I constantly signal, although there’s one rule I learned in 1970s driver-ed that still confuses me (anyone else heard of this?): if you’re on a divided highway and you need to make a (legal) U-turn, a left turn signal means you’re making that U-bolt and not the left turn. How’s that work?
Yes, always. It’s the habit thing. But there are many reasons to always display your turning or lane-change intentions even if it seems like it would be obvious.
Many things that seem obvious, aren’t.
The one exception is the roundabout. There is only one way you can go (around!) with multiple exit points. Additionally, the exit points are so close together that signaling wouldn’t be meaningful, and it’s more important to watch where you’re going and keep an eye out for traffic, especially assholes entering the roundabout who are supposed to yield but don’t. jtur88’s analogy with a turning lane is not valid.
I’m guessing that you’re misremembering the instructions. A left turn signal is advance notice to drivers behind you that you’re slowing down and maybe stopping, and notice to drivers in the oncoming lanes that you’re intending to turn, maybe in front of them if they’re still far away. A left turn and a U-turn are pretty much the same thing in that sense. There is in any case no way I can think of to signal a distinction, nor particularly a need to do so.
Huh? Can you make a left turn at this intersection? If so, are you not supposed to signal it?
I figure that left or U-turns are only different when you are in the part of the road with opposing traffic, and so both need to be signaled. I suppose a driver on the cross street turning right might be confused - but he’d be more confused if you didn’t signal.
Not doing so (signalling as per the OP) is an invite to be pulled over the police, at least in my neck of the woods.
I always use my turn signals. I want other drivers to be aware of my intention to turn.
According to Illinois regulation -
(625 ILCS 5/11-804) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 11-804)
Sec. 11-804. When signal required.
(a) No person may turn a vehicle at an intersection unless the vehicle is in proper position upon the roadway as required in Section 11-801 or turn a vehicle to enter a private road or driveway, or otherwise turn a vehicle from a direct course or move right or left upon a roadway unless and until such movement can be made with reasonable safety. No person may so turn any vehicle without giving an appropriate signal in the manner hereinafter provided.
(b) A signal of intention to turn right or left when required must be given continuously during not less than the last 100 feet traveled by the vehicle before turning within a business or residence district, and such signal must be given continuously during not less than the last 200 feet traveled by the vehicle before turning outside a business or residence district.
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/062500050K11-804.htm
What this means, besides alerting other drivers, or pedestrians, as to your intentions, is that by not indicating your intention to turn your vehicle before you turn your vehicle, you have provided every traffic officer with a legal reason to stop your car and ask you for an ID. You may even get a ticket, or be issued a warning.
Yeah, when they do that, it’s usually because they are in a hurry and plan to scoot around your car and get in front of you before the intersection ends.
No, but I do use my turn signal to exit the traffic circle. As far as I can tell, I’m about the only one.
That is exactly it. There was/(perhaps even still is) an ethnically offensive nickname for it too, around here.
ETA:
Rather than being coy and leaving people wondering what in the hell it was, since this sort of shit annoys me, it was simply “the Mexican sneak.”
I’ve never heard that name for it. But if I’m in the proper mood, I’ll sometimes match speed with them and force them to give up and fall back in behind me where they belong. Of course I only do that on the North side where I’m unlikely to get shot at.
Hey! 
Oh, they do that here, too, sometimes. People tend to be more forgiving than I remember them being growing up. That sort of shit was really frowned upon. Now, nobody seems to give much of a shit.
A blind person driving will tend to do that.
Same.
Before I enter a traffic circle, I always signal in the direction I intend to exit it. Thus, in a simple four-way intersection, if I plan to take the first exit, I signal right; third exit or u-turn, left; second exit, no signal. I don’t know if this actually helps anyone, but it can’t hurt, and it doesn’t cost me nothin’.
Yes.
I’m sure I forget here and there,. but mostly yes.
My car has two turn signal settings, put it down lightly and signal blinks 3 times (IIRC) and stops, put it further down to a detent and it keeps blinking till you turn it off or steer the other way, like cars always did. Don’t know if it’s all newer cars.
In a turn lane I do the first one after I start moving; I use that setting to change lanes when I have ample room also. Turning without a turn lane I leave it blinking the whole time I’m stopped, so other people can think through their strategies.
Loads of people don’t signal at all, in any situation, where I drive. If they’d just signal where it’s important to safety I would be more than willing to assume they are going to turn in the direction of the arrow in a turn lane. But I don’t ‘economize’ on turn signal use myself.
My mother is over 80 and hard of hearing, so when she signals to change lanes, she spaces and leaves the flasher on because she cannot hear the clicking. The turn signal lever has the lane change position, where it only flashes as long as you hold it, and I tried to get her to use that, but old habits are hard to change.
When you are changing lanes you signal until the lane change is complete. If the turning lane was a couple 100 yards long, I’d turn the blinker off until I was closer to the actual intersection. When you are turning in front of oncoming traffic it makes sense to do so.
In a roundabout, the car already in the roundabout has the right of way. It’s their lane and you need to signal to get into it. Yield to inner vehicles while in the circle and signal when you intend to leave. Don’t be a dick and use the outer lane to go around the entire circle, ffs.
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I always do. It lets others know that I’m dedicated to the turn and I’m not gonna suddenly stick my head up my ass and make a right turn out of the left turn lane, across four traffic lanes while honking at others to get out of my way (saw this yesterday).
This actually bothers me about the momentary selection in my car. I really think I should get four or five flashes rather than the three that I get.
I’m also guilty of momentary actuation in my truck, which I don’t drive very often, compared to the car, which flashes three times. The result is I’m an asshole (unwittingly) when I give a single flash to change lanes. (I also always worry that its non-existent adaptive cruise control will fail to stop me!)