when people use the excuse ‘there’s no one around’ for not signaling. I signal everytime because it’s habitual, it’s my guess that they only say that excuse because I call them on it… Whether turning or changing lanes, I signal, every time.
It is required in AZ and also NY. I don’t know about other states but I would be surprised if it wasn’t. As as others have said, communication is the most important thing in society and we often to do not communicate enough.
Besides the law, there are plenty of reasons why it’s good practice to always signal, most of which are some variation of “there are idiots everywhere.”
You know that you’re turning because you’re in a turn lane. The people around you may or may not realize this, however, and any justification along lines of “it wasn’t my responsibility to tell him” isn’t going to be worth much when you find yourself in an accident.
Further, while you know you’re not an idiot and know what lane you’re in, going back to the “there are idiots everywhere,” the people around you have no reason to believe that you’re not an idiot who doesn’t know what lane he’s in; by using that signal you’re doing the courtesy of telling the world (“signalling,” even?) that you not only are in the turn lane but intend to turn.
Finally, in many cases the indicators that a lane is turn-only are most apparent to the person in that lane – I can think of signalled and unsignalled intersections where the only indication of turn-only is printed on the pavement; when you’re sitting there waiting to turn, where’s that pavement arrow? Directly under your vehicle, that’s where. So in that case you indeed are in a turn-only lane, but that’s not necessarily going to be apparent, particularly to vehicles and pedestrians in a different direction of travel (and particularly in states with rights on red, it indeed matters to cross-traffic if you show intent to turn or not).
People, there is a very simple answer to this for those who would rather solve the problem than fight about it. When I get into a left turn lane I signal for the lane change. Then, if I am sitting in a line of cars waiting to turn I shut off the turn signal since it’s annoying and I’m not going anywhere anyway except slowly forward. When I get close to the front of the line I turn the signal back on to be on the safe side. How hard is that?
How depressing it is to hear people objecting to moving a single finger approximately 2 inches to activate a safety device that might save a life. Have we become so fat and lazy that this motion is too intellectually and physically demanding to be performed 100% of the time?
It doesn’t matter how the Magliozzi brothers disagree on the subject. The LAW says thou shalt activate thine vehicle’s turn signals at least 66.66 cubits before any turn. Just do it. End of discussion.