Am i the only person who indicates?

[anonymous-user]

Has indication become a thing of the past?

Increasingly i notice that the majority of cars don't indicate and i was following a fully marked police car that also completely failed to indicate during the time i was behind it!

[anonymous-user]

lyonspride said:

RobM77 said:

You're not indicating for yourself, you're indicating for others - it's a method of communication. Those other people may not know this.

Not everyone is going to move back to lane one after an overtake (known as lane hogging - it happens!), and other people, such as those in my examples given earlier, may need to know what you're about to do - are you a lane hogger, or are you moving back in, have you spotted a parking layby at the last second? etc etc. Furthermore, the timing of the move back to L1 will vary between people. For example, if there's a sliproad up ahead and cars are waiting to join the Mway/DC, then some people in L2 will move back to lane one and block those joining, whereas others will stay out. Yes, the former group are aholes, but it happens and people need to know what you're doing so they can make a plan. As always with these discussions, the disclaimer is that nobody's going to make a decision based on an indicator that would be critical to having and accident or not, but those decisions are helpful to smooth and safe flow of traffic, and by not indicating you can inhibit that, which is bad driving.

Edited by RobM77 on Tuesday 19th September 13:27

Well the IAM would disagree. They very much focus on being aware of surroundings and indicating only when required. This means thinking about what your doing, what's going on and who is around you.

When driving becomes automatic (ie not thinking) then complacency creeps in and I would argue that complacency is a serious hazard on the roads.

Quite helpful
http://www.iam-bristol.org.uk/index.php/articles/a...

Edited by lyonspride on Tuesday 19th September 14:38

the problem with this approach, imo, is that us humans are characteristically lazy. If one gets into an autonomous indicating habit, and that habit also includes the other vital steps (mirrors, observation, road positioning, acceleration sense) then that is what you will do, even when you are bored (or tired). Its a similar story to the fact that pilots are taught to do very formal instrument scans, so nothing is missed, either in the heat of a panic moment, or more likely, just due to boredom etc

The descision for me is simple. If indicating carries no penalty, then i indicate, always. There are a very few, rare, situations where indicating could result in the confusion of other motorists, but generally, there are no downsides to indicating, and therefore it's better, imo, to indicate un-necessarily, but to no detriment, than to fail to indicate when it actually matters.

[anonymous-user]

caelite said:

You know this is something I have often wondered; on a dual carriageway, fairly quiet with mainly traffic in L1, I come up behind a truck/slower car, my usual manoeuvre is to signal to move out to L2, pass, then move back to L1 after I can gained 30-50m gap on the car I have passed.

Should I use my indicator to move back to L1? I often don't unless I have someone behind me in L2 as I see moving to L2 to pass then moving back in as 1 whole passing manoeuvre rather than 2 Lane changes.

I notice the consensus with other drivers seems to be the same, not indicating to return to L1, but I have no idea if it is the 'right' thing or not.

Please ALWAYS indicate before ANY manoeuvre. It costs nothing does it? In my motorbiking days I was more than once nearly wiped out by a car deciding to change lane with no signal.

Why do so many people think they can change lane etc without indicating? Do they always know exactly what is around them at all times, are they super human? I guess all the idiots who advocate on this thread changing from any lane to another without indicating never make a mistake. At least if you indicate needlessly 1000 times, one day it may actually give someone sufficient warning to take evasive action.

I indicate when going around cyclists and at all other times, never know when I have missed some motorcyclist coming down the outside. Same if changing lane from L2 to L1 etc you never know if someone is undertaking you on a motorbike etc. It costs nothing just do it (unless you're a BMW/Audi driver in which case I accept your cars are not fitted with indicators ;-) ).

[anonymous-user]

waremark said:

Rob and I have agreed to disagree about this more than once before. I belong to the 'indicate if it may be useful to someone but not otherwise' school.

BTW, I rarely indicate when I overtake. I can assure you that I do consider whether the vehicle being overtaken knows what I am doing, and I consider the implications if he does not know. I don't believe that indicating when the overtake decision is taken would much change the likelihood of them knowing.

I wonder if you were one of the idiots that came close to knocking me off my motor bike on several occasions by changing from L2 to L3 to overtake someone in L2 without seeing me already in L3 in the process of passing you? Never mind the vehicle you are overtaking what about the person overtaking you?

Does it hurt to give me some warning that you are about to change lane? Is the flick of a stalk prior to your manoeuvre too much for you to do to avoid a possible accident? Do you somehow know 100% what is going on around you at all times (just like all those other people who after the accident say "I didn't see him", "he came from nowhere" or even better carry on up the road oblivious to the carnage caused.)

You have no idea whether your indicating will be "useful to someone" as 1 in a 1000 times you won't have any idea that there is someone even there.... until it is too late and then you will no doubt be saying "sorry didn't see you".

How can you even argue against indicating when it costs nothing and takes no effort except a bit of planning whereby you need to indicate a reasonable time before manoeuvring. Surely it's just part of good defensive and courteous driving.

Curiously I find truck drivers are the best indicators, they always seem to indicate long before making any move. Presumably because they know they may not be able to see someone, well done them.

[anonymous-user]

MaxSo said:

Deciding whether or not an indication is likely to benefit anyone, and then doing it anyway just in case your assessment was wrong, takes the most effort of all and is therefore the best way.

Perfectly put.

Driving in South Wales today my flabber was gasted at the 50% or so of drivers changing lanes without indicating. Often not in a smooth/gradual way but a harsh swerve ... accidents waiting to happen imho. No doubt all of them will claim to have perfect situational awareness.

I do get what others are saying about not relying on an indicator and that it can be done at the wrong point in the road or the manoeuvre , but that just suggests drivers need to get better at where to use it.

[anonymous-user]

Had someone try to overtake me while going straight ahead at a t junction that becomes a single track road without so much as an indication. Was someone pulling out of said junction, who was indicating correctly.

Same chap went round the next cross road turning right without indicating and at the following roundabout which his exit was blocked by a blue light stationary police car. Again no indication.

Looking back, I could have indicated right when moving off as the traffic was at around 1-3mph and the chap could have assumed that I was turning left without indication.

Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 5th June 19:24