What's the point of turn signals?

[Nefilim]

Okay, so I have made it a habit of using my turn signals for at least 3 seconds before changing lanes but I am beginning to reconsider this practice. I started because I got fed up of people who just merge into your lane without any indication or warning - and to make things worse, they always do it RAPIDLY instead of gradually easing into your lane.

But for the last two weeks, I have been making 50 mile trips back and forth while house sitting. I have really begun to reconsider bothering to use my turn signals because THIS is what happens EVERY SINGLE TIME:

1. I turn signal on.
2. I look in my mirror.
3. I look over my shoulder, spot a car that's back enough that I could slip in.
4. I look into my mirror again.
5. Slowly merge over into their lane.
6. NEARLY GET CLIPPED BECAUSE PEOPLE NEED TO SPEED UP TO TRY TO OVERTAKE YOU WHENEVER YOU USE YOUR TURN SIGNAL INSTEAD OF YIELDING TO YOU LIKE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO.

So honestly, do you think it's just safer to check and make sure I have room to cut in? It's not like we really have any blind spots. All the turn signal seems to do is provoke drivers to suddenly speed up to get in front of you.

 

[bluemax89]

personal preference. here in baltimore people are aggressive. i really dont use mine too much, i just stay in my lane and mind my business.

 

[mpb218]

I usually accelerate when changing lanes just for that reason. I usually use the signal, but its out of habit.

 

[Iskyone]

I just look in my mirror to see if it's clear, signal and go. You can always out excellerate a car if hey ty to speed up,,

 

[dean owens]

I just look in my mirror to see if it's clear, signal and go. You can always out excellerate a car if hey ty to speed up,,

ditto with one addition. i check my blind spot. which is quite HUGE with these bikes. stinks that for many a blinker equates to competition.

 

[manas12]

Okay, so I have made it a habit of using my turn signals for at least 3 seconds before changing lanes but I am beginning to reconsider this practice. I started because I got fed up of people who just merge into your lane without any indication or warning - and to make things worse, they always do it RAPIDLY instead of gradually easing into your lane.

But for the last two weeks, I have been making 50 mile trips back and forth while house sitting. I have really begun to reconsider bothering to use my turn signals because THIS is what happens EVERY SINGLE TIME:

1. I turn signal on.
2. I look in my mirror.
3. I look over my shoulder, spot a car that's back enough that I could slip in.
4. I look into my mirror again.
5. Slowly merge over into their lane.
6. NEARLY GET CLIPPED BECAUSE PEOPLE NEED TO SPEED UP TO TRY TO OVERTAKE YOU WHENEVER YOU USE YOUR TURN SIGNAL INSTEAD OF YIELDING TO YOU LIKE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO.

So honestly, do you think it's just safer to check and make sure I have room to cut in? It's not like we really have any blind spots. All the turn signal seems to do is provoke drivers to suddenly speed up to get in front of you.

Blinker, mirror, head check, shift. That's how I do it. You can't and shouldn't get rid of your good habits just because other people don't have them.

 

[wrightme43]

The whole 3 sec thing is bad juju.

Just decide where you are going, and show your intention as you do what you have decided.

People are stupid, large groups of people are even more stupid than just people. Large groups of people wrapped in imaginary armor, promised protection by airbags, lulled to sleep by fans and light music are extraordinarly stupid.

Just do what you feel like you need to do to be safe, and take the ticket if you get it.

I stopped the whole rapid accel after verification of no redlight cross traffic after a talk with a cop. Then got hit by a truck obeying the rules of the road. Screw the rules, just do what you think is the lowest risk option and take the ticket if it turns out that way. The hell with them.

Just of course my opinion, and not the opinion of the site or its owner.

 

[Raid The Revenge]

Use your turn signal. It's the law.

If you use your turn signal while the other drivers are being imbeciles, you'll have justified yourself when you go to court.

If you don't use your turn signal, you won't have a case against a lawyer.

 

[manas12]

If you don't use your turn signal, you won't have a case against a lawyer.

^^^ This. Especially in this country. If you follow procedure, there is less chance that you will be declared at fault in case of an accident.

 

[oldfast007]

1. Maintain sufficient forward speed so that as to the motoring public you appear as a blur...

2. Wire an extremely loud back up alarm to your indicators, this will garner due attention a freeway speeds.

3. Apply a vinyl digital photo quality image of the front of your helmet to the back of your helmet, they'll never know if your coming or going...

4. Reduce speed to that equal of the vehicle you are attempting to pull in front of, tap on the drivers window and advise them verbally of your intentions..while indicating of course.

5. I obviously have nothing of importance to add to this thread but humor..

Good luck though in all seriousness, it sucks when you seem to be obeying all the rules to no avail. We simply don't get the respect of four wheels.

 

[dean2287]

He who hesitates is lost. I usually signal about the time I start changing lanes, and I go quick when I get the chance...

I appreciate your cautious approach, though. Nobody should be critical of someone trying to watch out for themself and trying to do the right thing. It usually ends up being a "when in Rome" scenario...if others are aggressive you become aggressive in response just to meld with the traffic flow.

 

[jbwaterman84]

I headcheck first then signal as I am moving so people dont have the chance to cut me off at the last second. Seems to work well so far

 

[fz6nick]

Ill throw out the old hand signal. I think its more visible to the drivers behind you. Then ill push or pull with my right hand changing lanes fast.

1) It's more visible
2) Its fun to make fast lane changes one handed

 

[SovietRobot]

The whole 3 sec thing is bad juju.

Just decide where you are going, and show your intention as you do what you have decided.

People are stupid, large groups of people are even more stupid than just people. Large groups of people wrapped in imaginary armor, promised protection by airbags, lulled to sleep by fans and light music are extraordinarly stupid.

Just do what you feel like you need to do to be safe, and take the ticket if you get it.

I stopped the whole rapid accel after verification of no redlight cross traffic after a talk with a cop. Then got hit by a truck obeying the rules of the road. Screw the rules, just do what you think is the lowest risk option and take the ticket if it turns out that way. The hell with them.

Just of course my opinion, and not the opinion of the site or its owner.

+1. I can't add anything else to this thread that has already been said.

 

[Lightndattic]

It all depends on the type of drivers where you drive. Here, in Dallas, a signal is almost always taken as an affront to whoever you're pulling in front of and they WILL try to take away that space you're aiming to occupy. Or, people think using a signal is grounds to push you out of their way "because I signaled!".

Turn signals are supposed to be used to inform others that you are changing position into an open space in the next lane, not to tell someone in that spot to yield to them.

That's why when I'm riding (typically ~5 mph faster than traffic), I hit my signal as I'm doing the head check. I'm in the next lane a second later before anyone can react to close down that space. That's also why I'm almost always in the HOV lanes here. Yes, you're up against a wall on your left, but all the threats are coming from your right and the physical dividers or threat of getting a ticket for crossing the double lines keeps the most dangerous sleepy sheep drivers from arbitrarily changing lanes into you.

 

[04fizzer]

You must remember that a turn signal does NOT give you the right of way to change lanes.*

It pisses me off to no end, whether I'm on my bike or in my truck, when people speed up when I'm trying to merge into traffic from an on-ramp. We have one that's notorious for backing up in the morning, and it's largely due to people unable to adequately perform the "zipper". On numerous occaisions I'll have my signal on, look in my mirror, and head check only to see the car that I just saw in my mirror is now sitting next to me looking straight ahead, causing me to slam on my brakes as my lane is ending. This generally leads to passing them on the left while telling them they're #1 in my book.


*I'm not saying you did this, it's just another pet peeve of mine that goes along with signals and lane changing.

 

[reiobard]

still use the blinkes, but 3 seconds is a bit excessive if there is an opening. If there is no opening then i would put it on for however long it ook for an opening to apear, but if there is an opening i give it one blink then it is go time.

 

[keira]

still use the blinkes, but 3 seconds is a bit excessive if there is an opening. If there is no opening then i would put it on for however long it ook for an opening to apear, but if there is an opening i give it one blink then it is go time.

amazingly enough, rob said what i was going to.

do your checking first, then signal and go. even though the 3 seconds may be best, there is no way people will let you go if you do that. even in a car. i put my blinker on the other day in my car and started merging and the person who had been three car lengths back when i started merging had accelerated so they were tailgating me by the time i go into their lane. had i waited 3 seconds, the gap would have closed completely and i would have missed my exit (not a huge deal, since i know alternate routes, but a pain nonetheless).

 

[ironman]

I think the "rule", as posted in the tennessee driver's handbook is that you should signal at least 50 feet in advance of your turn or lane change. Now most of us can't really measure 50 feet with any accuracy while riding a motorbike. Sooooooo, let's talk about it in seconds. Sixty mph is equivalent to 88 feet per second. . . Thus when driving around on 4 lane motorways while maintaining a speed of 60mph it is only necessary to signal 0.56 seconds prior to lane change. Since the turn indicators on a stock fz6 flash at approximately 1.5 cycles per second then it is still advisable to flick your turn signals just enough to produce one flash before vaporizing into the other lane.

However, since we all know that it is much safer to travel slightly faster than the surrounding traffic and that no one in America drives the speed limit then we must assume a faster pace than 60mph. So, when attempting to change lanes at 120mph (176 feet per second) it would take 3/4 of a second to produce one flash of the turn signal during which time you have traveled 132 feet (excessive).

My conclusion, when the cop pulls you over, take the speeding ticket, congratulate him and the state highway patrol helicopter for being able to catch you, and take the ticket for speeding gracefully while explaining to the kind officer that you did signal your intentions 50 feet in advance of your lane changes but there was not enough time in the 50 foot window for your blinker to cycle and you will contest that charge in court with your band of filthy American lawyers.

 

[Se7enLC]

1. I turn signal on.
2. I look in my mirror.
3. I look over my shoulder, spot a car that's back enough that I could slip in.
4. I look into my mirror again.
5. Slowly merge over into their lane.
6. NEARLY GET CLIPPED BECAUSE PEOPLE NEED TO SPEED UP TO TRY TO OVERTAKE YOU WHENEVER YOU USE YOUR TURN SIGNAL INSTEAD OF YIELDING TO YOU LIKE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO.

Here in mass we do it differently. The joke is that people in mass never use turn signals at all. Mostly true - but those of us that do use turn signals have to do it a little differently. I use my signals every time I change lanes.
1). Look in the mirror, wait for a spot.
2). Turn head to double check
3). Turn signal on
4). Second head check
5). Change lanes
6). Blinker off

The time between the blinker coming on and the lane change happening is very small (intentionally so). A blinker should not be an indication of what you WANT to do, but what you ARE doing or are about to do. Otherwise you could just sit there with your blinker on while car after car zoom past. Your blinker is now not telling anyone around you anything useful. Also, despite what some people believe, a blinker does not automatically give you permission to change lanes. Some people will just put on their blinker and cut somebody off - they'll be like "what? I had my blinker on" like it makes it ok.

Anyway, you're right. A lot of people take their lane to be personal property and take it personally if somebody changes into it. People will tailgate like crazy to prevent other people from "cutting in". Things to try:
1). Change lanes early. If you will need to exit soon, do it before the line forms. People are much less protective of their lane if they aren't in line for an exit or merge.
2). Leave a lot of space in front of you. I like to leave at least 3-5 car lengths even in heavy traffic. Yes, it means that a lot of cars will change into that spot - but they will do it with plenty of time and space to spare. They were going to cut in front of me anyway, at least this way I have some time to react. Also, with that buffer space, when I want to change lanes, I can easily speed up faster than other cars to pull into a space that opens up safely.