Rex Trulove
For the most part, the people in Montana are tremendously friendly and helpful. They are fast to lend a hand if it is needed. However, the drivers in this state exhibit an annoyance that I know is present in other states, too.
It seems that about 8 out of 10 drivers in this state aren’t aware of all of the controls that nearly all cars are equipped with. The control is normally located on the steering column and is a simple lever. It is amazing, but when the lever is pressed down, lights on the left side, on the outside of the car, both in the front of the car and at the rear of the car blink. If the lever is moved upward, the same thing happens on the right side of the car.
As astounding as all those drivers might find it, this mechanism can be effectively used to let other drivers know when you intend to turn and by using the appropriate lever position, it can even let them know which direction you intend to turn!
The device, unimaginatively called a ‘turn signal’ means that even when other drivers don’t have advanced powers of telepathy, they can avoid accidents by understanding the intensions of another driver without any mind-reading skills being necessary. The device works both during the day and during the night and it is so standard that a person can even drive a car they’ve never driven before and should have no difficulty locating and using the turn signal.
Of course, all of this is tongue-in-cheek, but I’m not exaggerating when I say that as many as 8 out of 10 drivers here don’t use their turn signals. It honestly does seem that they expect other drivers to read their minds. It is rare for me to drive even the four blocks to the store that I don’t see at least one vehicle that turns without any turn signal being used.
Strangely, there aren’t very many accidents that occur here because of this, perhaps because so many people are used to it and expect it. Only twice in the last 6 years have I even had an ‘almost’ collision because of the lack of turn signal use. Still, if I can use my turn signals, I have a hard time understanding why other drivers can’t use theirs.
That is why I call it a minor annoyance, rather than a major one.
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Question of
Are there a lot of drivers in your area who don’t use turn signals?
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Yes
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No
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I don’t know/I don’t drive
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Question of
Does it annoy you when other drivers turn without using turn signals?
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Yes
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No
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I don’t drive
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This is a very timely post. A large percentage of drivers in our country needs a refresher course in driving. I travel to work every day and I can see these annoyances often. Another thing which annoys other drivers more is when the car in front signal on the left but turned on the right.
I’ve seen that too. Then there are the people who turn on the signal a few dozen feet before they turn, not giving other drivers any time to react.
Not using turn signals is fine with me. What’s annoying is when their signal light is blinking but they are not making a turn.
That one doesn’t bother me, simply because the mechanism that turns the signal off when the turn is completed doesn’t always work properly. Our beat-up backup car is an example. The turn signals must be turned off manually. It would cost me about $200 to have that fixed and frankly, the car isn’t worth it.
Oh yes, this can cause accidents and has caused road rage as well.
I honestly don’t know why people don’t use their signals. Every driver’s test that I know of in the US will mark a person down and/or fail them if they don’t use the turn signals.
We have started charging fines for not using directional indicators …. 150eur
We have had fines for this for some time, but in order to get fined, a driver needs to first get caught. Police can’t be everywhere, all the time.
My husband is one of the worst offenders when it comes to using turn signals. He uses them about 50% of the time, if that.
I suspect that most people who don’t use them never give a thought to the fact that others don’t know when they are going to turn and which direction they are going to do it.
It’s not a good habit for not turning on the signals.
I agree with that, entirely.