# When you're in a dedicated turning lane, do you signal? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 10, 2018, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556 "2018-02-10T00:06:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556/1 "2018-02-10T00:06:16Z")
I always do, but I’ve noticed that most drivers where I live don’t. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556/2 "2018-02-10T00:09:46Z")
I generally do. No particular reason. ---
**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:** [February 10, 2018, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556/3 "2018-02-10T00:11:26Z")
Yes. Always. And so should everybody. It’s to indicate that you are aware that you are in a dedicated turn lane and aren’t going to cluelessly try something stupid. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556/4 "2018-02-10T00:11:28Z")
I always do. It’s just ingrained habit to signal all turns/lane changes. I’ve also seen people use the turn lane to merge. With a signal, you know which way they’re planning to go. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556/5 "2018-02-10T00:15:22Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I always do. It’s just ingrained habit to signal all turns/lane changes. Me, too. It’s a lot easier to have the habit of signalling all turns than to choose not to signal sometimes. Same reason I always have use the parking brake when I’m parked. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556/6 "2018-02-10T00:24:12Z")
I do, unless it’s a really long light and the clicking starts to annoy me. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556/7 "2018-02-10T00:44:52Z")
I always signal, sometimes too early, but I figure it’s better than not at all. I fear one day I’ll be one of those geezers who drives down the highway with a signal on for hours… :eek: ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556/8 "2018-02-10T00:49:05Z")
I was pulled over for not doing so at age 16 so I do. Even if you don’t get a ticket is a traffic violation. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556/9 "2018-02-10T01:01:13Z")
I always signal, even when I enter my driveway. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556/10 "2018-02-10T01:28:59Z")
Never. Confusion to my enemies! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556/11 "2018-02-10T01:36:13Z")
> [@rat\_avatar](#): > > I was pulled over for not doing so at age 16 so I do. > > Even if you don’t get a ticket is a traffic violation. Depends on state driving laws. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556/12 "2018-02-10T01:44:59Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > I always signal, even when I enter my driveway. Signalling is such an ingrained habit with me, that I usually put my signal on before turning out of my driveway. Probably half the time I put it on in the driveway (about 200 feet from the street) before I turn into the garage. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556/13 "2018-02-10T02:09:30Z")
Yes I’m a habitual signaler too. I signal all the time to make sure I do it when needed, and even if I feel like it’s not needed for the people behind me I feel it is useful info for the people in front of me. I signal on the way out of my driveway too. There’s this one curve in my town that has a stop sign. It’s to keep people from driving too fast around the curve and into a house. I often find myself putting on my signal when I stop at the stop sign there, even though I’m not technically making a turn. ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556/14 "2018-02-10T03:04:10Z")
Everybody should. Do you think the other drivers at all the other approaching intersections can see the same signage / lane markings / traffic lights that you can? (Using the general ‘you’ here.) Using turn signals is one of those dividing lines of humanity, for me. It’s something you do only to benefit other people - so it’s pretty telling when someone falls sharply on either side of the line. > [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I do, unless it’s a really long light and the clicking starts to annoy me. (I sometimes do delay the signalling, though, for this reason, but always signal before the flow.) (So I guess I’m just okay.) ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556/15 "2018-02-10T03:19:00Z")
No. No more so than would I signal if I came to a sharp bend in a road with no intersection. I’m in my lane, I continue in my lane, whether the lane is straight or not. If you were in a roundabout, would you hold down the left flasher all the way around the circle until you came to your exit? However, I’d probably have had to signal to get into the dedicated turning lane, so Id probably just leaave it on until I completed the turn. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556/16 "2018-02-10T04:02:47Z")
I generally only signal when there’s another vehicle to benefit from the effort. This includes dedicated turn lanes. ---
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556/17 "2018-02-10T04:25:04Z")
Always. I would think it was very redundant to do so, but then again you have to remember how many idiots can get a drivers license. Not to mention those in opposing traffic that only rely on others to properly signal instead of being at their wits, or the strange situations where there is one turning lane on the opposing side and two on the other. It’s amazing how many people don’t understand what lanes are or what solid and dotted lines are. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556/18 "2018-02-10T04:34:50Z")
Yes, always. Michigan here. I figured it was required. ---
**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:** [February 10, 2018, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556/19 "2018-02-10T05:13:56Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > I generally only signal when there’s another vehicle to benefit from the effort. This includes dedicated turn lanes. And what about situations where you haven’t _noticed_ another vehicle or pedestrian, and signaling your intention might prevent an accident by allowing them to anticipate what you are doing? A driver just this evening almost caused a collision with me because they weren’t aware that I was behind them, pulled into a parking spot and then changed their mind and pulled out again - all without signaling. It seems to me that it takes _more_ effort to make a decision every time about whether traffic conditions merit the “effort” of signaling a maneuver, and the best plan is for drivers to train themselves to make signaling an automatic routine part of muscle memory for every maneuver. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556/20 "2018-02-10T05:44:44Z")
If I am waiting at a red light, I shut the noisy bastard off until it is time to start moving. Otherwise, yes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-youre-in-a-dedicated-turning-lane-do-you-signal/808556.md?page=2)