# Drivers are going crazy//When someone signals, you let them change lanes!! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 26, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339 "2011-07-26T01:21:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2011, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/81 "2011-12-16T23:32:46Z")
OPs should not be written on BlackBerries while driving in the passing lane. ---
**Author:** ![Normal\_Phase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Normal\_Phase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Normal_Phase)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/82 "2011-12-17T11:47:37Z")
Here I thought you were going to be complaining about traffic jam situations or something like a congested midtown avenue in New York with 17 taxis per block. Then I was going to tell you to grow up and get a pair, because it is all well and proper to respect only the “nose-in” under such circumstances. But nope, you ran into actual assholes. I don’t understand those people either. ---
**Author:** ![Normal\_Phase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Normal\_Phase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Normal_Phase)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/83 "2011-12-17T11:51:35Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > They seem to think it is useful to signal not to alert anyone to their intentions but because it is some kind of ritual which must be performed sometime around a turn. In other words, they are nitwits. I also endorse this, and the “speeding up to keep people from changing lanes” phenomenon doesn’t even seem to have infected this area. There’s no reason for it, they’re just being self-involved pricks. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/84 "2011-12-17T14:54:23Z")
> [@Normal\_Phase](#): > > I also endorse this, and the “speeding up to keep people from changing lanes” phenomenon doesn’t even seem to have infected this area. There’s no reason for it, they’re just being self-involved pricks. I have driven in many parts of the country. Many are bad about this…but many are good about it. Believe it or not, the Los Angeles area was very good about letting people in if you signaled. Yea, the traffic was bad in LA but the drivers seemed human which is in direct opposition to the stereotype we hear about. Minneapolis area though, is the worse for 2 types of driving behaviors: - What I mentioned before, the trying to cut you off if you want to change lanes. LIke I said, it is so bad that even LOOKING OVER YOUR SHOULDER causes many people in that lane to accelerate to cut you off. It is not uncommon to look over your shoulder, see a car but there is enough room, quick look forward and change lanes to have that same car honk at you as you try to merge into them. Think about that…it’s about a second and they react fast enough to close the distance that fast. They must SLAM on the accelerator to close it that fast…and it is not uncommon. I would say 1 out of 7 or so lane changes it happens to me. So, you evolve a do not signal, VERY quick look over your shoulder followed by accelerate yourself flip on the turn signal and start to change lanes…maybe half a second. I have experimented with this by looking over my shoulder when I don’t want to change lanes and observing if the person closes rapidy. Minnesota nice my frackin arse. - Every area has their quirks. Southern Georgia it was slamming on the breaks for no apparant reason (I lived there 2 years). In wyoming it was weird informal right-of-way rules. In Minnesota it is refusing to pull up into the intersection while waiting for traffic when turning left on a green light. Therefore, when it is busy and in normal areas of the country when the light turns yellow and 2-3 cars can make the turn…in MN you are still sitting back behind the intersection and only 1 car can really make the turn. Sounds like a minor gripe…and it is (unlike Georgia) but it is irritating as hell when traffic is busy. Oh…and MN LOOOVVEEESSSS their stoplights. The even put stoplights where there are no intersections…100 feet from another stoplight… ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/85 "2011-12-17T15:01:43Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > I’m pretty sure putting on the high beams means you have enough room to move over. Truckers do it all the time to let you know you have enough space. I do the very same thing when someone is polite enough to signal their intent. It means “I see you and you’re clear to move over.” ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/86 "2011-12-17T15:47:19Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > People who have philosophies about driving scare me a little bit If one spends an hour or more a day, every day, in a specific activity, after awhile most of us tend to think about it a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/87 "2011-12-17T16:38:48Z")
> [@BlinkingDuck](#): > > Believe it or not, the Los Angeles area was very good about letting people in if you signaled. > [@](#): > > Minneapolis area though, is the worse for 2 types of driving behaviors: I agree that LA traffic is surprisingly accommodating and that Minnesotans tend to look at commuting as competition. But the worst for those behaviors? I’m thinking you haven’t done much driving in the Chicago or Boston areas. > [@](#): > > In Minnesota it is refusing to pull up into the intersection while waiting for traffic when turning left on a green light. Not sure where in MN you are driving, but this is definitely not the norm in and around the metro area, or anywhere in the state for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![DarrenS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/88 "2011-12-17T17:28:19Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > I wonder if driving is a little bit like intelligence when it comes to self-evaluation. People will almost always over-estimate their intelligence. I’ll be it’s the same with driving skill. [Yes.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/89 "2011-12-17T22:07:41Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > The problem is that many drivers think the turn signal means “ready or not, here I come.” I drive in LA a lot, and anything more than one space between you and the car in front of you is rare indeed. That’s exactly what it DOES mean in most situations. I’m not asking your permission, I alerting you that it’s about to happen What it ISN’T is a warning to get out of my way. If I don’t have room to change lanes, I don’t use the signal. On rare occasions I use the signal when there isn’t room, hoping the driver will give me a break and slow down to give me a little more space. But hardly ever, because like the OP, I’ve found it more likely that the driver will pull forward and make damn sure I can’t fit in. More often I will change my own speed to give myself room to change and then signal and go. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/90 "2011-12-17T22:17:38Z")
While we have our share of loons, it seems like central Ohio has more drivers than anywhere else I’ve lived who will pause to let you into a space in traffic. There is a busy stretch of road that I must turn right on every morning heading to work (we have a stop sign, no light and thus no guaranteed period of time in which to make the turn). On almost a daily basis, someone will slow to let one or two of us turn in front of him/her, possibly recognizing that there’s a light up ahead and it might cost them all of a second of commute time to be nice. It’s a wonder all of us haven’t been driven bats by a common local form of highway engineering insanity, which requires drivers exiting an interstate _to intersect the path of the highway on-ramp_. Whoever thought up that idea should be drawn and quartered. ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/91 "2011-12-18T07:19:04Z")
I live in Boringville, Indiana and the majority of people don’t USE their signals, so i don’t know what the fuck they are thinking. I try to use mine, but i wonder if I’m doing it right. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/92 "2011-12-18T08:06:32Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > That’s exactly what it DOES mean in most situations. I’m not asking your permission, I alerting you that it’s about to happen Well, then, according to my state’s driver’s manual, you are using them incorrectly, at least in heavy traffic. Waiting until there’s an opening is much more dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/93 "2011-12-18T21:22:24Z")
In Washington state you can get a ticket for signaling with your brights or a horn toot.:rolleyes: They also frequently drive 10-15 mph slower than surrounding traffic with absurd lengths between the car in front of them, both on highways and intercity. Drives us nuts, it does. But you never have to worry about having to merge into an exit lane way at the end of a long line. Without exception, you can be sure that somewhere close to the actual exit, where traffic is crawling along, there will be someone with five to ten car lengths open in front of them, even though the line is only moving at 10-20 mph. ---
**Author:** ![Stately\_Greek\_Automaton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Stately\_Greek\_Automaton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stately_Greek_Automaton)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/94 "2011-12-19T00:29:20Z")
> [@singular1](#): > > In Washington state you can get a ticket for signaling with your brights or a horn toot.:rolleyes: > They also frequently drive 10-15 mph slower than surrounding traffic with absurd lengths between the car in front of them, both on highways and intercity. Drives us nuts, it does. But you never have to worry about having to merge into an exit lane way at the end of a long line. Without exception, you can be sure that somewhere close to the actual exit, where traffic is crawling along, there will be someone with five to ten car lengths open in front of them, even though the line is only moving at 10-20 mph. With respect to Washington State drivers, I completely agree. I live in BC and whenever I drive down the I-5 to Seattle, anyone driving over the speed limit will have BC or Oregon plates, with the odd one from California. ---
**Author:** ![Ibanez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a4c791/32.png) [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/95 "2011-12-19T01:05:54Z")
You should try driving in Montreal. Signaling means shit there. You just go, inch your car in then they let you in. There is no other way to do it otherwise you’ll be sitting there forever waiting to change lanes. I dated a woman from Montreal that helped me figure it out. “oh you mean drive like the locals ?” Yup. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/96 "2011-12-19T01:10:07Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Well, then, according to my state’s driver’s manual, you are using them incorrectly, at least in heavy traffic. Waiting until there’s an opening is much more dangerous. What state? ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/97 "2011-12-19T20:55:38Z")
When I still had my car, I learned to NOT signal exactly because some asshole will always make sure you can not change lanes. You and Asshole can have the entire road, no one else on it, and yet that bastard will do whatever it takes to fuck with you. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/98 "2011-12-19T21:48:43Z")
Some people are crazy once they get behind the wheel. The ones I can’t understand are the ones that must get ahead even if they’re just one car ahead. I drive to work on a two lane road. This morning one car passed me, then a semi, then another car (not in a row). How does that help? You’re not getting there any faster! I’ve seen people cross double yellows to pass people. Hell, one time I was sure there was going to be a huge head-on collision because some idiot decided they were too good to wait at a light at the T-intersection and zoomed past the line - on the wrong side of the road, mind - past at least five cars. I get as impatient as anyone. Traffic backs up near the lights, but its still faster than the freeway. But its not worth putting my life at risk just to go to work. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/99 "2011-12-19T21:56:27Z")
> [@Silver\_Tyger](#): > > … its not worth putting my life at risk just to go to work. Communist! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339/100 "2011-12-19T22:19:29Z")
Florida’s bad driving habit is the people who pass you on the right while you are in the middle of passing someone else on the interstate AND there is already a car in front of you! In other words, you are not driving slow on purpose, but are behind someone who is driving slow and leaving a semi-reasonable gap and then someone scoots around you into that small-ish gap. In cases like that, I do close the gap unless the driver was there before me. If they’ve just tried to pass me on the right, then try to merge back in, into my “safety” zone (which is usually only a bit more than 3 car lengths anyway,) I don’t let them in unless required by the laws of physics, and even then I lay on my horn. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-going-crazy-when-someone-signals-you-let-them-change-lanes/590339.md?page=6)