Failure to Use Your Turn Signal

The one thing that really annoys me about other drivers is the fact that most of them fail to use their turn signals when they are changing lanes or preparing to turn. Every single day that I am on the road driving for whatever reason, I always encounter at least five people who could potentially cause accidents or who have narrowly avoided becoming involved in car accidents all because they did not use their turn signals when the switched lanes.

Just the other day, I was driving to run an errand. I was on a road and was traveling straight when the person in front of me suddenly braked in the middle of the road. I was a good distance behind them (approximately three to four car lengths), but because they braked so suddenly, I had to slam on my brakes. Soon after they had almost come to a complete stop in the middle of the road, they then made a right turn onto a side street. I was furious. If they knew that they wanted to turn there, then why wouldn't they have indicated this by using their signal?

Each day, there are numerous people who fail to use their turn signals and who cause accidents because of it. Personally, I have been witness to at least a dozen accidents in which the person did not use their turn signal and for which if they had used their turning signal, the accident could have been avoided. For example, a few months ago, I was driving on a fairly busy road when I saw that up ahead in the right hand lane, there was a line of traffic traveling in a straight path. Suddenly, one of the cars in the lane braked out of nowhere. However, the cars behind this particular car weren't able to recoil fast enough, and as the one car started to make a right hand turn onto a different road, the car behind it slammed into it. All of this could have been avoided if the one car had put on their turn signal and indicated their intention to the other cars behind it.

If you are in your vehicle, know that you have signals for a reason. If you are unsure of where you are going or if you think that you need to make a turn, put your turn signal on anyway. Putting your signal on is better than not using it at all, because at least it lets other drivers behind you know that you are thinking of making a turn soon. Even if you miss the turn and proceed to the next opportunity to turn, it will at least make other drivers behind you slow down or move into another lane while you figure it out. If you are lost or if you are unsure of where you are going, put your hazards on or put your turn signal on and pull over to a position off the roadway where you can safely check your directions or make a phone call to get directions.

The worst thing that you can do while driving anywhere is to not use your turn signal. Other drivers are not psychics, and they will not know what you intend to do unless you make it clear.