They might just be low on blinker fluid? 
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Why do people stop using their indicators/turn signals?
- Thread starter Happynoj
- Start date
I would've said SUVs, but yeah.Judging by what I see on the road, my guess is, minivans aren't equipped with blinkers?
I use them. Even if Im the only one in my side of the road or I'm in a turn only lane. I also follow the speed limit and know the rules for "right of way".
Drives me nuts to see people not doing this.
One thing I've noticed is that people HAVE to be closest to the red light. If there are 3 cars in the left lane and 1 in the right, they seem to believe they get to their destination faster if they go into the lane with only 1 car. Seems the same people take like 2 miles to finally get up to the speed limit and when they finally do, they think it's okay to just keep going on to 15 over.
Lazy turns too. Those white lines on the road should be considered lasers that will destroy your tires if they touch. I see people make really wide lazy turns across 3-4 lanes on corners instead of turning into the first open lane.
I think most of my pet peeves are rule following/driving related. Too many times I've fantisized about just shoving them off the road... WITH MY MIND!
Drives me nuts to see people not doing this.
One thing I've noticed is that people HAVE to be closest to the red light. If there are 3 cars in the left lane and 1 in the right, they seem to believe they get to their destination faster if they go into the lane with only 1 car. Seems the same people take like 2 miles to finally get up to the speed limit and when they finally do, they think it's okay to just keep going on to 15 over.
Lazy turns too. Those white lines on the road should be considered lasers that will destroy your tires if they touch. I see people make really wide lazy turns across 3-4 lanes on corners instead of turning into the first open lane.
I think most of my pet peeves are rule following/driving related. Too many times I've fantisized about just shoving them off the road... WITH MY MIND!
I'm from NYC. You either use them or get in an accident immediately and/or get a ticket! I always use them. Here in southeast VA it must be their thing to NOT use their turn signals. You can kinda feel someone wants to come over to your lane but you never see a signal. They get pissed, blow their horn and give you the finger. I've had plenty of shouting matches with drivers. I always tell them "Use your damn turn signals! That's what it was intended for. How the f*** do I know you're trying to come into my lane!" Frikkin' idiots!
My driving has really mellowed out, so I'm usually far enough back that it doesn't bother me. What DOES bother me is the people that drift slowly from straight ahead lane to the right hand turn lane, half in, half out while I'm trying to keep going straight.
I'm a firm believer in getting into the lane you need to be in as soon as is practically possible, particularly if there's a fair amount of traffic. Obviously, if you're on a new road and don't know exactly where you're going, this isn't always realistic. But I've seen people make some very questionably dangerous last-minute lane changes for an exit or something similar on roads when it's pretty obvious that they know where they're going.
I drive 50 miles a day (each way) on I-95. Maybe 1/3 of drivers use their signals. Just adds to the Mad Max-style rush to get wherever the hell they are going, not to mention the constant rear-enders, tires and other miscellaneous auto parts (including entire front and/or rear bumpers) in the traffic lanes. You really have to keep your head on a swivel. Me personally, I always signal. Some drivers see that as an indicator that it is time to occupy your intended space RIGHT NOW!
Two positives from this situation: 1) I have concocted streams of profanity that would make a 19th century sailor proud. 2) in the past week I have seen a Ferrari 458, an Aston Martin Vanquish, SLS McLaren and a 911 Turbo. Almost makes it worth it.
Two positives from this situation: 1) I have concocted streams of profanity that would make a 19th century sailor proud. 2) in the past week I have seen a Ferrari 458, an Aston Martin Vanquish, SLS McLaren and a 911 Turbo. Almost makes it worth it.
On the highway approaching a turn, I turn on my signal, the lightly tap my brakes three times to warn the person behind me that I'll be slowing down soon. I don't think they consider that possibility when it's just the blinker...
I'm with you on lazy turns. In my neighborhood it's very common for folks making a right turn to wait until all 3 lanes are clear so they can turn into the far left lane to make a turn a block later, making the rest of us wait. The rest of your comments, please stay out of my way. The only time I do the speed limit is if it's unsafe, children, etc, or there's a cop watching. And I find it far less frustrating to be the first car at the light because invariably someone needs to finish typing their memoir before they proceed through the light, leaving me with the yellow light.
Me too. I've mellowed so much that I just take public transportation when I can. I just cannot take it anymore. My patience is completely exhausted. I would be happy if drivers would simply pay attention and make an effort to keep traffic flowing smoothly - go with the flow.
Last edited:
Um, depends on the circumstances.
It's actually improper to activate the signal until your turn is the only possible one that remains.
i.e. if you are approaching a right turn and there are one or more possible right turns between your turn and your vehicle, you should wait until you pass all the other earlier turns before activating your signal.
In some cases this will force you to apply your brakes before your signal. But it prevents a driver in one of the other earlier streets from thinking you're turning into THEIR street, thus potentially pulling out in front of you when you're really just passing on by to the next turn.
People who activate their signal too early annoy me almost as much as people who never use them.
Wow, don't do that. Just... no.
I use mine all the time...I turn it on and usually forget about it...so it's on all the time...usually the right turn signal....yeah I'm getting old....
...With all due respect...and every town in the world has it's arsehats behind the wheel...sometimes, behind the wheels of bicycles, I'm sure; it is my personal experience that the combination of the (statistically) longest commute in North America, and the vast amounts of money being generated by the banks and the insurance companies and the others who, personally, make more money that every kindergarten Teacher in the state combined, and so they believe that they are ENTITLED to your front bumper, and that directional signals are for pusssies, Atlanta takes the cake. Ten years ago, a group of Emory cinema students staged an experiment. 6 of them got on Interstate 285 ( the 'loop' around Atlanta) and worked and jockeyed until they were driving door to door...AT THE SPEED LIMIT! (55mph) Imagine that?! It was a national news story! Footage shot by these college students and their team mates, from overpasses along the route, showed traffic "backed up" for 5 miles! Does anyone else remember that? I thought it was beyond brilliant!
It is my firm belief that if I drive like a considerate human being I will be rewarded by the man in the sky...
One of favorite sentences of all time comes from the helicopter traffic guy for an Atlanta radio station... "It looks pretty good from up here, no real problems at the moment... but never forget, we are only one loose ladder from shutting this whole thing down."
My neighborhood is the opposite. Our left turn has 2 lanes that run along a 3rd straight lane. The people who are both needing t be first in line as WELL as needing to make a lazy turn all try to race the rest of traffic and cut across the the lanes into the 3. I try to accelerate quicker and my turn before they get there so that they are forced to take the correct one. You can usually tell who's going to go for the race because they are impatient and are inching closer into the street.
Oh that's another one for me. People whoa re at a red light and have to move up 6 inches every few seconds.
...With all due respect...and every town in the world has it's arsehats behind the wheel...sometimes, behind the wheels of bicycles, I'm sure; it is my personal experience that the combination of the (statistically) longest commute in North America, and the vast amounts of money being generated by the banks and the insurance companies and the others who, personally, make more money that every kindergarten Teacher in the state combined, and so they believe that they are ENTITLED to your front bumper, and that directional signals are for pusssies, Atlanta takes the cake. Ten years ago, a group of Emory cinema students staged an experiment. 6 of them got on Interstate 285 ( the 'loop' around Atlanta) and worked and jockeyed until they were driving door to door...AT THE SPEED LIMIT! (55mph) Imagine that?! It was a national news story! Footage shot by these college students and their team mates, from overpasses along the route, showed traffic "backed up" for 5 miles! Does anyone else remember that? I thought it was beyond brilliant!
It is my firm belief that if I drive like a considerate human being I will be rewarded by the man in the sky...
One of favorite sentences of all time comes from the helicopter traffic guy for an Atlanta radio station... "It looks pretty good from up here, no real problems at the moment... but never forget, we are only one loose ladder from shutting this whole thing down."
But from my first-hand experience, different cities have very different driving cultures. Bostonians have absolutely zero patience for indecision. NYC are aggressive but play an interesting game of chicken with pedestrians. Seattlites drive exactly the speed limit or slower on really nice roads that would easily support 20 mph faster, IMO. I spend my time driving in Seattle pleading with them all to find the accelerator. LA drivers tend to drive 75 on the 65 mph freeway and 5 miles over on residential streets. They also make those lazy and half-in-half-out right and left turn lane turns a lot, plus rarely look at a stoplight until they hear the horn - it's their signal that the light has changed. Culture definitely effects our driving habits.
I want to be a part of your pit crew...or you could be a part of mine!It's actually improper to activate the signal until your turn is the only possible one that remains.
i.e. if you are approaching a right turn and there are one or more possible right turns between your turn and your vehicle, you should wait until you pass all the other earlier turns before activating your signal.
In some cases this will force you to apply your brakes before your signal. But it prevents a driver in one of the other earlier streets from thinking you're turning into THEIR street, thus potentially pulling out in front of you when you're really just passing on by to the next turn.
People who activate their signal too early annoy me almost as much as people who never use them.
You Sir, are begging for an accident. It's a miracle that it hasn't happened already. The road is no place to try to educate other drivers to your point of view and trying to force them is likely to encourage them to act rashly and either they, or you, to cause a problem. The best policy when someone is tailgating you is to let them by as soon as you can because their hurry won't be deterred by your lack of hurry. It's just a matter of time until you find an unskilled driver who whacks your car hard because you're begging for it with your self-righteous attitude.
The REALLY telling sign is how you drive long distances. Are you the kind of driver that maintains that 55 mph speed limit for 4 hours, or does passing the 65 mph trucks on the two-lane highway inch you up to 105 mph? Of course, there's nothing but sand for the visible future.
I keep an eye on their vehicle during the turn. The only time we get close is if they get ahead of me and try to murge across. If they get anywhere close I slam the horn and bring it to everyone's attention in hopes that an officer sees this and pulls them over. If we do hit it won't be too big a deal. We'll be going less than 25 and the accident will show they were at fault because they 1. Hit a vehicle in front of them and 2. they were in the incorrect lane on impact.
I feel that driving licenses shouldn't be renewable online like they are now unless it's due to a change of address or name change. I would rather have everyone retake the driving test every few years. I think this would in the least keep the laws fresh in peoples minds. All too often I come across people who don't actually know things like right of way, speed limit of an unmarked residential area, or what to do when an emergency vehicle is coming.
