Interesting thread. I didn't realize so many people were so passionate about signaling. After a trip to Mombay, India I decided signaling really isn't that important and thought so until today. I have to take your comments with a grain of salt because all of these little things bother ya'll, but driving 1XX miles per hour is o.k. ;)

Hey Moses..if you want to see how to deal w/tailgaters, by leaving them in a cloud of smoke/Literally hit this site and then hit JAMES BOND www.cincado.com/911 ........................Ron

Yes I signal when I change lanes or turn.

But there is also this saying..."Just because they have their signal on does not mean they are going to turn." There is some truth to that. Have you ever noticed when a person has their signal on and seem to not know it and/or put it on about 2 blocks before they actually want to turn!?!

So...when I see someone with their signal on I still give them room because....maybe they want to get over/turn....and a... maybe they don't! ;) ;) ;)

Another good reason to use your indicator is:

I don't know if you have ever seen an insurance claim form; every second question is Did you use your indicator, did you use your frickin indicator etc. I kind of got the impression if you didn't use it you would be considered guilty what ever the situation. Gawd knows what you write in the space if the accident happened on a straight bit of road :eek:

something I just learned...
 

The left lane has the right of way. So if you are in the left lane and someone in the right lane is trying to get into your lane, you don't have to yield. But if you are in the right lane and someone from the left wants in, you have to yield. :rolleyes:

I'm a habitual signaler. Yes, it's polite driving, but it's saved me more than once. Example: warned the bozo who was changing lanes into my blind spot that I was coming over. It's not just for the people you see... it can be for those you DON'T see.

Okinawa Habit
 

I lived in Okinawa, Japan for 3 years and adopted some of their driving habits (the ones I found useful).

I use my turn signal all the time... I means I'm coming, like it or not, I'm coming. Works out kind of nice around here in Northern VA where people have strange tendency to screw merging traffic & people who need to change lanes.

A necessity in my '87 Landcruiser. Not exactly known for comming off the line. Makes merging into traffic a snap. Put turn signal on and move into the lane even if the other driver is trying to nose me out (normally followed by a smile and wave from me; like they let me in).

The TLC is a big rig, probably wouldn't fly in my P-car. Then again, getting up to speed to merge or moving ahead to change is much more fun in the 911 (see ya!).

Gordo

What aboslutely pisses me off is when a car that was parked on the side of a street takes off in front of me without signaling it, and without accelerating enough:mad:. I see that all the time, this is just rude and selfish behavior. There are so many jerks on the roads that imagine that driving a $40K SUV gives them special rights...but those bad habits are just a consequence of the culture of individualism, people do not even care about others...It is not just about being bad drivers, it is a deeper problem.:(

Aurel
78 SC Targa

That sums up my driving philosophy. But a lot of drivers DON'T want you to know their next move!!

Quote--
Interesting thread. I didn't realize so many people were so passionate about signaling. After a trip to Mombay, India I decided signaling really isn't that important and thought so until today. I have to take your comments with a grain of salt because all of these little things bother ya'll, but driving 1XX miles per hour is o.k.
Unquote---

Come on: driving in BOMBAY cannot be compared with US/Europe in any way!

Quote--
When I lived in New York I had a crazy friend from Tennessee who HATED being tailgated. He would hit the brakes fast and hard then jump on the accelerator. On two occaisions I turned around to see the tailgater sliding sideways on the turnpike. I had to ask him not to do that while I was in the car and he got pissed. I guess he figured driver education was his PERSONAL responsibility.
Unquote---

Yesterday at 160 kph (100 mph) on the A1 from Paris to Brussels, I was driving left lane, behind a Carrera 2 and a 993. We were separated by er... 40 meters.. each, passing a near continuously filled up middle lane. Some family man with some Passat station wagon was driving (at same speed) some 5 feet away from my rear bumper. I successfully resisted my base impulse to send him off into the side-rails. At first opportunity (after a mile or so), I shifted (yes, put on my blinker) into an empty section of the middle lane, he passed me, and immediately the 2 other Porsches went into the middle lane, as there was (finally) room to do so.

The family man disappeared over the horizon (to you limeys, I won't divulge this man's license plate origin!).

Aren't we NICE drivers, ay??? :D :D :D

This reminds me of my favorite bumper sticker - "Forget world Peace. Visualize using your turn signal."

I always signal lane changes, even when mine is the only car on the road.

As for tailgating, I don't understand why it so bothers people. I don't do it and I don't get upset when others do it to me. No matter what I do, no matter how I provoke them, if someone touches my rear bumper, they are automatically at fault and will most certainly have a serious ticket and insurance bill when I'm done with them. More importantly, when I'm in the left lane, I NEVER give anyone a reason to tailgate me. I pass fast and get right. On a one lane road, since I'm always going well over the speed limit, I rarely give anyone a reason to tailgate me then either.

Yes, Richard, go ahead and call my lawyer, he'll notify my next of kin (and whilst he's at it, let him take care of the tailgaither plus family in one go): good for business.

I read an article back in the 80s about the pleasures of driving in Moscow. The writer reported that using turn signals was seen as a sign of weakness. I thought is was funny at the time, but there are a lot of people on the road who think that way, a good percentage of them driving either SUVs or Cadillacs.

There's a professor at Johns Hopkins (name escapes) who has written about the concept of "civility" in modern society. Not servility (see Moscow) but simple manners.

Manners, or lack of, you should try driving in an asian country...

Getting back to the "signalling" bit (re: Mumbai, India), well funny how in West-Africa (Lagos, Nigeria), well, there's a pure bedlam of cars zigzagging a web accross and over the roads, nobody signalling at all, except (it's hot there), everyone has their windows open and they signal with the hands, there seems to be a code with some sign language, mostly it's just impossible (and not recommended...) to drive fast at all, and I find that there is, all in all, not the kind of aggression there as you find often over here (in spite of Lagos having a real bad reputation for general aggression!). Same in India, in the city anyway. Once got involved in an accident there (my "drivah" ran into a three-wheeler, the kind you see in some James Bond film - hilarious!). Well, no one is insured, and there was some shouting back and forth between "my" driver and the Bajaj 3-wheel scooter, I never understood how "major" incidents are settled there! An indication of that is the incident I witnessed in the Marakkech Medina (old city, sook area): at a (suplemely crowded) entry gate (to the souks), a donkey-cart was engaged through the gate, but at the other end was a fat Mercedes with tinted windows, the "owner" reading his newspaper in the back (uniformed driver at the wheel). I sat back to observe what would happen, it was very easy for the Merc to back off and let the donkey-cart through, but of course that did NOT happen! The medieval cart had to back off, into the crowds, to let Monsieur through. That's the old world for you!

This happened a lot while I lived in FL and is a pet peeve :

Drivers who stop to make a turn and THEN put on the turn signal !! :mad:

It's worse than the retirees who forget to signal at all IMHO. At least they may have an excuse...

Hey Paul F...some of the places you've been sound scary..What happens if you get scared half to death twice?? .................Ron

Paul - very interesting accounts about your other country driving experiences.

To get to my work, I often times drive thru some pretty "rough" areas of Chicago. There are no rules here. It's like "Thunderdome". I can't tell you how many times I've been driving in the right lane, and someone in the left lane signals "left", and then turns "right" in front of me. :eek: I just start to laugh, because how should you react to that?!?!? It just makes no sense at all, and happens way too often. I've just learned to "predict" what all drivers around me might do, and make sure I have enough room to avoid an accident, or at lease come to a stop.