# USE Yer Gaddam Turn Signals!! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 7, 2005, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285 "2005-03-07T01:36:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285/21 "2005-03-07T15:04:11Z")
I’ve got nothing to add, except there is a bumper sticker out there I had on my old car: _VISUALIZE…_ using your turn signal ---
**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285/22 "2005-03-07T15:10:29Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > And the signal-come-latelys. They turn their blinkers on during the turn they are making or after entering the lane they are changing to. Are they looking for technicalities? Even worse than that, IMO, are the people that signal and then just change lanes without looking, as though the signal has special power to clear traffic for them. **Skelji** calls it 'The Moses Signal" ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285/23 "2005-03-07T15:57:23Z")
> [@Mauvaise](#): > > **Skelji** calls it 'The Moses Signal" Suddenly I have the Batman theme going in my head… o/`Nananananananananananananananana Moses! Nananananananananananananananana Moses! Moses! Moses! Moses! o/` From his home in stately Goldman manor, millionaire playboy Moishe Goldman fights crime as…MOSES! With his sidekick and ward Edward, the Goy Wonder, he keeps Gotham safe from evil! ---
**Author:** ![LindyHopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@LindyHopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LindyHopper)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285/24 "2005-03-07T17:42:46Z")
> [@store-clerk-slacker](#): > > It is my husbands firm belief that the car manufacturers should install a device that would hinder people from leaving their blinkers on while driving for hours. > > He feels that after a mile of the blinker still going and going and going…the car should suddenly turn in the direction of the blinker that is lit, thus causing them to remember to turn the damned things off. Your husband isn’t named [Richard Jeanne](http://www.s-t.com/daily/09-96/09-01-96/e02li109.htm), is he? (Scroll down to the second-to-last paragraph.) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285/25 "2005-03-07T18:23:56Z")
I’d like to see the power steering and air conditioning in cars be enabled only through the use of the blinker. If they don’t want to use the blinker, fine, but at least cause them to break into a latherous sweat. ---
**Author:** ![store-clerk-slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@store-clerk-slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/store-clerk-slacker)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285/26 "2005-03-08T03:01:34Z")
> [@LindyHopper](#): > > Your husband isn’t named [Richard Jeanne](http://www.s-t.com/daily/09-96/09-01-96/e02li109.htm), is he? > > (Scroll down to the second-to-last paragraph.) > > 🙂 No but **Crunchy Frog** would like to think he is as funny. 😉 Now I know where he gets these _brillant yet entertaining_ ideas. Of course all this time I thought he was being original ☹ ---
**Author:** ![midget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90db22/32.png) [@midget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/midget)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285/27 "2005-03-08T03:41:17Z")
> [@store-clerk-slacker](#): > > It is my husbands firm belief that the car manufacturers should install a device that would hinder people from leaving their blinkers on while driving for hours. > > He feels that after a mile of the blinker still going and going and going…the car should suddenly turn in the direction of the blinker that is lit, thus causing them to remember to turn the damned things off. I’ve always been of the belief that the engine should just cut out entirely in this situation. If they’re too stupid to turn the signal off after 2 miles, they don’t deserve to drive. I’m sure various automated insults, etc. could also be incorporated to add to the humiliation… ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285/28 "2005-03-08T03:41:41Z")
For starters. Once we have the motherfuckers using their turn signals, we can go to work on the proper lanes to turn into, how to behave at a yellow light that’s 400 feet away, and why that thick white line at the intersection is called a “stop line.” ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285/29 "2005-03-08T04:02:28Z")
> [@cricetus](#): > > For starters. Once we have the motherfuckers using their turn signals, we can go to work on the proper lanes to turn into, how to behave at a yellow light that’s 400 feet away, and why that thick white line at the intersection is called a “stop line.” And right-of-way. BOY, do we need to work on right-of-way… ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285/30 "2005-03-08T04:56:25Z")
> [@Cub Mistress](#): > > _sigh_ Around here, if someone has his turn signal on, it must have been on when he bought the car, or he hit it by accident reaching for his beer. > > Forget world peace, if we could just get people to use turn signals properly I’d be much happier. Have you lived in south Florida long? ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285/31 "2005-03-08T13:00:08Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > And right-of-way. BOY, do we need to work on right-of-way… Oh, do we ever. I can’t believe how many times in the last few weeks I’ve muttered, “Don’t wave me on, asshole, **I** know I have the right-of-way!” ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285/32 "2005-03-08T13:08:37Z")
How do elderly retirees manage todrive the 1600 miles form NYC, to Boca Raton, FL, with their left turn signals CONTINUALLY ON?? Oh, I heard that in Sweden, you brakes activate the fron DRLs…so you can tell if somebody is braking to turn…is this true? We ought to have this feature here! ---
**Author:** ![LindyHopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@LindyHopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LindyHopper)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285/33 "2005-03-08T15:43:32Z")
> [@store-clerk-slacker](#): > > No but **Crunchy Frog** would like to think he is as funny. 😉 > Now I know where he gets these _brillant yet entertaining_ ideas. > > Of course all this time I thought he was being original ☹ Eh, it’s no big. I crib from Dave Barry all the time. I used to credit him while I was doing it, but my GF made me stop. Apparently, it’s funnier if she thinks I thought of it myself. Plus, it’s the whole chef thing–you know, never admit to anything going wrong in the kitchen, and everybody will love it. [sub]Somewhere, in the dim recesses of my brain, I knew who your husband was, but I forgot.[/sub]🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285/34 "2005-03-08T21:08:43Z")
I occasionaly see a bumper sticker that I want, but haven’t found: “Turn signals - works better than mind reading.” ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285/35 "2005-03-08T21:28:49Z")
> [@Futile Gesture](#): > > It is of course a well known automotive fact that you don’t have to use your indicating lights if there’s no other vehicles in your immediate vicinity. This means any pedestrians foolishly intent on crossing the road must accept their status as insignificant non-traffic and look lively if and when you decide to turn. You should live the pedestrian experience here; taxi drivers are particulary nefarious on their non-use of turning signals, I´ve been _this_ close of being hit by taxis making a speedy turn without signaling. Reason No. 152 to get that pocket bazooka I´ve been longing for. ---
**Author:** ![rowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@rowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowe)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285/36 "2005-03-08T23:15:49Z")
Here in the land of gridlock, (AKA Los Angeles), signalling when you want to change lanes works about 50% of the time. Half the time the person will let you in, sometimes very grudgingly…the other half, they’ll close the gap and squeeze you out in order to protect their hard-earned territory. I always signal (and get annoyed at my fiancee if she doesn’t) so I’ve just learned to accept that the world has its assholes. Those assholes are going to behave in their asshole-like manner no matter if they’re in the store, on the sidewalk, or behind the wheel of a car. Now, that 50% is actually somewhat deceptive, because it only applies when you’re trying to get over in a normal, non-asshole-like manner. Turn signals work 100% of the time when someone zooms up and merges in at the last second when a highway splits or there’s a particulary crowded intersection that the signaller doesn’t have time to wait for. It boggles my mind that EVERY single time I’ve seen someone avoid the line and zoom to the front, causing more backup and wasted time for everyone except the offender, the person in front will basically bend over and let the asshole in front of them. Why?!?! Why do they do this?? Why wait for 10 minutes in stop & go traffic only to let an ass in at the last second? It just causes more stop & go traffic behind you, making everything worse. UGH. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2005, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285/37 "2005-03-08T23:22:23Z")
> [@rowe](#): > > It boggles my mind that EVERY single time I’ve seen someone avoid the line and zoom to the front, causing more backup and wasted time for everyone except the offender, the person in front will basically bend over and let the asshole in front of them. Why?!?! Why do they do this?? Why wait for 10 minutes in stop & go traffic only to let an ass in at the last second? It just causes more stop & go traffic behind you, making everything worse. UGH. My GOD I hate that. I swear that there’s a Flanders permanently at the front of any merging lane. What actually happens, if you watch closely, is that often several people will (quite rightly) shut the queue-jumper out, and only when some idiot takes ‘pity’ on them do they get in. But they still manage to get ahead (oooh, all of 30 seconds ahead) of the dozens of people now secretly hoping to see a certain overpowered vehicle become, ummmm, overpowered 😉 ---
**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, 2005, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285/38 "2005-03-08T23:41:39Z")
> [@rowe](#): > > Now, that 50% is actually somewhat deceptive, because it only applies when you’re trying to get over in a normal, non-asshole-like manner. Turn signals work 100% of the time when someone zooms up and merges in at the last second when a highway splits or there’s a particulary crowded intersection that the signaller doesn’t have time to wait for. It boggles my mind that EVERY single time I’ve seen someone avoid the line and zoom to the front, causing more backup and wasted time for everyone except the offender, the person in front will basically bend over and let the asshole in front of them. Why?!?! Why do they do this?? Why wait for 10 minutes in stop & go traffic only to let an ass in at the last second? It just causes more stop & go traffic behind you, making everything worse. UGH. There was an on-ramp I used to use that came from a surface street. The right lane was for the freeway only, the left was the travel lane. It was common for these assholes to zoom up to the place where ramp started and try to push in, not only being obnoxious but blocking the other lane. I have a happy ending - the cops figured this out, hid just beyond it, and grabbed these jerks, which solved the problem for a few weeks, at least. ---
**Author:** ![store-clerk-slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@store-clerk-slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/store-clerk-slacker)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285/39 "2005-03-09T00:37:47Z")
> [@LindyHopper](#): > > [sub]Somewhere, in the dim recesses of my brain, I knew who your husband was, but I forgot.[/sub]🙂 Attention whore that he is…he will be saddened that someone forgot who **Crunchy Frog** was… :eek: I’m sure that it doesn’t count when you’re a legend in _your own mind_ right? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![LindyHopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@LindyHopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LindyHopper)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285/40 "2005-03-10T00:22:47Z")
> [@store-clerk-slacker](#): > > Attention whore that he is…he will be saddened that someone forgot who **Crunchy Frog** was… :eek: > > I’m sure that it doesn’t count when you’re a legend in _your own mind_ right? 😉 No, I know who he is; I’d just forgotten that you two were together. And surely he’s a legend in other people’s minds too, right? Or shouldn’t he be encouraged? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-yer-gaddam-turn-signals/293285.md?page=1)