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driving - Do you "signal" when changing lanes?
- Thread starter Killed_by_Death
- Start date
i vote "always" because that's my habit --- i'm sure i haven't at times...sometimes i signal to pull into my garage from the driveway. 
My anecdata shows about 50% signal around here.
The second thing that drives me batty is those that signal when they don’t have to....and then 5 seconds later don’t signal for a lane change. What? The? Frig?
Since it bothers me when others don't I absolutely do it every time.
Unless I forget, it happens to the best of us.
Unless I forget, it happens to the best of us.
Up here in New York it’s considered giving classified info to the enemy.
Then there's the numbskulls who still indicate incorrectly on roundabouts after govt botched the changeover in our turning give way rule communications ten years ago.
The rules on roundabouts never changed!!!! So why are you indicating you are turning away from me when turning into my lane?!!!!
The rules on roundabouts never changed!!!! So why are you indicating you are turning away from me when turning into my lane?!!!!
Always. And I'm especially cognizant of it lately since I'm teaching our teenage son to drive. Fun times. 
The fun part is when they realize they not only have to watch what they are doing, but also look out for what the inconsiderate people on the road are doing, often w/o any kind of warning.
I've been noticing it since returning to the U.S., & I actually think it's been getting worse over the years, instead of getting better.
Maybe they've stopped teaching people to use their turn-signal for changing lanes!
One of the first things I told him was, "Assume the other drivers will do something stupid, because inevitably they will."
One of the strangest things I've seen lately was a vehicle that crossed 5 lanes of traffic (perpendicularly) from my left to my right to get to the road going out of the intersection to the right.
All they needed to do was take the opposite exit from the gas-station they were leaving & they could have done that maneuver w/o violating traffic, & actually using the traffic-light to their advantage.
The last time I saw something that stupid was in Thailand, a small delivery truck came from the left across 5 lanes of traffic, to make a U-turn on my right going in the opposing direction.
It was almost identical, except for the final trajectory of the vehicle.
It was also right beside a traffic-light, which would have saved the driver from making such a dangerous maneuver.
Thailand is a dangerous place to drive, but it seems like we're trying to catch up to them some days, LOL!
All they needed to do was take the opposite exit from the gas-station they were leaving & they could have done that maneuver w/o violating traffic, & actually using the traffic-light to their advantage.
The last time I saw something that stupid was in Thailand, a small delivery truck came from the left across 5 lanes of traffic, to make a U-turn on my right going in the opposing direction.
It was almost identical, except for the final trajectory of the vehicle.
It was also right beside a traffic-light, which would have saved the driver from making such a dangerous maneuver.
Thailand is a dangerous place to drive, but it seems like we're trying to catch up to them some days, LOL!
This is, in my not so humble opinion, at the root of the problem. Signaling when turning or switching lanes shouldn't be consciously decided. It should just happen, as an extension of the idea of turning or switching lanes.
I almost get more annoyed by the nitwits who will start the signal as they actually execute the maneuver. By that time it's just a little late, and we can see what's about to happen anyway. Start the signal ahead of time, to give your fellow drivers (and cyclists, and pedestrians) a chance to adjust their actions accordingly!
Bravo! That means you're using your brain for something more useful than pondering the need for / futility of signalling when there's no-one there to see it.
Just stop thinking about it afterwards. It's just a very useful reflex.
I'm from Mass, yup, a mass-hole, I once read a very funny piece in (I Think) the Boston Globe from a local reporter that said among many other things that we don't use blinkers because we don't want to give the enemy advance notice of our next move. The only drivers that have worse reps on the East coast then us are NY drivers, everyone hates us but we at least have NY to look down on
. I do use directionals and get really PO'ed and sometimes lean on the horn when someone in front of me doesn't (which is quite often). I always signal even late at night when I'm the only one on the road, it's a habit and I want to keep it that way.
I lived in VT for a few years and tried out a car there with a friend and the owner in it while I drove, when I pulled out onto the main street in this little town there was a car coming which to me seemed like about a mile away but they both jumped and one of them said "Wow, I can tell you're from Massachusetts!"
. I do use directionals and get really PO'ed and sometimes lean on the horn when someone in front of me doesn't (which is quite often). I always signal even late at night when I'm the only one on the road, it's a habit and I want to keep it that way.I lived in VT for a few years and tried out a car there with a friend and the owner in it while I drove, when I pulled out onto the main street in this little town there was a car coming which to me seemed like about a mile away but they both jumped and one of them said "Wow, I can tell you're from Massachusetts!"
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So many can’t be bothered to extend even the simplest of courtesies to their fellow drivers, or feel obligated to cut off those who try to be safe when changing lanes, and so many also can’t understand why there’s an ever worsening communications breakdown.
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