Are indicators really that hard to use?

tuttle88

In my car my indicator is nicely placed near the steering wheel, so when I want to turn the wheel I just put out my fingers and touch the stick. It really isn't that difficult. It seems to me that 80% of the cars on the road have some sort of defect where the indicator is impossible to use, or only work a certain amount of the time. This should be addressed because it really is the only way to tell if people are actually pulling away from the curb, or changing lanes, or turning of FREAKING CUTTING ME OFF!

Is the ease of use (some would say idiot-proofness) of my indicator a unique feature of every car I've ever driven?

Phantasos

No, that layout on the left hand side (in America at least) of the steering column is pretty standard among car makers. I wouldn't say the percentage of people refusing to signal is that poor in any of the markets I've driven through, but there are a goodly number of people who just don't signal. Fortunately the rest of us have horns with which to remind them of their grievous error.

Rym

It's a crime to change lanes or turn without engaging the turn signals in most places in the US. Improper use of signals also causes more accidents than speeding. Despite this, the police enforce speeding laws, yet largely ignore non-signalling drivers. -_-

The problem I run into here is that people, for whatever reason, resist turning their headlights on for as long as possible. It'll be raining or foggy or dark, and a good 1/3 of the cars I see are running dark. Not that the police pull them over or anything... (In New York State, it is against the law to engage your windshield wipers without also engaging your headlamps).

Even worse are the geniuses who seem to think that parking lights are mini-headlights. It starts raining, or it gets a little dark, and, instead of using their headlights, they turn on their bloody damned parking lights like that's the thing you do. I don't think most Americans even know what parking lights are, or what they're for. (There's a big hint in the name).

Don't forget the people who, when turning left, swing waaay out to the right beforehand, preventing anyone from cutting around them. Or the people who make a left/right turn and then end up in the far/near lane illegally. Or the people who don't understand right of way at a four-way stop. Or the people who block an adjacent intersection/cross street at a red light. Or the people who drive 10mph UNDER the speed limit through a no-passing zone during rush hour. (This last one happens to me at least twice a week, and it has been without exception an incredibly elderly person who, when I finally get a chance to pass them, appears terribly nervous about the fact that they're driving in the first place and probably shouldn't still be allowed on the road).

If it weren't for the total lack of any other means of useful transportation in the majority of the US, I'd be in favour of a one-strike law: one strike and you lose your license.

Kilarney

It's a crime to change lanes or turn without engaging the turn signals in most places in the US.

It's a civil violation. A seemingly minor distinction, but in reality very important.