When did turn signals become optional?

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SirBC

SirBC

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How many times have you been in an intersection with your left turn signal on, waiting for that oncoming car to clear the intersection before you turn, when it slows down and then turns left or right with no signal. Thanks buddy!

Or they wait until they start to make the turn before turning on the signal, like they are just dotting their I's and crossing their T's with respect to the law and couldn't give a rats ass about alerting everyone else on the road what their intentions are.

Did I miss the memo about turn signals becoming optional? Is everyone else just able to read the minds of the drivers around them so signals are no longer necessary? WTF?!?!
 
You haven't heard, they're optional on most cars. Very expensive option if you ask me, and I'd rather have the polished wheels instead of turn signal if you ask me.
 
I drive a fair bit in my work and if I had to worry about the driver next to/behind/in front of me than I'd never get behind the wheel. You just have to assume the driver ahead/next to you don't have a clue about driving and drive accordingly.
Oh and just shake your head when they prove you right.
 
i crashed my (first) motorcycle from a related incident...

i was following (not closely) behind some girl coming back from class about 10am on a milwaukee east side street. She slowed down and moved over to the right-hand part of the lane. no turn signal, but i figured she was gonna turn right at the next intersection since it was coming up. So i moved over to the left-hand part of the lane and held my speed. Well, she decided she wanted to turn left instead. Lol. never a signal. I was on the brakes, and tried to make the turn with her but the rear slid out and i went down. wasn't injured but i took a bus ride anyway. totaled the bike.
 
One of my pet peeves also. We drive on a lot of 2 lane roads and I just hate when the guy in front of me puts on his brakes and slows down. I have no clue if they are turning right, left, if a dog just wandered onto the road, is there a pot hole? A couple of times I happened to be turning into the same store as one of these inconsiderate people. I will mention to them that they might want to check their taillights as they don't appear to be working. I hope they get home and get someone to check their lights to see if they are working.:)
 
iaefebs, do you see the light go on in their head when you mention their tail lights to them? If not, then chances are they forgot what you said the second after you said it...

Until cops start giving tickets for turning without signaling, or signaling right and turning left, or leaving your signal on for over a mile, people will continue to use them wrong, if at all...

Personally, I typically will hit the signal 50-100' before the turn on back roads, or when going under ~35mph... When going on the highway it's usually within 1/2-1/4 mile of the turn... I also make sure I'm in the correct lane at least a mile, or two, before the turn... It amazes me when I see people take an exit, from the far left lane, crossing 3-4 lanes of traffic in about 100 feet...
 
Its funny how the people who don't signal in traffic will be the same ones who signal when turning from a one way street onto another one wsy street
 
I just assume everyone else can't drive for ****. I love when some idiot in a Lexus rides my ragged ass work truck like it will make me go faster than the speed limit. My breaks are good though. :p
 
SwampassJ said:
I just assume everyone else can't drive for ****. I love when some idiot in a Lexus rides my ragged ass work truck like it will make me go faster than the speed limit. My breaks are good though. :p
Click to expand...

You do need to contend with the 'blue hairs' though... :eek: All you see is a clump of hair, and knuckles on the steering wheel. :drunk:

Had one of those back up into me when I was on my first motorcycle in FL... Luckily, I didn't get hurt much (messed up my right ankle for a little while) and only busted the relay for my rear lights (think it was the break light)... Got it fixed as soon as I found out...

I did have one of the FL 'tardo drivers in front of me another time (still down there at that point) and go from over 50mph to a dead stop REAL fast... Luckily, I was far enough behind her that I did stop in time (my front tire was no more than a few inches from her rear bumper)... It took pulling in the clutch and hitting both brakes HARD to do it. Left a good part of the rear tire on the road that day. Of course, she went from smacking the spawn in the back seat (yes, while driving) to making the stop to make a turn...
 
Ive learned to avoid Honda CRVs completely. Every single one I see on the road...nine times out of 10 its doing something stupid.

Common offenses include...

-Attempting to change lanes directly into the vehicle next to it...
-Driving in the brake-down lane at full speed, as if it were simply another lane (not to get by other cars or anything, of course, as these cars never go faster than 10mph under the speed limit)
-Waiting to turn in front of you until you are within 3 or 4 car lengths away, forcing you to slam on your brakes
-And straddling two lanes at once, on a 2 lane road

Just to name a few.
 
motobrewer said:
i crashed my (first) motorcycle from a related incident...

i was following (not closely) behind some girl coming back from class about 10am on a milwaukee east side street. She slowed down and moved over to the right-hand part of the lane. no turn signal, but i figured she was gonna turn right at the next intersection since it was coming up. So i moved over to the left-hand part of the lane and held my speed. Well, she decided she wanted to turn left instead. Lol. never a signal. I was on the brakes, and tried to make the turn with her but the rear slid out and i went down. wasn't injured but i took a bus ride anyway. totaled the bike.
Click to expand...

Dude. That is almost exactly what happened to me in my first laydown. Except my son was on back with me. And the crappiest part of it - I got a ticket for an illegal pass and she got nothing. I hate my state's driving laws.
 
The waiting to turn left thing happens to me about once a week. I also hate when people change lanes in the middle of an intersection or stop at a yield sign on a ramp with a merge lane.
 
weagle05 said:
The waiting to turn left thing happens to me about once a week. I also hate when people change lanes in the middle of an intersection or stop at a yield sign on a ramp with a merge lane.
Click to expand...

That's because at least 80% of the drivers don't know what "Yield" actually means... I've had people, with the yield sign on them, just blast through it and almost ram into me... I've seen others treat it as a stop sign... For the people using the on-ramp, they don't realize that the long pedal to the right makes them go faster, to merge with traffic (another foreign term to most of them)... Or their car has no balls, so it can't merge into traffic unless they have a 1/2 mile, plus, gap between cars... :rolleyes:
 
weagle05 said:
The waiting to turn left thing happens to me about once a week. I also hate when people change lanes in the middle of an intersection or stop at a yield sign on a ramp with a merge lane.
Click to expand...

There's also the left-lane slowpoke.

Travelling 45mph in a 65mph zone in the left lane, blocking traffic from moving. And of course they get right next to you and just cruise.
 
RMitch said:
There's also the left-lane slowpoke.

Travelling 45mph in a 65mph zone in the left lane, blocking traffic from moving. And of course they get right next to you and just cruise.
Click to expand...

Or the entrance ramp reject, 35 onto the interstate...

...and have you seen the price of blinker fluid lately!?!:drunk:
 
I can't stand the folks that're already on the big road, riding the right lane (out of 3....) while a line of traffic i trying to merge from the on-ramp. I mean, just move over and let the rest of us on.

The big problem is that people in general don't realize there's other humans around. Walking, driving, whatever- nobody acknowledges the existence of those around them. Just think for others once in awhile, ya know? :confused:Kyle
 
I've noticed something interesting over the years. The friends of mine that are good at video games tend to be better drivers. By that I mean they check their mirrors, are aware of their surroundings, use their signals, etc.

The friends that get their asses handed to them in video games are generally terrible drivers. They are always getting surprised by other drivers because they are not paying attention, don't signal, and just generally don't have a sense of what is happening around them.

I think there is something that transfers between the two, a better spatial awareness or something.
 
SirBC said:
I've noticed something interesting over the years. The friends of mine that are good at video games tend to be better drivers. By that I mean they check their mirrors, are aware of their surroundings, use their signals, etc.

The friends that get their asses handed to them in video games are generally terrible drivers. They are always getting surprised by other drivers because they are not paying attention, don't signal, and just generally don't have a sense of what is happening around them.

I think there is something that transfers between the two, a better spatial awareness or something.
Click to expand...

I can now attribute my good driving to many years of TFC and Counter Strike.
 
What's worse is when someone actually uses their turn signal and makes a left turn into oncoming traffic while texting, causing a head-on collision, totalling your vehicle, nearly leaving your 8 month pregnant wife husbandless/fatherless, and leaving you maimed for life.

I would rather the other driver didn't use her turn signal and waited until I drove past before she turned.:cross:
 
menschmaschine, I believe that it's illegal to text, etc. while driving where I live now... I also think that young drivers are not allowed to use their cell phone while driving too.

Personally, I won't look at my phone while driving. I use a bluetooth earpiece, so I can take IMPORTANT calls while driving... IF I'm expecting a call, I'll have the earpiece in. Otherwise, it's off and I'll listen to the voice message when I'm not driving anymore...

When I started driving, cell phones weren't really an option... I got my first one in 1996 because I was riding a motorcycle and wanted a way to be able to call for help if needed. It's amazing how far the devices/phones have gone in just that many years...

I do think that too many younger people use them too much. I do think they have led to far too many collisions and deaths on the road. Probably why they have to put the laws on the books now... Pretty sad when you think about it actually.

I do think that anyone looking to drive should take drivers education classes... I did that in high school, and it helped out a lot...
 
Golddiggie said:
menschmaschine, I believe that it's illegal to text, etc. while driving where I live now... I also think that young drivers are not allowed to use their cell phone while driving too.
Click to expand...

She did get a ticket for "inattentive driving" though. So that made it all better. :rolleyes:

Since this accident about 1.5 years ago, Delaware passed a law banning texting while driving and requiring hands-free phone use... yet everyday I still see plenty of drivers with a phone to their face. Stupidity is difficult to regulate.
 
Then you have the people who can't see signs posted two miles in advance of lane closures. I drive the New Jersey turnpike Monday through Friday, going home from work at 11pm. A couple of times a week there will be lane closures due to construction. Apparently people can't see the signs that say two right lanes closed in two miles. Instead of moving over in advance they have to wait until the last minute and create a bottleneck that usually ends up taking 10-15min to get through.:mad:
 
jafo28 said:
Then you have the people who can't see signs posted two miles in advance of lane closures. I drive the New Jersey turnpike Monday through Friday, going home from work at 11pm. A couple of times a week there will be lane closures due to construction. Apparently people can't see the signs that say two right lanes closed in two miles. Instead of moving over in advance they have to wait until the last minute and create a bottleneck that usually ends up taking 10-15min to get through.:mad:
Click to expand...

Well, you ARE in NJ... :eek:

I'm sure the Mass Pike is the same way... Just glad I don't use it. :rockin:
 
Has anyone ever noticed the further you get away from a city the more people like to pull out in front of you? I see this all the time when driving in small towns in the country. It's so irritating to have to smash the brakes because they can't wait to accelerate from 0-35mph in a 3 minute time frame.
 
I love the people who pull out into traffic, then wait to make their turn, blocking all traffic from moving.

Say you're driving East, someone (nearly always a middle-aged female) pulled out from your right, blocks you, and waits for her open to turn left (West). Can't stand that.
 
SwampassJ said:
I just assume everyone else can't drive for ****. I love when some idiot in a Lexus rides my ragged ass work truck like it will make me go faster than the speed limit. My breaks are good though. :p
Click to expand...

wash your windshield. when they get the overspray wiped off, wash it again. they are fun to play with. after a couple rounds they back off.:cross:
 
Scut_Monkey said:
Has anyone ever noticed the further you get away from a city the more people like to pull out in front of you? I see this all the time when driving in small towns in the country. It's so irritating to have to smash the brakes because they can't wait to accelerate from 0-35mph in a 3 minute time frame.
Click to expand...

Funny, I see this stuff all the time in the city. Rarely in the small towns.
 

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