What about in right or left turn only lanes?
If so, then why? If not, then why do I see so many others doing it?
Yes you need to use your turn signal any time you are exiting the highway or switching lanes to exit…This simple act serves to signal the other drivers that you indeed do realize that you are in the correct lane to exit and intend to do so, or that you are in fact switching lanes, and plan on using the exit lane you moved into to exit the roadway. As far as other drivers not using their turn signals, all I can say is, there are too many ignorant drivers on the roads and that in many cases, the ignorant kill the innocent.
I do it at left-and-right-turn-only lanes so the oncoming traffic knows I am turning.
I occasionally do it on the exit only lanes on the highway so the people behind me are aware that I’m exiting and they should be planning on exiting too if they are in this lane.
Also I make it a habit on ANY exit so the people behind me are aware that I may be slowing. So if it’s habitual, I do it regardless of exit status.
It shows that you truly know where the hell you are going.
Say it’s dark, or raining, or you’re driving home on the interstate and the driver behind you is from out of town.
They may not KNOW you’re in a turn lane. Your turn signal serves as a redundant notification which may be the only one they catch.
Corr
I understand you can get a citation in California for changing lanes without signaling… I’m not sure about left or right turn only lanes.
I would say that it’s more of a courtesy to the drivers in front of and behind you so THEY know that YOU know you are in a turn only lane.
Where I live turn signals are becoming rare and endangered so it’s nice to see someone signal their intention in advance so I can decide what, if anything, I need to do about it and there are no suprises!
-Clarification-
In “Exit Only”, I mean those situations where the freeway goes from, say, four lanes, down to three. In the lane that’s being dropped, it typically says, “Exit Only Lane”.
Do you really need to signal that you’re exiting? I mean, there’s no alternative.
And, in “Right Turn Only”, or “Left Turn Only”, I mean those situations where the lane is ‘built’ to go only one direction.
Signal?
Why?
No offense but it looks like all the answers here fit your OP and your clarification.
Why? = To let others (both the people behind and in front of you) know where you are going in case THEY don’t know that you are BOTH in an “only” lane, be it exit or turn only.
It’s called defensive driving, bub, and not enough folks in America do it.
Your telling me the people in front of me on a freeway, in the exit only lane, are interested in what I’m doing, behind them?
That seems to be taking “Defensive Driving” a bit far, don’t you think?
And, no offense taken.
No, but you also asked about left- and right-turn-only lanes, which are not found on highways, and in that case there will be drivers in front of you who need to know what’s going on.
You didn’t quote my entire answer to “Why?” in which I went on to clarify the one-sentence answer to include all “only” cases such as EXIT, LEFT TURN and RIGHT TURN ONLY.
How about this?:
On the freeway, using the turn signal in the EXIT ONLY lane is for those BEHIND you to signal them that you may be slowing and that they are in an EXIT ONLY lane.
On a road with LEFT TURN ONLY and RIGHT TURN ONLY lanes you use a signal to let the people in FRONT of you know you are turning (so they won’t turn/run into you) and the people BEHIND you know that they will be turning as well (just like on the highway).
As for the legality behind this, I don’t know if you’d get a ticket for not using a signal in these cases but it can’t hurt to use the signal.
Here are the relevant sections in the California Vehicle Code:
You can also be cited for making an unsafe lane change for just about any reason that the police officer comes up with. In my case, cutting off a CHP car and running the driver on to the shoulder is a sure way to get a ticket.
Two of them in fact. I also was cited for having the wrong address on my driver’s license.
Fair enough, Zipper (There really was no offense taken, regardless of how snotty I sounded)
My pursuit for knowledge continues.
*Preview reveals-
BobT-
Well I would hope so!!
O.K… I appreciate that cite, but does that answer the specific question?
You’re not really turning off the freeway, are you?
And in cases where the turn lane is built to go only one direction, aren’t you essentially going straight in that lane?
*Thanks. I bring those questions up to clarify, not rip.
Personally, I would signal in an “Exit Only” lane on a freeway as I was exiting. It indicates to the people behind me that I’m slowing down and moving over to the side.
If I’m in a lane that takes me on to another freeway or highway, I don’t signal.
But I also signal when I turn right out of my apartment building.
Huh? I wouldn’t signal if I were exiting the freeway in an “Exit Only” lane. Why? Because I’m not moving over to the side, nor am I switching lanes–I am staying in the same one. In such a case, the turn signal may imply car trouble and that I may really be pulling off to the side, which may cause more trouble if the people behind me decided to take the other lane to pass me. The same goes for if I am driving in weather where I can only see the tail lights of the car in front of me and vice versa, because the people behind me may think that I am pulling over. Sure, I’d like to signal to the car behind me that the lane they are on is exiting, or that the road is turning up ahead, but it may cause more harm than it prevents. And as for notifying the people behind me that I may be slowing down up the road, that’s what break lights are for.
FWIW, I would signal if I were in a right or left-turn only lane at an intersection to notify oncoming traffic or pedestrians of my intent, which might be hard to know otherwise from their vantage point.
IANAL, but as for the legality of it, using BobT’s information, it would seem as though staying in a line without signalling in an exit-only lane would be perfectly legal, since you are staying in a “direct course” and not turning.
While taking driving lessons (in Alberta), I was told that you didn’t have to signal in those situations, but it didn’t hurt.
One time I came up to the local intersection where an accident happened and they have some sand and stuff on the roadway. There is a right turn only lane I was in. I slowed down to see what the cop wanted me to do since the traffic light was working but the right turn only lane has a yield sign with am ambulance just around the corner and tons of sand there. You can’t see beyond that area unless you get there. He was pointing at my car. I didn’t know what he wanted until he yelled that my f****** turn-signal wasn’t working. I turned it on and then he said he didn’t know if I was going straight or turning in the right turn only lane. I guess he thought I was going to go straight and hop over the dividers and stuff with my Camaro. I have the habit of using the right turn signal there but the accident caught me off guard.
In Maryland, waaaay back when I was taking Driver’s Education, I was told that you can signal your intent to turn 3 ways:
-
Use the appropriate turn signal,
-
Use appropriate hand signal,
-
By your car’s position. Which was explained that if you’re in a turn only lane, you ** have ** to turn. If you do not turn that you could be cited for the failure. We were then told that we did not have to use the turn signal when turning the proper way in a turn only lane.
If you are in an exit-only lane on the freeway you do not have to signal.
BTW, I had been driving for years and didn’t know that the dashed lines got thicker when the lane you were in was turning into an exit-only lane.
So, the consensus is it’s not necessary?
That’s the read I’m getting. I was out yesterday and couldn’t check in and comment on it.
I could check with a friend who knows a cop, but I thought the teeming millions might have anecdotal experience.
I’ll still check with the friend, but if you’ve had an experience with this, by all means, share it.
If you ask me, I think it’s unnecessary in both situations. Everything leading up to it, sure, you need to signal your intent. But once you’re in that lane, then you’re in the clear in both the exit lane or turn lane.
Commenting only on Part 3 here, but in California drivers are definitely taught to signal even when in a turn only lane.
Back in my learning to drive days (the early 1980s), we weren’t taken on the freeway so we weren’t taught whether or not to signal in an exit only lane on the freeway.