# Is there a standard way of telling a driver their turn signal is on? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 31, 2005, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-way-of-telling-a-driver-their-turn-signal-is-on/319406 "2005-08-31T12:29:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-way-of-telling-a-driver-their-turn-signal-is-on/319406/21 "2005-09-01T01:42:35Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > But it’s usually the _less perceptive_ ones that do this! Too true. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-way-of-telling-a-driver-their-turn-signal-is-on/319406/22 "2005-09-01T01:46:24Z")
There just isn’t a substitute for opening the window, extending your hand and raising the middle digit smartly. Works for any traffic situation. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-way-of-telling-a-driver-their-turn-signal-is-on/319406/23 "2005-09-01T03:42:50Z")
I usually get in front of the mook and leave my turn signal on (the same one they’ve left on). After a bout 40 seconds they think “look at that idiot, he left his turn signal…” Theirs goes off, then mine does. They know they were naughty. I feel vindicated. ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-way-of-telling-a-driver-their-turn-signal-is-on/319406/24 "2005-09-01T13:34:26Z")
None of this woupld be a problem if we all had CB radios in our cars. Imagine how fun _that_ would be! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-way-of-telling-a-driver-their-turn-signal-is-on/319406/25 "2005-09-01T14:44:25Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > I usually get in front of the mook and leave my turn signal on (the same one they’ve left on). After about 40 seconds they think “look at that idiot, he left his turn signal…” Theirs goes off, then mine does. They know they were naughty. I feel vindicated. That’s exactly what I do. I, too, feel an odd sense of satisfaction as I pull away, knowing I’ve done something to make the world a little (very little, I admit) place. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-way-of-telling-a-driver-their-turn-signal-is-on/319406/26 "2005-09-01T14:45:32Z")
> [@William V.](#): > > That’s exactly what I do. I, too, feel an odd sense of satisfaction as I pull away, knowing I’ve done something to make the world a little (very little, I admit) place. Ooops. Should read, “better place.” ---
**Author:** ![yerba\_buena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/7ea924/32.png) [@yerba\_buena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yerba_buena)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-way-of-telling-a-driver-their-turn-signal-is-on/319406/27 "2005-09-01T18:47:36Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > I usually get in front of the mook and leave my turn signal on (the same one they’ve left on). After a bout 40 seconds they think “look at that idiot, he left his turn signal…” Theirs goes off, then mine does. They know they were naughty. I feel vindicated. I did this once, but in a far more annoying fashion. (I was driving from MA to IL and got bored, okay?) The offender was in the middle lane of a three-lane highway. I passed on the left, flipped on my left turn signal, and merged right. Leaving my turn signal on for several seconds, I observed he didn’t get the hint, so I merged right again (still with my left blinker on) and slowed down so he could pass me. He passed and made no indication of having noticed in the slightest. I then pulled up behind him and repeated the entire scenario. Still no response. I passed him for a third time, and then got bored, and drove off, my left signal (and his) still visible for miles on the straightways of Ohio. > [@](#): > > But it’s usually the less perceptive ones that do this! Too true. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2005, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-way-of-telling-a-driver-their-turn-signal-is-on/319406/28 "2005-09-01T19:59:34Z")
To be fair, in some cars it is very difficult to tell when the turn signal is on. I was driving a new Audi A8 the other day, and the clicking of the turn signal was so faint it couldn’t be distinguished from road noise unless you really paid attention. Also, the indicator light on the dash was positioned so that steering wheel blocked it when the steering wheel was properly adjusted. It would be very easy to leave the signal on for miles without ever noticing, even if you usually paid attention to such things. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-standard-way-of-telling-a-driver-their-turn-signal-is-on/319406.md?page=1)