missileman, how many tickets for turn signal violations has your cousin actually written? I know they CAN do it, and they might if they observe other things that they feel are safety or law violations (i.e. search for drugs). But how often has your cousin written a ticket based solely on a turn signal violation with no other factors involved?
You’re right, DMIR, but the fact is that whether the law mandates it or not it’s as clear safety issue. Especially of the driver sitting the the dedicated lane has also taken his/her foot off the brake. Too many cars get slammed into from behind not to use every tool you have to let others know what you’re up to.
When cruising down the highway and I come upon the tail end of a stopped lane (it happens often on the Everett Turnpike on which I commute) I put on my warning flashers to alert the drivercoming up behind me. It may not be required, but it just may have alerted a complacent driver and prevented me from spending the rest of my life in a wheelchair. I’ll never know.
And that’s the paradox. By always choosing on the side of safety one never knows what horrible accident he/she has prevented.
I’m always on my wife about using her signal when changing lanes-she ignores me or my Daughter.On the other hand around here the drivers for the most part ignore your signals,when they see your signal they accelerate.I’m not a perfect driver,but on the other hand if I see someone turning out of a turning lane with the proper signal on I’ll generally slow down and flash the headlights for them to proceed,its not a contest out there but rather a cooperation-Kevin
Well,I just happened to consider something, some people will run that turning lane like it is an extra traffic flow lane and look askance if there is a stationary vehicle sitting there with its blinkers on-Kevin
keith…My cousin says he writes very few tickets for not signalling a turn. The reason he says is that most people obey the law and use their signals. He has written those kinds of tickets along with burned out tail light, license plate lights and loud exhausts. He thinks it’s ludicrous to turn off a turn signal or not even use it just because it’s annoying. Most people would forget to turn it back on during the turn and I agree with him.
Kevin, you must be from Virginia or St Louis. When I am in either of those places, I do not use my turn signals for a lane change for that very reason. Not everyone in those regions will actively cut you off if you use your signal, but a majority of them do for some reason.
I don’t know about your fair state of MA, but here in NE, it’s not just a good idea, it’s the law:
“60-6,161. Turning or moving right or left upon a roadway; required signals; signals prohibited…
(2) A signal of intention to turn or move right or left when required shall be given continuously during not less than the last one hundred feet traveled by the vehicle before turning…”
Now being the scofflaw that I am, I do not take out the tape measure and dutifully mark off 100 feet before determine where I should begin signalling, but I do think that it is generally a good idea.
The discussion on the show did give me some additional insight as to why people sometimes drive down the interstate with their turn signal on for miles. It never occurred to me that they were keeping their spouse quiet, I thought they merely forgot to turn it off.
I agree. I see people all the time in a dedicated turning lane that decide not to turn. So, having your blinker on let’s me know your there purposely!