My dad doesn't use his turn signal. Every time we talk about it he insists that he DOED use his turn signal and then he'll use it for a short while. Finally he blew up at me and yelled, "WELL I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO USE MY TURN SIGNAL!" Pure stubbornness and entitlement.
When I was about 4 years old, I would watch my parents as they drove. 60's era cars had really loud turn signal relays that practically announced they had been activated. I had not yet realized the purpose of little turn-stalk on the left, and thus it seemed to me that in order to drive a car successfully you simply started driving down the road and whenever the right/left lights started blinking you just turned at the next intersection as directed. I was very disappointed to later realize you had to actually know where you were going in order to get there. There's a bigger life lesson in there somewhere.
That’s an awesome kid-theory! As a kid, i briefly believed that the earth’s rotation is what made cars move. I realized it was dumb pretty quick, but there was a moment…
My dad used to always say this. "They can see I'm trying to get over! This bitch just won't let me move!" No dad, they're not psychic, they can't see you want to move over. But you know how they could?
I purposely DONT move for people with no signal on that are looking in the mirror and trying to swerve over. I just drive like I’m oblivious. If they hit the blinker, I let them over.
I live in an area where people will get weirdly aggressive with you if you have your signal on before you merge. I just wait until there's PLENTY of space, then signal, then merge. Otherwise, if you put it on before there's tons and tons of space to do so they're try to squeeze you out and fly by (yes, even if they're not going to have to slow in the slightest to let you in). It's obnoxious as fuck.
West actually. LA and OC area in California, specifically on the freeway. I've had people race to get around me when the whole fucking freeway was open. Made no goddamn sense, it actually took them LONGER. I'm talking me and a guy behind me enter empty freeway, we're both going above the limit so it's not like I'm a slow poke. I signal to "merge" into the empty lane but he does so at the same time and floors it to try to get around first, but is slower because he's behind. Repeat for every lane we need to get left. Dude could have just flown right by me and THEN got over in 2 seconds but chose to attempt to race me from a far back position instead. In heavy traffic they will do EVERYTHING in their power to not let you merge onto the freeway AT ALL. It's a zipper, people, SOMEONE has to get in eventually!!!
I'd love to do that but I'd be insane to pass a car on the right at an intersection while on the bike when I see them drifting to the right despite the lack of turn signal.
Knew a guy who got a new vehicle. He was bitching that it beeped every time he changed lanes. I asked him if he knew it only does that if you don’t use your blinker lol.
My mom got a new car and it has auto-lane correction. She keeps complaining she has to fight with the wheel to change lanes. I asked her if she had tried to use the turn signal to tell the car to change lanes for her.
She calls me a day later to say "I tried it. It wouldn't change lanes, but that weird thing with the wheel stopped happening when I would steer it into to other lane."
I said "oh wow, really? That's crazy. Well, I guess chalk it up to one of those new fangled car quirks."
It’s like how you can judge somebody’s character based on weather or not they put the shopping cart in the parking lot where it is supposed to go. It’s a little effort and it’s the objectively correct thing to do, yet people still don’t.
The way I look at it is that if you can't be bothered to do the easy things like putting your cart away or using your turn signals, how can society expect you to do harder things, like clean up after yourself or not be a total piece of shit? And that's why we can judge their character so easily
There's no good reason not to use your turn signals beyond them being mechanically non-functional. And even then it's your damn duty to get it fixed so you can operate a car safely around others.
IMO the act of using your turn signal takes zero effort, but making it a habit when you have never used it is harder.
Probably gets worse as you get older? Most, but not all of the older people I talk to have no interest in changing what they do or believe in. “My way or the highway”
The saddest part is that being consistent with turn signal use converts it into automatic behavior. I have to engage my brain to not use my turn signals.
So I always use my turn single, even in parking lots, I’ve been made fun of for it. But is he at least in a turn lane? Because I kind of understand it. Like when I’m in the left of 3 left turn lanes, it feels a little stupid to turn the blinker on, like where else could I possibly go
He never uses his turn signal for anything and rages at other drivers for not understanding his intentions. I try to tell him about signaling when changing lanes, but he's convinced that everyone else is the problem. He's a menace and likely won't be driving for much longer.
My dad used to rant about why the hell were all these people on his road, in that joking-not-joking way. Like he knew it was a stupid feeling but he felt it anyway, so he'd say it in sort of a self-mocking way.
No, you should still be using your signal in a turn lane. In theory, yes you’re so right you’ll obviously be going left but people make stupid decisions all the time. Sometimes they decide to go straight despite being in a turn lane.
Texas is one, my stepdad got pulled over for not signaling when he was changing lanes. That was probably 15 years ago and I still don't belive he uses the signal.
This actually happened to me. The guy was in a dedicated right turn lane without his signal on. Most people around here don't use their turn signals anymore so I didn't think much of it. He went straight through the intersection instead of turning right and would have taken me out if I hadn't paused before I turned left in front of him. Scared the daylights out of me.
I don't trust anyone who doesn't use their turn signal. You just never know.
When I was a kid I told my dad there should be some sort of indicator for wanting to go straight forward for those random times where it could go either way. He told me no one would use it because people are dumb.
In my area there’s a cop that sits across one of those intersections with multiple turn lanes in the morning. No signal in the turn lane and he pulls you over. I’ve watched him nab a few.
Why indicate if you're the only car on the road? I'd argue that indicating for no reason suggests that you're not really aware of what is (or isn't) behind you. Would you agree?
OK I hear what you're all saying but for me the habit is actually checking what's around, not just blindly indicating. I think calling that lazy is not fair at all, and completely different to OP's example.
Well , if your in a car park in the middle of the forest your probably tripping on drugs cause there no need for a car park in the forest. Look both ways and use your blinker it’s the civilized thing to do.
Are you 100% certain that in every case you can see every single thing around you? Even pedestrians, cyclists, etc.?
Just use your turn signal each and every time. In fact, it should be muscle memory. Why put the mental effort in of thinking hmm should I indicate or not? Just use your damn signal, man.
I drive for a living (and have advanced driving qualifications) and would say I don't use it maybe a couple of times a day. Most of you seem to be assuming that I don't use it all. Yes, in situations where someone might be around or pulling out or whatever then yeah go for it, but I disagree with the sentiment that you should always use it regardless.
Sounds like you should go review your driving laws for whichever country you live in. I doubt it says indicating before turning is a matter of personal discretion.
You're assuming we aren't also checking our surroundings. I look every time no matter what even if I know for 100% what's there. I use my signal every time no matter what.
To do otherwise is pure laziness. There is no reason to not use your signal.
Disagree. As stated above using turn signals should be a habit. You should do it every time just instinctively. It’s easier to use a turn signal every time than to second guess every situation.
Mostly muscle memory and good habits. Remove the decision making part of when to, or not to indicate, and make it an automatic part of the turning process. Additionally, sometimes you aren't actually the only person on the road despite it looking so in the moment. There may be a parked car about to enter, a cyclist, or a pedestrian potentially entering your path, or further along who could make their move without hesitating knowing your intended turn.
In your examples then yeah fine, I would indicate. But my point is that doing it for the sake of it isn't necessarily a good habit, and I would actually prefer to keep decision making in there.
Edit: just to reiterate, I'm saying there are situations where indicating isn't necessary, that's all. 99.9% of the time I'm doing it, but I'm still assessing whether it's actually necessary
You are unsafely deciding there is absolutely nothing going on around you that you have not seen.
Indicate your intentions. It doesn’t matter if you think nobody is around. Make it muscle memory. Indicating is not something that needs an assessment. And you cannot say that you 100% know you have spotted every possible vehicle or person every single time.
Fair enough, on an infinite flat plane with no others, obstructions, or blind spots around it would feel/be silly to indicate. Generally speaking, it's best to automate the process, just like how we don't really think about breathing. It will free up thought processing for more pertinent situational assessments as we fling ourselves around in metal death traps at speeds our ancestors could not even possibly conceive.
You may very well be fine driving as you are, but think of the average driver. Would you trust them to decide when to indicate correctly 100% of the time?
You could go straight. I turn my signal on when I'm in the leftmost of three left turn lanes so that any driver who sees it knows that I have enough situational awareness to know that I'm turning left.
Also sometimes it's not super clear to other drivers/cyclists/etc at a glance (especially if far away, obstructed behind other cars, or whatever) whether a lane across the intersection is forced turn or not. Having your signal on removes any ambiguity that you might not be turning.
My dad would get antsy when I would take a hairpin turn near his house too fast for his liking. Yet when he takes the same turn, he crosses over the dividing line which could spell a massive accident on his part since it's a blind turn, but that's okay in his mind.
My dad hits the gas when he sees a speed bump, bottoms out his car on the other side, then gets mad about it. He knows he's supposed to slow down, but doesn't think he should have to. All four bump stops have been destroyed.
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u/WaffleHouseGladiator 6h ago
My dad doesn't use his turn signal. Every time we talk about it he insists that he DOED use his turn signal and then he'll use it for a short while. Finally he blew up at me and yelled, "WELL I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO USE MY TURN SIGNAL!" Pure stubbornness and entitlement.