Can a driver be ticketed by a police officer for not using their turn signal when using a ‘left-turn only’ lane or other such situation which offers only one possible driving route? I’ve always practiced a ‘better safe than sorry’ approach to this circumstance and used my turn signal but it seems very redundant and pointless. I mean, if I am sitting in a lane that only allows left turns, where else could I possibly be going other than left?? What additional, useful information does the implementation of my blinker give any potential fellow-driver on the road in this situation? Could a police officer ticket me if I didn’t use my blinker in such a situation?
Pretty sure there was a thread about this not too long ago.
I say it’s useful because the people on the other sides of the intersection don’t necessarily know that your lane is turn-only, or that you are aware of that and actually intend to turn.
The provincial (BC) driver’s guide I looked at just says to signal when making left or right turns - nothing specific about if you’re in a lane that only allows that turn. Still, whether or not it’s actually required, I think it’s useful because as the poster aboves says, it helps make drivers around you aware that you know where you are and what you’re doing.
A common thing I see around here is sort of the opposite problem - drivers who don’t signal to move into the turn lane and only then signal once they’re all the way into that lane and don’t have a choice any more.
Heck, if the left-turn only sign is painted on the street, the drivers on your side of the intersection might not know that your lane is turn-only. Which might make the drivers on the other side extra cautious about assuming you’re turning left, even if they know that the lane is left-turn only.
State statute here is pretty clear:
I’ve never heard of any excetions to the traffic laws, for example exempting redundant signals. Many left turn lanes are obvious by how they “dead end” at the intersection and often are marked by street signs too, for right-turn only lanes.
However, if the police gave tickets for every idiot who failed to signal in any situation, there’s be a lot less disposable income. SO the odds are the police giving tickets are either working on a quota, or there’s some dickish behaviour on the part of the police or the driver that resulted in a ticket to show who’s boss.
The moral being, if the police want to write you a ticket they can, just like going 2mph over the limit; and if the judge feels the ticket was not unreasonable, you have no choice but pay up.
There was an intersection near where I used to live where the right-hand lane was signed right-turn-only except for busses; it turned into a bus lane on the other side of the intersection. The police would sit there just past the intersection and pull over anyone who went straight through, bypassing the lineup in the other lanes. They seemed to have no problem meeting their quota, it was easier that generally enforcing traffic rules at random locations and out around the streets.