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WHAT, NO SIGNAL? I think most drivers tend to get upset when someone fails to signal their intentions, such as for lane changes and turns. And I don't blame them. But first, we have to make sure we're talking about the same thing. If someone made a turn or lane change one block ahead of you, I'm sure that wouldn't bother you. After all, the maneuver that driver made didn't affect you at all, right? Let's take another situation. You're waiting to pull out from a side street, and it's all clear except for one vehicle approaching from your left. You wait, and wait, then the driver turns onto your street without signalling. If he had signalled, you could have gone much sooner. Not so nice. You may be thinking "but shouldn't you wait, and make sure he's really going to turn, even though he's signalling?" That's a good point, and it's important, but we're taking that into consideration. In other words, if that vehicle is signalling and slowing down, then we can safely pull out. If he was signalling and not slowing down, that's the time to be concerned. Remember also that collisions most often happen when a driver doesn't see another motorist. In the example above, that's another safeguard, in that both drivers can see each other really well. I have been driving for more years than I care to mention, and I have been a driving instructor for many years, (all collision-free) and I have never accumulated any demerit points. What I'm going to say now could very well shock you - I often don't signal for lane changes and turns. But let me hasten to add, that when it's important to signal, you can be sure I will be signalling. I'm originally from Ontario, Canada, where road users are governed by the Highway Traffic Act. In this act it states that signalling is not required if your maneuver does not affect any other road user. Makes sense to me. However, that was years ago, and legislation could have changed by now. I now reside in British Columbia, Canada, and the roadways are governed by the Motor Vehicle Act.This act states that a motorist must signal for all turns and lane changes, regardless if it affects anyone else or not. Well, I guess there's not much wrong with that, although it seems rather silly to signal a lane change at 5 o'clock on a Sunday morning with no one within miles of you. I'm used to the old way, and I don't signal if it doesn't affect anyone else, although I suppose I could get a ticket for that. I've been in the car with a friend and they say they signal all the time; that's good, then they won't get a ticket. But I also see that their signalling isn't very accurate, sometimes signalling too late or too soon. If you're going on a road test you should signal all your intentions, because you're doing a demonstration. Once you have your licence, if you would rather not signal all the time, you may want to check what the legislation is where you live. Just one word of caution though: you need to know what's happening all around your vehicle if you decide not to signal all the time. Now, here's what prompted me to write this article; it's one of my pet peeves: I'm driving along a city street or an expressway, with no one in front of me for miles. Someone comes up behind, passes, then goes in front of me. No no, it's not what you're thinking, although I understand some people may not like being passed. What I'm getting at is, they pulled in front of me and slowed me down, when there's just no need to do that. They did signal though! Maybe they signalled to tell me that they're going to cut me off. The trouble is, it happens so much, and it does become rather irksome after awhile. I would rather they not signal, and not cut me off. If they had accelerated slightly while passing, they would have opened up more space. Happy motoring! More safe driving tips can be found in my defensive driver training program "Learn To Drive And Survive." Click on the link below: http://www.ultimate-driver-training.com/index.html Webmasters: if you would like to link to this article you can use the following URL: http://www.ultimate-driver-training.com/what_no_signal.html
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