@keith…I didn’t get that from cavy post.
I read it as…the motorcycle was in the turning lane but didn’t have a turn signal on. The other driver didn’t see the signal and may not have noticed a dedicated lane to for turning. The other driver ran the red-light…and the motorcyclist’s light turned green…He went through the green light and was killed by the guy who ran the red-light.
My biggest pet peeve with lazy, self centered morons who can’t be bothered to use their signals is when I’m sitting at the end of the expressway exit ramp waiting to turn left and the drivers coming from the right who merge onto the on-ramp don’t signal their intentions. I’m waiting to pull out so I don’t inconvenience you but you’re too lazy to let me know what you’re intending to do.
I will go so far as to say MOST vehicles now have signals front and back that partially wrap around so they can be seen more easily from multiple directions.
If you truly believe signaling is an option, do you believe you would pass a driver’s road test if you failed to use them? One of the many reasons I would support periodic re-testing- many people would probably fail miserably.
With respect, Keith, I’ve had many cars do to me exactly what lion9 described. You do not need to be behind a car too see its directionals. The D.O.T. requires that directional rear signals be visable from the sides. Manufacturers have come up with various ways of accomplishing this.
I was married once or twice, and the problem is the blinker sound drives the wife nuts. Now if my blinker sound drove my wife nuts, I would have 3 choices, Don’t use the blinker and have a friend, use the blinker and have an irritable situation, or replace wife. OK, in these days of texting while driving, etc. the issue is of minimal concern as far as right and wrong, In the long run it probably only relates to how you want to deal with your relationship to your wife. Either you stand up for what you think is right, succumb to her preferences, or get counseling to see if you can work something out.
I’ve had a few people come into my lane too, but it wasn’t their turn signal that alerted me, it was the movement in my peripheral vision.
I have to object to the argument that it’s not necessary to use your blinker in a dedicated turn lane. I happen to live in a southern state where most native drivers don’t know what those blinking yellow lights mean and a tourist-trap city where the majority of the drivers on the road at certain times of year don’t live here or haven’t been here before. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen tourists turn right from a left turn lane, slam on the brakes and dive across three lanes of traffic, or just plain stop in the middle of the road to consult a map (yes, it’s happened!) when they are lost. Driving in the summer here becomes an extreme sport! Also, if I had a dollar for every time I saw a car with in-state plates just weaving in and out of traffic with no signal whatever, well I wouldn’t be commenting here, I’d be on vacation! I contend that for this reason, you should never give the drivers around you any doubt about which way you’re going, even if you’re in a turn lane.
To those who want to "compromise’, I would agree with others who have mentioned that good habits are from practice. Turn it on, leave it on, and then you won’t forget to turn it back on when you actually turn (which is the same as not intending to use it)!
And the excuse that the “clicking bothers me” is beyond lame. How did we turn into a society where an individual’s convenience is more important than the lives of everyone else? It’s your responsibility as a driver to drive correctly. All the time. Period.
67 responses counting this one. 68 if you count the original phone call.
And every single one admonishes drivers to use the directional.
And it’s highly unlikely that the original caller will ever see a single one of these replys.
What say you folks, shoudl we retire this thread?
Looking at the behavior of most drivers here I would assume that if turn signals where an option when ordering a new car they would not get it… 
ALWAY"S ALWAY"S USE YOUR TURN SIGNALS WHEN EVER YOU CHANGE DIRECTION OR LANES, LEFT - RIGHT IT DOESNT MATTER.
Here is an other stupid remark:
I don’t have to use it because you can see the big white arrow in the designated lane… Yeah right and your car is on top of it…
Selfish morons…
New England is notorious for NOT using their signals. I’ve driven all over the East Coast and New England stands out for lack of signal use. One commute to work I decided to see what percentage of people used their signals. Granted it’s very unscientific…just one day of observation.
. 50% will use their signals at intersections.
. 20% for changing lanes on highway.
. 10% use their signals when changing lanes on a 4-lane road (2 lanes each way).
. Less then 10% will signal when pulling into a driveway or business.
. And less then 5% will signal ALL the time in all situations when they’re suppose to. Some may signal only at intersections. Some group only signals when changing lanes on highway. Very very few will signal all the time.
Their other big bad driving habits is driving in the left lane on highways (all the time).
I’m a family doctor. One of my older patients a few years back turned left into oncoming traffice, was T-boned, his wife (in the passenger seat) killed instantly, and him severely injured. When we think of situations where safety is paramount (eg airline pilots), there are well-established protocols for redundancy, double-checking, etc. I don’t think driving is any exception. Use your turn signals.
I know this is off on a tangent from the main topic, but thanks for the '47 Oldsmobile pics. That black one looks just like mine from the front, although not as shiny. Mine was more like the 2-door model in the center photo, a less-shiny black, and like the 2-tone black-and-white, mine was a 4-door Series-78 Deluxe. and maybe another owner did remove the license plate light; the cut-out for one was in the bumper, bot no light; I never even found any disconnected wires that could have gone to it.
@the same mountainbike
Yep, it probably is time to put this thread to bed, because you’re right, everyone here IS MOST DEFINITELY advocating the use of turn signals. It’s just the “when” that has some of us disagreeing with each other, like sitting in a long line for 5 minutes, sometimes longer, waiting for a left turn traffic light to turn green. I think it’s O.K. to cancel the signal when you have to wait that long so as not to use up your blinker unit prematurely; and that’s just my opinion.
@Rogier Scooter
You are WRONG to say that most people here would not order turn signals on a vehicle if they were optional. Just like mountainbike and I pointed out, we’re all in favor of using turn signals, whether changing lanes or turning. I for one ALWAYS use my turn signals for those purposes. I just prefer to temporarily cancel it when I can obviously see I’ll have to wait several minutes in a long line, AFTER I’VE MADE MY MOVE INTO THE TURN LANE. Tell me, when you’re driving on a divided dual roadway, with 2 or more travel lanes in one direction, and while approaching a red light, another lane suddenly appears to the left and several vehicles are in it, do you think the people in those vehicles just pulled over and stopped there because they thought it was a good place to take a coffee break? Or maybe they pulled into that lane to prepare to actually make a left turn? DUH!!! Look, if the arrow in the turn lane is being covered by a vehicle, there are usually OTHER INDICATORS for a turn lane, such as the painted boundary lines on the far left roadway bending left-ward, MULTIPLE turn arrows in the turn lane (so there may be 1 or 2 left uncovered) and in many cases there’ll be a SIGN indicating the presence of a cross-street. Also, if a vehicle is in the middle of a long line of sitting traffic in the left-turn lane, left blinker going, with another vehicle 5 feet behind it, blocking the view, do you really think you’re going to see it very easily, if at all?
Before you go making assessments of other people on this forum, and then insulting them, perhaps you should carefully read their postings. After all, how would you like it if someone else on the forum called YOU a MORON, or a RETARD, or by some other DEROGATORY name? You need to watch yourself here.
Turn signals … cheapest insurance in the world!
What’s the point of being “right” if an oncoming driver isn’t paying as much attention as you’d like?
OK this is what I do in a turn lane. I see no need to have the blinker going while I’m just sitting there waiting for the light to turn green. When the light turns green and I can go, I turn on my blinker as I put my car into motion. I think this satisfies the law without making people nuts with unnecessary blinking lights and clicking noises.
“I see no need to have the blinker going while I’m just sitting there waiting for the light to turn green.”
Jeff…I wonder how the highway patrol would react to your statement if they rolled up behind you and started writing you a ticket for failure to signal? I think you would get the ticket anyway. I can’t for the life of me see this as viable reasoning in a person operating a motor vehicle.
You don’t seriously think a cop is going to write a ticket only for failure to use the turn signal? They might if an accident is involved, or the driver is doing other things, but not for just a turn signal violation.
Keith…yes I do. My cousin is a state trooper and he says there is two ways to get a ticket for not signalling a turn. Sitting in a marked left/right turn lane with no signal on and making a turn left/right from a straight ahead lane onto a street/driveway with no turn signal.
I totally agree that turn signals in a turn lane are redundant. BUT - you guys totally missed the point. I want to know your intentions BEFORE you get in the turn lane. Why are you slowing down, can I pass you? And if I’m sitting at a stop sign waiting for you to pass by on a thru street, nothing irks me more than you finally getting in the turn lane to enter my street and THEN signaling your turn. I could have been long gone! If you signal a lane change on the interstate (and you should), why wouldn’t you do the same in city traffic? You guys are great, but you blew it on this one!
Before there was a general consensus and regulations regarding signals other than turning at intersections the truckers developed a “signal language” that seemed to add to their safety. 50 years ago I learned that when driving on 2 lane roads and stuck behind a slow moving semi, if I flashed my headlights the driver would let his left blinker flash a few times if it was clear for me to pass. And when I pulled out to pass the driver would kindly back off on the gas to allow me to get around him more quickly. With most highways being multi-lane with wide medians the language has been lost it seems. And what was once an effort to be helpful is now another list of “gotcha” laws.
Boys, the dialog was interesting but misses the point: In every state that I am aware, it is required (by law or whatever the state uses to deliniate the protocol of how to operate a vehicle: CAr, truck, cycycle, motor cycle, etc.) to signal the intent of the driver either by using “Blinkers”/turn indicators or by rolling down the window and indicating with your arm via standard arm signals.
It is not predicated upon the whim of the enforcement officer or the wife’s back seat driving / sensitive ears.
The law is what it is and if someone does not like it, there are processes that can change it. But intill it is changend it is the law.