Hey! I have one of those cloaking devices on my car too! I’ve been in the left turn lane only to have the car next to me, in the straight through lane, turn left as well trying to go into the spot my car is occupying. I’ve also nearly been hit by people turning at lights while I had a green light, and also people trying to merge into the same spot I’m occupying. It’s a mystery to me, and yet, when my car suddenly does become visible, perhaps by the anger and dismay I am emitting, somehow, I get the death glare of Satan which clearly says that I should not exist at all, as I am in their way.
It doesn’t take much to signal intent. I won’t argue about highway merging, because I know how assholish people are in that instance. “You won’t get in front of me by god!” However, when you’re going to turn onto a side street or a parking lot, it is kind of nice for the person behind you to know that you are going to be doing that within the next so many feet. I have had people in front of me literally slam on their brakes and turn with no warning.
Those taking a hard line on turn signal use also never speed? Not even a little? Ever?
Also, my analysis while driving is simple. It consists of noticing nobody is around. That’s it. You make it sound like I’m busting out flow charts at each turn.
The trouble with this is that it relies on you being perfect at knowing that nobody is around. And I’m pretty sure that 90% of cyclists (for example) who have ever been hit by cars would tell you that the first thing the driver says is, “hey man, I didn’t see you.”
The whole point of turn signals is that they let others know what you’re doing, even if you don’t know they’re there. You are not as good as you think you are at knowing what’s around you. That’s not a personal slur: nobody is as good as you seem to think you are. Think about what you’re saying. You reckon that one time in a hundred, you don’t bother with the turn signal, saving maybe a peanut’s worth of energy; about as much energy as it takes to blink. It only requires you to fuck that up once, in an entire lifetime of driving, to irredeemably fuck up someone else’s life. Where’s the tradeoff there? I just don’t see it. Use your bloody signal; it’s not a sign of weakness, alright?
I acknowledge the fallacy of two wrongs. My point was that some people are being quite hypocritical by getting on a moral high horse, calling names, and demonizing me for less than perfect compliance with traffic laws.
If all the name-callers in this thread who are less than 100% compliant with all traffic laws at all times would please acknowledge that they are assholes, better than everyone else, infallible, childish, self-centered, hyper-masculine, moronic cunt scofflaws, then I think we can move on with a rational discussion of the merits.
This includes the slight speeders, the not-quite-stoppers, the folks who might start driving a couple of feet at night before turning the headlights on, those in California who make a right turn into a lane other than than the far right lane, the folks who fail to signal at least 100 feet before turning, those who run an occasional yellow light when they could have stopped, etc., etc.
Those of you who do any of these things should remember to change the law rather than decide not to follow it.
The time and energy spent attempting to defend your argument here might have been better spent using your turn signal while on the road.
Yup, I’ve exceeded the speed limit. But that’s no excuse for breaking the law in some other fashion. Do I always, always use my turn signal? If we are talking hard-core perfect driving then no. I use my turn signal by habit, regardless of my surroundings. So yes, I’ve used it in the middle of nowhere, even on closed roads where I know there is no traffic (because I locked the gate behind me).
I’m not a perfect driver. Then again, neither are you. And therein lies the best reason to make a habit of using turn signals.
Wow, so many high horses around here, it’s really hard to avoid the piles. Good to know the Pit is such a bastion of morality and judgment.
Looks like the lot of you are blowing Bearflag70’s comments completely out of proportion and then patting yourselves on the back for your own perfect behavior. Get over yourselves. A question was asked and answered honestly. Why ask these questions if you’re only happy with the answers you expect?
“Why, I always use my blinker 100% of the time and I am a perfect driver, of course.” ad infinitum… :rolleyes:
Just like all the folks who can’t be bothered to check the safety on a gun or the magazine and chamber for live rounds unless they’re “reasonably certain” it’s actually loaded, right? I mean, it couldn’t possibly be loaded because if you don’t see it loaded then it can’t possibly be loaded, just as there couldn’t possibly be a person in an adjacent lane if you didn’t see them there in the adjacent lane. When an accident happens (with a vehicle, firearm, or otherwise), the careless party who couldn’t be bothered to think of the safety of those around them won’t hesitate to attempt to explain how it all happened and how it wasn’t their fault because their failed assumptions were the direct cause of the event. Naturally, it’s never their fault for not taking the more-oft-than-not simple precautions for the safety of those around them. This kind of careless disregard for the people around oneself is how I define sociopathy, and I often find the true sign of an asshole lies in the degree to which they pathetically attempt to justify their sociopathic behaviors … one such behavior being the failure to use a turn signal to indicate lane changes and turns.
Personally, I’m not afraid to lay on the horn at anyone who turns without signaling when they’re in front of me. I’m pretty certain most are too stupid to actually realize or care why I’m honking, which is why I often wish I could do more than simply lay on the horn. I’ve found myself wishing these guys would make an additional flyer for placement on the cars of those who don’t know why a car comes with turn signals.
Well, that makes me happy. For what it’s worth, I can honestly say I have never exceeded the speed limit, for the trivial reason that I don’t drive. I am, however, an occasional cyclist, and if we had the search facility you’d be able to find me taking cyclists to task for running red lights, an action that makes me literally spit with fury (to the consternation of my ex-girlfriend, I actually chased a guy down the road who did this in front of me). Human beings aren’t designed to travel at 30+ mph, which makes it all the more important that those of us on the road develop good habits as opposed to relying on unreliable instincts.
In pretty much all things, I like to remember that we’re very bad at assessing our own competence. And this is a peer reviewed result (indeed, one of my favourite bits of research ever; I’m struggling to find the link, but I’ll come back later with it, I promise - it’s a hoot). As I said, it’s nothing personal: I just strongly believe that getting in to good habits on the presumption that you’ll eventually fuck up is way, waaaay preferable to relying on your own competence and concentration.
Anyway, I hope other people notice that you’ve taken this point on board, cos it’s pretty much all we can ask.
This is great. You define someone who violates a traffic law is a sociopath; however, you find it acceptable to dangerously violate traffic laws yourself presumably just to vent your road rage or somehow communicate your displeasure of other drivers. :rolleyes: