# On the use of turn signals -- or not **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 7, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-use-of-turn-signals-or-not/307311 "2005-06-07T16:41:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-use-of-turn-signals-or-not/307311/21 "2005-06-09T21:59:55Z")
Also note, somebody driving with a cellphone glued to their head CAN’T signal, they only have two hands. So, it’s not their fault. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-use-of-turn-signals-or-not/307311/22 "2005-06-09T22:56:14Z")
> [@Satchmo](#): > > Also note, somebody driving with a cellphone glued to their head CAN’T signal, they only have two hands. So, it’s not their fault. :rolleyes: BINGO! We have a winner! Personally, I believe this is being taught in drivers education classes now. Step 1 - Enter vehicle Step 2 - Close door Step 3 - Dial Cell Phone Step 4 - etc. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-use-of-turn-signals-or-not/307311/23 "2005-06-09T23:32:55Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > Using both hands on the wheel is a sign of weakness. Now now…let’s not be TOO hasty here. 😃 I’d never thought of that as being a California thing. Do most people actively keep both hands on the wheel at all times? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2005, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-use-of-turn-signals-or-not/307311/24 "2005-06-09T23:35:50Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > Thanks to all of you for the feedback. I’m surprised that no one really stood up in defense of not signaling. At the risk of sounding really condescending, I’ll explain this to you: _Everyone_ is a stupid, childish driver. _No one_ is ever willing to even entertain the possibility that they’re a stupid, childish driver, even though they freely acknowledge that _most_ drivers are in fact, childish and stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-use-of-turn-signals-or-not/307311/25 "2005-06-10T03:58:41Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > I understand about people wanting to cut you off when you signal for a lane change, but there are ways to deal with that, too. Oh, heck yes, and I’m not saying that anyone should stop using a signal because of it. I was merely confirming that yes, wackos like that really do exist. (My old lady was a special kind of wacko, because when I sped up, she sped up, and when I slowed down, she slowed down. Her attitude was, “I own this lane, damnit!”) A couple of times, I have neglected to signal that I was merging into an interstate, figuring, “Hey, it’s obvious what I’m trying to do!” Big mistake. There’s usually enough going on that the other drivers need that little clue to figure out your intentions. So no, I’m in no way defending the practice. Except for those times when there’s no one around to see your signal anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-use-of-turn-signals-or-not/307311/26 "2005-06-10T03:59:45Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > At the risk of sounding really condescending, I’ll explain this to you: I don’t think you were being condescending, and I appreciate your point. I certainly agree with you that most people aren’t willing to think they’re being stupid. I just thought that there would be some folks out there who don’t signal and believed they had legitimate reasons for not doing so. It may just be me, but I draw a distinction between the two. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-use-of-turn-signals-or-not/307311/27 "2005-06-10T04:25:58Z")
Well really all you’ve got, in a car, is a turn signal and a horn. These things just aren’t always adequate. Like, what if you’re in a double turn lane, only you’ve just realized you need to make an immediate left upon turning, and so while you’re in the right-hand lane of the double-left turning lane, you need to be on the left . . . so you signal . . . only it doesn’t help because people in the dedicated turn lane often signal, even though they are in that lane so obviously they are turning. (And I don’t agree that they should not do it, either, because daily I see some damn fool who apparently doesn’t KNOW it’s a turn lane and doesn’t turn. So if they’re signaling, there’s an extra clue that they know where they are and what they’re doing, although even that is by no means concluslve.) And on the “speeds up if I turn on my signal” thing–well, I’ve done that, but only if the person started signaling at a point where I was already committed to barreling past him. I mean, come on, bucko, you had several minutes to decide you probably shouldn’t be behind that cement truck, why did it not occur to you to change lanes until I was pulling even with your rear wheels? And now I’m supposed to hang back and let you in? Really, if people signal in time, I will always let them in. And people almost always let me in when I signal, too. Both my cars are fairly small, so it’s not that I’m intimidating them. ---
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-use-of-turn-signals-or-not/307311/28 "2005-06-10T05:50:19Z")
> [@Hilarity N. Suze](#): > > Well really all you’ve got, in a car, is a turn signal and a horn. These things just aren’t always adequate. I wholeheartedly agree. I want one of those scrolling signs to put on my bumpers, so that my passenger can type profane instructions to other drivers. Example 1: KINDLY GET OFF MY ASS, FUCKNUGGET. Example 2: GET OVER OR PERISH IN FLAMES, GRANDMA. It would be most helpful in places like Boston and Washington DC. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-use-of-turn-signals-or-not/307311.md?page=1)