# Should turn signals be used in this situation? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 7, 2018, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206 "2018-03-07T22:47:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2018, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206/1 "2018-03-07T22:47:03Z")
Today I was driving on a gas station lot. I needed to drive around the pumps to get to the one that was available, and as I drove, I used my left signal to indicate each time I was going to turn left. I.e., in driving the rectangle around the pumps, I had to turn around three corners of that rectangle, and for each of those turns, I used my signal. There were cars moving about on the lot in addition to my own. I mention this as possibly relevant however I should note I would have signaled even without those cars, as I generally signal whenever I make a turn regardless of whether I see vehicles nearby or not. I had a passenger in my car, however, who insisted I do not need to signal in this gas station lot driving situation. In giving her reasoning, she said: A. It’s not a street. B. Nobody needs to know I’m turning. C. There is no traffic. Please let me know your thoughts about this situation. Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2018, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206/2 "2018-03-07T22:48:27Z")
I’d rather you used them everywhere, regardless. The more predictable you are, the less irritated I will be. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2018, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206/3 "2018-03-07T22:53:57Z")
I probably would not have signaled in that situation. But I think the claim that no one needed to know you were turning is . . . . dubious at best. Parking lots-- with gas pumps or not-- are one of the hardest places to predict where a given driver intends to go next. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2018, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206/4 "2018-03-07T22:57:44Z")
You don’t “need” to signal, as it’s not a legal requirement, but if there’s other cars about who might also be jockeying for position at a pump, it’s helpful for them to know where you intend to go. “Is that guy pulling away from the pump, or turning around?” I’ve been in that situation more than once, trying to guess what someone is doing. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2018, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206/5 "2018-03-07T23:29:21Z")
D. It is confusing, and gives little indication of your intentions in that situation. Also, I am having a hard time conceptualizing that even at parking lot speeds, you put on your signal, then switched if off, and repeated 3 times. This is again potentially confusing, as it’s not clear whether you are signalling an upcoming turn or the previous. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206/6 "2018-03-08T00:54:13Z")
Also a follow up question, does this link seem relevant, or does it seem to be addressing a separate issue? [https://www.quora.com/Do-I-have-to-use-my-turn-signals-while-in-a-parking-lot](https://www.quora.com/Do-I-have-to-use-my-turn-signals-while-in-a-parking-lot) Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206/7 "2018-03-08T01:18:26Z")
Seems like the same question. This isn’t a tough concept at all. When in the driver’s seat, use your god damn indicators to…you know, indicate what your intentions are. To those you can see and to those you can’t. I don’t care if you are at the south pole in a snowcat, hundreds of miles in all directions from anyone or anything, use your indicators. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206/8 "2018-03-08T01:43:20Z")
It’s a good habit to just do it. Gas station parking lots can be a bit weird though. My Wife and I live on a dead end gravel road. There are no other full time residents on the road. Been here for 25 years and I can count on one hand how often I’ve seen another car on the road when I’m on it. You don’t drive any faster than 15mph. My Wife signals the turn into our driveway. It’s cute, but I understand the habit that she has. It’s a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206/9 "2018-03-08T01:46:02Z")
The legal requirement is secondary to common sense, use it when it would be beneficial regardless of legality, and the opposite applies also. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206/10 "2018-03-08T03:43:59Z")
If you drove a BMW you’d NEVER have to signal – problem solved! ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206/11 "2018-03-08T04:16:10Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > B. Nobody needs to know I’m turning. > C. There is no traffic. …_that you know of._ Anyway, if you are thinking about this before every turn and making a decision on whether to use the turn signal, you are distracting yourself from the task of driving, and sometimes you’d make the wrong decision and not use the turn signal when you do need to. It’s safer to make a habit of using the turn signal at every turn. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206/12 "2018-03-08T06:32:02Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > If you drove a BMW you’d NEVER have to signal – problem solved! BMWs have signals? ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206/13 "2018-03-08T06:57:41Z")
A BMW signals a lot of things. But you should still use your indicators. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206/14 "2018-03-08T09:10:31Z")
I’d probably do it, out of habit. But if the action of turning on and off your signals distracts you from navigating around the pumps and any cars that might be entering or leaving, it is best not to and to concentrate on finding a safe haven and not on the signals. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206/15 "2018-03-08T13:28:46Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I had a passenger in my car, however, who insisted I do not need to signal in this gas station lot driving situation. The passenger was wrong. Not about the turn signal situation, but rather for being a backseat driver. Fuck backseat drivers. ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206/16 "2018-03-08T14:58:56Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The passenger was wrong. > > Not about the turn signal situation, but rather for being a backseat driver. Fuck backseat drivers. This. I find few things as annoying as someone else telling me how to drive. Well, that and people who will stop in the right-hand lane of a 5-lane road (with center lane) in busy traffic to let someone out when they have a green light ahead of them. Not only is that stupid and annoying, but dangerous to everyone except the idiot doing it. I’ve had three accidents in 44 years of driving, none of them resulting in a bodily injury, and fewer moving violations (although I’ll admit to more than my share of expired registration citations). Not that I’m a perfect driver, but I seem to be doing OK. Having a passenger telling me to use (or not use) my turn signal is not helpful. My attitude is that the intent of the turn signal is to let other drivers know your intentions. In the situation in the OP, it is not clear if that was the case (that is, with so many turns in rapid succession, I’m not sure other drivers would be able to tell what the intentions were). In the example of turning into a driveway on a deserted road, I generally wouldn’t use one since there is nobody to signal my intentions to. Likewise, when changing lanes on a 4 lane road. If there is nobody around, I will rarely signal to change lanes. If there is traffic, particularly behind me, I (nearly) always will. When i turn onto an exit ramp on the highway, I’ll signal to signal my intentions to enter the exit ramp, but I usually cancel my signal once I am in the ramp lane, even if the exit is still a ways ahead, since my intentions are obvious (same with a right turn only lane on surface streets that is controlled by an arrow–my intent to turn right is not really in question at that point). I realize my opinion is not always in perfect alignment with traffic law. I have decided that situational awareness is probably more important than strict adherence to the law. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206/17 "2018-03-08T15:10:06Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > If there is nobody around, I will rarely signal… Why not just train yourself to signal automatically as part of the muscle memory of turning, so that you do it every time without any conscious thought? What do you possibly gain by making a conscious decision “is there anyone to signal to?” each time you turn? And what about that time when you are tired or distracted and _haven’t noticed_ another road user, and the fact that you signal your intentions might prevent an accident? ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206/18 "2018-03-08T15:25:41Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > BMWs have signals? They are after-market, most owners choose not to get them installed. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206/19 "2018-03-08T15:37:59Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Why not just train yourself to signal automatically as part of the muscle memory of turning, so that you do it every time without any conscious thought? What do you possibly gain by making a conscious decision “is there anyone to signal to?” each time you turn? And what about that time when you are tired or distracted and _haven’t noticed_ another road user, and the fact that you signal your intentions might prevent an accident? This is _the_ central dispute I have had with passengers before. To me, the “use only when necessary” approach leads only to unnecessary increased cognitive load, and therefore greater chances of a collision. To them, the “use always as a matter of muscle memory” seems to evince a foolish lack of situational awareness. I do not know how to adjudicate between these views, especially since I’m so firmly ensconsed in the first… ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206/20 "2018-03-08T15:42:45Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > To them, the “use always as a matter of muscle memory” seems to evince a foolish lack of situational awareness. And this is surely a flawed argument. Nobody is suggesting that you should signal automatically in order that you can afford to _not bother_ to have situational awareness. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-turn-signals-be-used-in-this-situation/810206.md?page=2)