Coz I don’t know my left from my right.
Usually takes me 3 tries to get it right.
There are many reasons that I always signal, but somewhere near that top of the list is that know I am not infallible.
I always check to see that it’s clear before changing lanes, but I am capable of mistakes. The driver I most want aware of my intentions is the one I don’t see. If my turn signal gives him the extra second or so to prepare for and react to my mistake when I change lanes into him, then it’s done its job. Redundancy, especially at such minimal “cost”, is something I view as a positive.
I don’t think I’ve seen it mentioned yet, but I have observed some people who don’t feel the need to signal a left turn when they’re in a dedicated turn lane (at a light, for example). “It’s obvious I’m in a left turn lane - why should I bother?”
To which I reply: Yes, it’s clear that you’re in a left turn lane to the traffic moving in your direction. But it’s often not so clear from the opposite side of the intersection - traffic you’ll be turning across - and they’re the ones you should be the most worried about.
Of course, If you make no mistakes, it won’t matter. But I’ve never met a single driver who never made errors, myself included. The turn signal can be useful in preventing accidents when those mistakes happen.
I don’t use them because they aren’t working and, considering all the impending repairs needed on my car, they’re at the bottom of the list. I try to drive carefully but I realize that I must come across as rude sometimes. Sorry, but making sure my car runs first is top priority and I only have so much money.
There are always hand signals, while maybe slightly doofy seeming, can avoid having a $1000 body shop bill added to the current list of repairs your car needs.
I didn’t mean that I don’t signal; that was my suggestion for why it doesn’t seem to be the custom here (Virginia peninsula) much. “Stealth driving” is the name my husband and I came up to describe it.
We also have the old people whose signal is on constantly, and who seem to make their lane changes according to signals from outer space they receive on their bridgework.
And TellMeI’mNotCrazy, they may not deliberately speed up for turn signals in Danbury, but they do here. I’ve seen it happen plenty of times when I was not the target, and I’ve discussed it with locals.
Don’t let me mislead you into thinking that I’m trying to say that Danbury drivers are more polite - it’s that they’re all raving lunatics, and they will cut you off every time, regardless of a turn signal.
You’re not Crazy. My wife not OCD in any way that I can tell uses her turn signal when turning into our drive, on a dead end road that we are the only house on. I have lived here for 12 years and have seen another car on the road the same time I am on it maybe 10 times.
However, It is good practice. Just do it.
I’m not quite as good.
I don’t use turn signals on jeep trails when the nearest vehicle may be 20 miles away. Quite the rebel.
Some things, like SAFETY, are good to be a bit OCD about. Just do it. And you won’t have to worry about forgeting about it.
I didn’t know people didn’t use their turn signals. My mom always uses her turn signals, even if there’s absolutely no one around. I guess people are just lazy and don’t feel the need to consider other people’s safety, except their own. :rolleyes:
When I first started driving, I was worried about this. Until the drivers ed teacher said that you push/pull the lever in the same direction the steering wheel will go when you make the turn. On the left side, the steering wheel goes down when you turn left, up when you turn right. So does the signal lever.
I’m like TellMeI’mNotCrazy. My boyfriend teases me when I’m in one of those parking ramps where you can only turn right (or left) to go up the ramp and I signal every turn.
As Necros states, one place that’s really tricky is when I’m merging into a middle lane of a 3+ lane highway and there’s a car in the far lane. I tend to leave my signal on a bit longer so they know I’m coming. I’ve nearly merged into someone else because they merged into that lane without signalling.
In Australia, you can be failed for not using your indicators during your driving exam. Using turn signals is a good habit to get into. It makes me nervous when the car ahead of me suddenly changes lanes or turns without indicating that that was their intention. I think sometimes it’s just laziness or being obnoxious which is just rude, but I worry more about the drivers who just don’t seem to know what they’re doing. So they drift from lane to middle to other lane without watching other drivers. Scary!
This is my attitude - I really want everyone else to know what I’m going to do (and that is critical here - signal what you are GOING to do, not what you’re already doing), so that they can help me out by not letting me hit them if that is a possibility that I’ve overlooked.
Sorry, people who don’t signal, it’s not looking good for you. I haven’t seen a good reason yet for not signalling, and I’ve seen lots of good reasons for signalling.
I started out very fastidious about using my turn signals, then for a few years I got out of the habit. It was Wyoming’s fault - few people use them out there.
When I lived out there, I had a 27 mile drive to work which I could have performed almost completely on the wrong side of the road and been unlikely to hit another car. After a while, I thought to myself, “who am I signaling to, the f^*@ing antelope???”
I’m better now.
Amen to that. A signal is supposed to be a warning, a “Hey, I’m about to slow down and turn!” type warning not a “Hey! Remember how I started slowing down for no apparent reason half a mile ago? It’s because of this turn that I’m now in the middle of, and just now signalling for!”
I’m so in the habit that I usually signal even in a parking lot. Nothing odd abouy that, but some people (mostly men) get annoyed at me for it.
I’ve seen guys instinctively reach for the lever, then hurriedly pull their hand back.
I live in a very small town (Vernon, Florida), it’s so small there are no traffic lights or fast food joints. There is a dog that sleeps on the centerline right in the middle of Main Street.
When I first moved there, I was ranting to a neighbor about how few of the locals use their turn signals.
Her response? “Why, Sharky, nobody uses their turn signals because everybody knows where everybody is going”. 
Here in Australia, almost everybody uses it and I can’t understand why you wouldn’t use it. The turn signal makes my life easier when I drive. If I’m on a highway and I want to switch lanes, I use the turn signal and the car beside me will slow down so there is enough room for me to get into and to match speed with me. If another car wanted to get into my lane, I would do the same for them. This way, I can change lanes easily and safely and everybody knows what to expect making for safer and more pleasant driving overall.
I always use it.
My youngest brother drives me nuts when he’s driving (sorry, couldn’t figure out how to avoid the pun) because, since he doesn’t have a lot of practice, he only does one thing at a time and cuts corners.
So for example when I’m getting out of a toll booth I’ll raise the electric window with one hand while I shift gears with the other, stick shift of course, and of course I am stepping on the gas and clutch alternatively, no problem. He will raise the window, then start moving slowly forward, both hands on the wheel, and by the time he shifts up to second we’ve been passed by cars on both sides (and our mother called names twice on average, given the usual manners of Spanish drivers, we can’t hear them but often we can see the mouth).
If I am changing lanes and there isn’t anybody around for miles, I still do the whole thing with lights and whatnot, I call it “keeping my good manners in shape”. He doesn’t even try to do it, if there are no drivers behind him; apparently the driver in front doesn’t need to know he’s about to be passed. And often, he will be changing lanes in the highway and he’ll forget the light… sometimes he forgets to switch it on, sometimes to switch it off, because he can only do one thing at a time, so why did Toyota engineers bother design a lights switch that you can flip with your little finger without taking your hands off the wheel, I just don’t know!
Since most of the drivers I know, including my other brother, would leave a toll booth the same way I do, I’m assuming this is caused by lack of practice and not just male single-track-mind. But I still hate the way he drives.
Did BMW ever change it to the conventional position? A '69 1600 of mine had the direction signal stalk on the right and the windshield wiper control on the left, which took a little bit to learn.
Put me in with the “always” crowd. Those who don’t are lazy SOS.
Reminds me of a “Life In These United States” type story I read.
A high school girl is taking a driver’s ed class. When she was ready to pull out of the parking lot the instructor said, “Be sure to let everyone know which way you’re turning.” So she turned around and said to the kids in the back seat, “I’m turning right.”
When out with friends and someone in front of us didn’t use their signal, we’d joke that they must not have made them that year.
In the greater Norfolk area, I can only assume the reason is that the cars sold here do not have turn signals. That’s the only explanation I have for those folks with the local municipality stickers that aren’t using turn signals.
Or they could be lazy and stupid.