Driving through the business park on the way to work this morning, I was behind a car stopped in the road behind a bicyclist. I naturally thought there was some issue with the bicyclist so I stopped too.
No, it turned out the car had stopped preparatory to pulling into a street parking space. And had not used his/her turn signal, so I had no idea.
This always just annoys me. There seem to be a lot of people around here who don’t use turn signals, and I just don’t get it. It’s not like it takes a lot of thought, and I’d think it would greatly reduce your chance of an accident (so I won’t pull out in front of you while you’re trying to change lanes, or whatever).
My dad does this too! It drives me batty. He says he tries to use it when there are other cars around, so I guess that’s his excuse, but it’s not a very good one (he doesn’t always notice when there are other cars who would maybe like to see it).
I think it’s just a matter of habit. I automatically put my signal on, even if there’s no other person in sight. Others just have the habit of never using signals. It annoys me too, but what can you do?
At the risk of sounding some flavor of racist, I have regularly observed folks using the opposite signal - when I can see the driver they appear to be of foreign extraction. I am curios if they are taught this method in their home country. Otherwise, I would rather they don’t use a signal than use the opposite signal. Gah.
Signal? Yeah, right. Yeah, you’d LIKE to know what I’m doing next, huh? You bastards just want to fuck with me – I see RIGHT through you, man, and I am NOT giving away the INFORMATION, know what I’m sayin’?
That is to say, I assume that raging paranoia is responsible, at least in some cases.
I wonder if they don’t understand the operation of the turn signals or if turn indicators work differently in different countries.
On a similar note, I took Drivers’ Ed in High School (yes, I’m that old). We had classroom instruction, simulator instruction (totally useless, BTW) and then hands-on driving. When it came my turn for the hands-up part the first time I had to ask a fellow classmate how the turn signals worked. I knew that pushing the bar one way made the signals flash to indicate one direction, while the other way meant the opposite direction, but nowhere in the written materials or in the simulator instruction did anything EVER say that you pushed up for RIGHT and down for LEFT. Something SO basic was completely silent.
Heh. I’m a one-person turn signal using campaign in my town. Change lanes in front of me w/no signal and you get honked at in most cases. Well, unless you’re a cop. THEY seldom use signals either. It seems to work at least temporarily - 9 times out of 10 if they change lanes again the turn signal comes on.
I don’t think it’s actually required to use signals here in Tennessee. It seems to have become a custom to pull quite a ways ahead and then eeeaasse over into the lane - sorry, that’s not good enough! I want a signal!
My husband learned to drive in Southern California. He didn’t use turn signals for years because he said the other drivers would just see it as a challenge. Since we now live in a state with a population smaller than any given city in California and with wide open roads, people don’t fight over 10 feet of road space. If you signal, most of the time, they’ll let you in.
No idea why this little bit of freeway driving habit had to transfer over to street driving though. If you signal someone’s not going to let you turn right?
He’s much better now, being older and wiser and with most of the California edges worn off.
I track down non-signal users, wait to they get into the store or wherever they were headed, then steal their light housings. I mean, hey, they aren’t using them, so they shouldn’t care.
OK, not really, but it’s something I fantasize about every time I see someone not signal.
I’m new. I’m frequently lost, and sometimes I don’t know I need to turn there, until I’m THEREthere (and “Jill” the GPS unit is NOT always helpful, she’s a little slow on the draw sometimes)! And since I did grow up using signals, I automatically use it as soon as I do know, but then it’s only one or two blinks before I change lanes or exit.
It’s not on purpose I swear, and trust me, since I’m probably lost and have probably BEEN lost for a while, I guarantee I’m a lot more frustrated (and therefore already being punished), than the other driver.
I hate to bitch about my SO, since I love him so much, but this is one of his habits. He gets mad that people are “not letting him in”, but I point out he doesn’t have a turn signal on! How the fuck are they supposed to even know you want to come over? Read your brain? He does it at the last minute, sometimes as he is switching. GRRR!
And I hate people who say “Oh, I do it when other people are around.” Bullshit. You don’t remember. You have to instill the habit and do it all the time.
