|
Hi Sean - thanks for the Highway Code Rule.I have been indicating needlessly for all these years! Would seem to work well on a single or dual carriageway but I still think it is different on a three or four lane motorway. If, for instance, you are in lane 1 and you need to enter lane 2 it is handy to know that vehicles in lane 3 are not about to pull over into lane 2 just as you are pulling out. Must be a girl thing .....
|
|
Just done the IAM course and was advised not to indicate to return to the LHS as it could be confused with a signal to exit on the left.
|
|
|
Ime with you Marylin. I know everyone is supposed to move left after overtaking, but a lot of people dont, so I will always signal left when moving in. Better too much than too little say I.
|
Sorry, I am one of the "dont indicate left when return to lane" brigade.
|
|
Hi Renault Family - I do believe I saw you yesterday on the M1 and then again today on the M4 ! Maz
|
Dont think so Maz. I like to leave a smoke screen so I cant be spotted.
|
|
When returning to the left I was taught no signal necessary as that's where you should be anyway. You should wait until you can see the car you have just overtaken clearly in the rearview mirror before moveing to the left then there is sufficient gap and the other driver shouldn't be surprised.
|
" other driver shouldn't be surprised."
Nail on head! Many drivers are incapable of correctly reading the road ahead, understanding basic driving rules & technique, concentrating sufficiently on their driving or anticipating the obvious.
So the obvious comes as a surprise to them.
|
Provided that you are far enough ahead of, and going faster than, the car you have just overtaken on a dual carriageway there appears to me to be no value to anyone in indicating that you are going to pull back into the left hand lane. I?m very suspicious of drivers that indicate for no apparent good reason. I assume that they have indicated instinctively/automatically but without any conscious thought. I then wonder how much else of their driving is being done without any conscious thought, and I give them a wide berth. I see drivers stationary at traffic lights indicating left in lanes that are left turn only, and similarly drivers indicating right in lanes that are right turn only. What?s the point? If it?s not going to be of any value to any other road user then I don?t indicate.
--
L\'escargot.
|
Spot on, L'escargot.
You see people merrily indicating away when there's nobody else on the road. Who are they indicating to, I wonder?
Surely the whole point of signals is to convey information to other road users.
You see people these days who, to paraphrase Eric Morecambe, play all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order.
Manoeuvre, signal, mirror, Oh dear! Bang.
|
>>Surely the whole point of signals is to convey information to other road users.>>
Pedestrians are also road users - there's often a time I curse a driver because he/she has failed to indicate their intention because there is no other traffic about, at the same time failing to appreciate that I equally need to know any other unexpected manoeuvres they plan.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
You see people merrily indicating away when there's nobody else on the road. Who are they indicating to, I wonder?
How can they be indicating to no one if you can see them ?
|
On a quiet motorway or dual carriageway i don't often bother signalling to move back in after an overtake. I always signal to move out, however. My reasoning is that that i have just overtaken, and am still going faster than the vehicle who would benefit from my signal. Me changing back into their lane is inconsequential of any action they may be about to take, unless they are hovering over a 'Nitro' button at that instant!
However the exception is when on a busier three lane or more road, i have just overtaken a middle lane vehicle, and there are other vehicles in the inside lane. In this situation i indicate before returning to the middle lane, as otherwise the vehicles in the inside lane might not be as aware of my actions and pull out to do their own overtake. I have seen a number of near-misses like this before, cars in lanes 1 and 3 pulling into lane 2 at the same moment.
|
|
Hi Hawsey1982 - that's exactly how I feel. I will continue to indicate on busy sections of motorway and not feel too ridiculous. Maz
|
I can look out of the front room at home and see neighbours scuttling back to their houses.
Not another car in sight, or pedestrian, stray dog, cat, sleeping policeman.....
Also at work, the office block is high and overlooks many roads. Just the same situation.
I suppose I'm sad for asking myself about their signalling, it just strikes me as daft.
|
|
I`m with L`escagot all the way on this one. Indicating a return to the left might have merit on a motorway,but is totaly uneccessary on dual carrageways. My brother has an excellent saying about this "If you need to indicate,then you`r too close"
|
|
|
|
I don't see much purpose in indicating Right when joining from a slip-road either. What else could you possibly do? It can only mean 'move over, I'm coming in'.
|
To be a little pedantic - You could stop. It IS a give way line after all, and if you want to cross it, you should be indicating your intention to do so.
And on a busy junction, if you leave indicating until you have 'picked your spot', the drivers on the motorway already are aware that the move out of the slip lane is happening soon, rather than just darting into a gap.
|
|
Indicating that you are going to return to the left lane also helps put a stop to those people who fail to cancel the indicator and drive for miles along a motorway with their right-hand indicator flashing, leaving other drivers wondering what their next move is going to be. Infuriating.
|
|
I can only think of three instances where I would deem it appropriate to use the left indicator - changing lanes on a motorway, moving left out of a junction/off a roundabout/onto a slip road, and pulling out from being parked up on a street, out onto the main road. I don't think that it's necessary to indicate when you're moving back in, having overtaken someone, but I am surprised by the number of people who just NEVER seem to use that stalk for any occasion...
|
"I don't think that it's necessary to indicate when you're moving back in, having overtaken someone,"
Except of course that you are not just indicating to the one you have overtaken, but also to others who may be gaining on you in the second lane and you are telling them that you are moving back in and they don't need to go into lane 3 in order to get past you - which may be a nice thing to do on a crowded motorway. Anyway, I always indicate that I am pulling back in, habit I suppose, probably pointless, but just common courtesy in informing others that you are changing lane.
|
|
|
It's also pretty pointless indicating when turning from a side road onto a main road (either way).
In both cases it is of no consequence to anyone behind which way you might be turning, although they could usually surmise that anyway from your road position (if they weren't on the phone)
If turning left, the only people who can see your front indicator are those coming from your left, who don't need to know.
Same principle turning right - those coming from your left can't see it anyway.
Whichever way you are waiting to turn, those coming from your right have to assume that you will wait until they have passed. Eye contact is more inportant than indicating in those circumstances.
|
|
However, someone overtaking on the road you're turning into can see your indicator, and if I was in that situation I'd abort my overtake pdq, as people often turn left without looking both ways.
|
It's also pretty pointless indicating when turning from a side road onto a main road (either way).
It's even more pointless indicating when turning from a house driveway onto a road, but I know someone that does this every time. It reinforces my point that some people indicate out of habit and without conscious thought.
--
L\'escargot.
|
I have to say I prefer over use of indicators to under use. And don't get me started on mis (or non) use of indicators on roundabouts...
Tim{P}
|
|
|
|
>You could stop. It IS a give way line after all, and if you want to cross it, you should be indicating your intention to do so<
Hawesy, you know that is not reasonable/possible. Years ago when the M62 was quite new, I was driven to Leeds by my boss, who scared me to death, apparently unaware of how to merge with traffic.
|
>You could stop. It IS a give way line after all, and if you want to cross it, you should be indicating your intention to do so< Hawesy, you know that is not reasonable/possible. Years ago when the M62 was quite new, I was driven to Leeds by my boss, who scared me to death, apparently unaware of how to merge with traffic. Technically Hawesy is right - it is a give way line.It obviously depends on traffic conditions and I have only had to stop once when joining a motorway. Junction 12 M4 morning rush - as I travelled down the slip road with a line of other cars there were 6 artics bunched together in lane 1. Lanes 2 and 3 were very busy. The lorries had nowhere to go so we all had to stop! I think I remember a posting from a lorry driver earlier in the year to this effect pleading with drivers to realise that they can't always move over! Maz
|
|
|
Andrew, yes i agree that under most normal conditions then stopping would not be a real option.
Hence the start of my earlier post: "To be a little pedantic - You could stop...."
Although i still feel it is useful to indicate when joining 20-40mph traffic on a motorway, as the slip lane traffic is often moving faster than that until it filters in, and the slip road is long enough for joining vehicles to join the traffic at all different places.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
