Why don't many people use their turn signals anymore??

This is something that has been bothering me for some time. It seems that a good 40-50 percent of people no longer use their turn signals. Do they no longer teach that in Driver's Ed? My next door neighbor was hit as she pulled into her driveway because she made a wide turn to approach it but did not signal. The person behind her assumed she was headed left and pulled right and wound up hitting my neighbor as she ultimately turned right into her driveway. And it is really frustrating to wait  at an uncontrolled intersection watching a car come your way then have them turn on to the street where you are waiting - no signal. There is a reason why turn signals were invented folks!!

Definitely one of my pet peeves around here--compounded by those who do use their turn signals but only turn them on after they have started to turn.  The worst offenders are the Maplewood Police Department who seem to use signals around 2% of the time when on patrol!

We have a new car that beeps when you change lanes without signaling. I find I use my signals much more consistently now.

krnl said:

Definitely one of my pet peeves around here--compounded by those who do use their turn signals but only turn them on after they have started to turn.  The worst offenders are the Maplewood Police Department who seem to use signals around 2% of the time when on patrol!

 +1 -- especially with the police departments in this entire area!

Turn signals? Hell, half the drivers don't even stop at stop signs anymore (I hate seeing those glide throughs). 

AbeFroman said:

We have a new car that beeps when you change lanes without signaling. I find I use my signals much more consistently now.

I like that idea! Even better if the car "said" "Driver, use your signal!" as loudly as those that say "step away from the vehicle! , beep, beep beep" Lol.

in every town, it is common practice for police to NOT use the signal....even in their personal cars.....i wish someone would explain this...

the other one I hate is when the person in front of you at the stop light waits for the light to turn green before signalling left....and then you are stuck waiting for them to turn....I've gotten into the habit of leaving enough room so I can pull around them.....

sure sometimes a person will change their mind at the last minute...but 90% of the time it is just bad driving

jmitw said:

...the other one I hate is when the person in front of you at the stop light waits for the light to turn green before signalling left....and then you are stuck waiting for them to turn....I've gotten into the habit of leaving enough room so I can pull around them.....

This happens all the time on Springfield Avenue coming from the Target lot to Vauxhall. People are always turning from the left lane and you often get stuck behind them. A couple of times I saw only one or two cars in that lane with no signals on. I hastily got in the lane only to get stuck behind someone who turned their signal on after the light turned green.

Geez, everybody's cramping the anti-blinkers' right to self-non-expression!

Years ago a high school student of mine told me "why should I turn on my signal?  I know where I'm going."

This was before cell phones became the norm.  

Like jmitw I now presume the person in the left hand lane has not turned on their left turn signal.  

Thank heavens it's part of a phenomenon and not my imagination! 

Over here it goes with:

- 10 to 20kph under the speed limit (40 in a 60 kph zone, or 60 in an 80 or 100 zone)

- stop/red light creep: they won't stop, but slow a fair distance from the corner then keep creeping including out into traffic until they can speed off

- entering from a side street three beats too late so they've actually missed their chance but they'll still force their way, and then slow right down forcing everyone else to hastily brake so there won't be a crash. And then they'll move to another lane.

I would add "Stop Sign slide" - roll past the stop sign and across the pedestrian crossing, then stop.  What happened to stop and THEN roll forward?

That only-in-New-Jersey thing where you signal to change lanes, and the driver behind you speeds up to cut you off.

A couple of highway bugaboos of mine:

Don't camp out in a person's blind spot. It's amazing just how often you'll see a car keeping exact pace with the car slightly in front of them a lane over. If you're going to keep pace with them fall in line behind; don't make them have to monitor your presence for miles, and don't set yourself up for a hurtin'.

Similarly, don't pace cars in the next lane forming a wall that cars behind cannot pass. The left lane is a passing lane, not an additional middle lane.

And a thing that really rubs me the wrong way is when you want to pull around someone, you have your blinker on indicating so, but the car behind you chooses to do so before you, taking the space you're trying to move into, trapping you in. I've had people do this to me on an entrance ramp, claiming the space I need merge into, practically driving me off the road.

I find that using signals distracts from my texting.

tom said:

That only-in-New-Jersey thing where you signal to change lanes, and the driver behind you speeds up to cut you off.

And the other only-in-New-Jersey thing known as the "Jersey Left" - where left turners leap out to make their turn as soon as the light changes to green instead of waiting until traffic clears.  When I first moved here I narrowly missed a couple of head-on collisions before I figured out how common this idiotic move is around here.

sac said:

tom said:

That only-in-New-Jersey thing where you signal to change lanes, and the driver behind you speeds up to cut you off.

And the other only-in-New-Jersey thing known as the "Jersey Left" - where left turners leap out to make their turn as soon as the light changes to green instead of waiting until traffic clears.  When I first moved here I narrowly missed a couple of head-on collisions before I figured out how common this idiotic move is around here.

 I've heard "Jersey left" referring to a jughandle. On the other hand, some drivers seem to pause when the light turns to permit an oncoming car to make a quick left; it might even be considered polite.

^ I've always known a Jersey left to be a jug handle (FWIW I'm from Jersey so I just know them as jug handles, but I have heard them referred to as Jersey lefts by many, many non NJ natives.)

One of the most dangerous things I've experienced is, driving in the passing lane (to pass slower traffic) and there's someone who is tailgating me so closely that I cannot see, in my side view mirror,  if the lane to the right is clear so I can change lanes and get out of the driver's way.  Wonder if the tailgater even realizes that, by following so closely, he/she is preventing me from moving out of the way.

I've seen the lack of turn signal problem, too, and Joanne, sorry to hear this is apparently an international phenomenon.

Out of curiosity, how would a tailgater behind you in the left lane prevent you from seeing who you've just passed in the lane to your right, and/or whether it's safe to move over?

jmitw said:

the other one I hate is when the person in front of you at the stop light waits for the light to turn green before signalling left....and then you are stuck waiting for them to turn....I've gotten into the habit of leaving enough room so I can pull around them.....

sure sometimes a person will change their mind at the last minute...but 90% of the time it is just bad driving

More like 99% of the time it is.  Drives me insane. 

SouthernBaron said:

sac said:

tom said:

That only-in-New-Jersey thing where you signal to change lanes, and the driver behind you speeds up to cut you off.

And the other only-in-New-Jersey thing known as the "Jersey Left" - where left turners leap out to make their turn as soon as the light changes to green instead of waiting until traffic clears.  When I first moved here I narrowly missed a couple of head-on collisions before I figured out how common this idiotic move is around here.

 I've heard "Jersey left" referring to a jughandle. On the other hand, some drivers seem to pause when the light turns to permit an oncoming car to make a quick left; it might even be considered polite.

 Whatever it's called, that move where left turners go first happens nowhere else that I've ever seen (and I have visited and driven in all 50 states.)  It certainly isn't legal according to the 'right of way' rules and I think that people only yield to it for self-preservation or because they have no idea that it isn't what is supposed to be done.  It doesn't help (and probably isn't a coincidence) that this state has fewer left turn signals than most also, although that has improved significantly in the years that I've lived here.  Sadly, there has been no commensurate reduction in those aggressive left turns.

ctrzaska said:

jmitw said:

the other one I hate is when the person in front of you at the stop light waits for the light to turn green before signalling left....and then you are stuck waiting for them to turn....I've gotten into the habit of leaving enough room so I can pull around them.....

sure sometimes a person will change their mind at the last minute...but 90% of the time it is just bad driving

More like 99% of the time it is.  Drives me insane. 

 Me too!  Why do people do that????? 

Lack of turn signals is definitely a "Jersey thing".

Left hand is reserved for bird flipping.

In addition to all of the above - I also hate when drivers have no clue as to who has the right of way - I've been behind drivers who are on a main street with the right of way and will stop at almost every intersection and let those cars with a stop sign go (and no, there is usually not much traffic on the main road that would keep the cars at the stop sign waiting long).

sac said:

tom said:

That only-in-New-Jersey thing where you signal to change lanes, and the driver behind you speeds up to cut you off.

And the other only-in-New-Jersey thing known as the "Jersey Left" - where left turners leap out to make their turn as soon as the light changes to green instead of waiting until traffic clears.  When I first moved here I narrowly missed a couple of head-on collisions before I figured out how common this idiotic move is around here.

 I do this at some intersections - especially the intersection of Valley and Vauxhall.  It depends on the intersection.  At Vauxhall and Valley, because the intersection is more of an "X" than  a cross, it works pretty well.

ctrzaska said:

Out of curiosity, how would a tailgater behind you in the left lane prevent you from seeing who you've just passed in the lane to your right, and/or whether it's safe to move over?

This happens when I am still passing the car in the center lane; I need to see that I have enough distance in front of them (and also making sure that a right lane driver didn't move into the center lane) in order to move over.

This would be funny if it weren't so true. We live across from an elementary school, and I've seen drivers texting while driving around the school block. The height of insanity (except maybe for the guy I saw the other day doing 75 mph in the left lane on the GSP while texting).

tjohn said:

I find that using signals distracts from my texting.

I notice that more and more people fail to move when the light turns green because they are texting.