My Turn Signal Conundrum       

I am a big fan of myself and others using turn indicators, turn signals if you will.  At the minimum it is just common courtesy.  It is also, many times, a manner of safety. Using and acknowledging turn signals keeps traffic flowing in a safe and sane manner.

However, I am utterly convinced that this device, usually a lever that controls the signalling lights, is missing or broken in many vehicles.  I even wonder sometimes if they are still installing them in new vehicles.  Perhaps no one has bothered to educate the drivers of these vehicles on how they function. I remember the salesman taking 20 minutes to explain how the touch screen worked on the last new car we bought. For my money they could be throwing in the turn indicator functionality as a public service.

To give you an idea of how old I am, I actually had Driver’s Education in high school. Or maybe that was just an east coast thing… back in the day.  Our instructor definitely emphasized the importance of using turn signals.  Other things I remember from that course, besides the drunken driving scare film, are safe stopping distances – don’t tailgate, and the proper method of merging onto limited access highways.  Both practices that seem to be have been so lost in time that they have essentially turned into myths.

Finally My Conundrum

Now my conundrum, when changing lanes on multi-lane roads, the driver should indicate so with his turn signal.  The automobile manufacturers even make this an easy function, allowing one to press the lever partially, engaging the indicator lights, and allowing it to snap back to neutral without further driver action. However, it strikes me that many folks view my doing this as a signal for them to speed up before I move into their lane so as to not be behind me.  It is impossible to enumerate the number of times I have checked my mirrors, glanced over my shoulder, decided it was safe to change lanes, put on either my left or right turn signal, only to have the driver in my target lane speed up.  I have had numerous close calls from this, even though I double check before actually moving. All they need to do is maintain their current speed, and all would be copacetic.

I probably have this debate at least once a week. I have just about gone over to the camp of NOT signaling so as to not give these yahoos notice.  Apparently, since it seems the current fashion is  to not use turn signals, who am I to go against cultural trends… my khakis and flannel shirts were fashionable when I bought them.

It just seems unsafe to me to change lanes and not signal, but anymore it is feeling unsafe to signal. And with the number of road rage events around St. Louis involving guns escalating, heaven forbid that I should express my dissatisfaction with a single digit salute.

What is a curmudgeon to do?

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