Watch for motorcycles. But if you're not going to, at least use your damn blinkers. [View all]

[Glassunion]

There are a lot of things that annoy me while I'm driving. Folks who will drive all day in the far left lane without passing anything, folks who don't yield the right of way at a stop or yield, others who play with their f**king phones or tie their shoes or put on makeup or read a book or play the trumpet (I've actually seen this) or juggle tennis balls (I've seen this too) while driving. Not using your indicators is one of them. It's like you just want to kill someone.

I swear it must be a past time here in my area... Dawdle in the left lane for miles, ensure you get at least 2 miles of annoyed drivers stacked up behind you, or passing you on the right, then at the last possible second cut across two lanes to take your exit without signaling. Every, friggen, day... I can excuse tractor trailers for this (see: Elefantenrennen) because they don't have the passing power of cars. But there is no reason for a passenger vehicle to be hanging out in the left lane not going around anyone.

I got curious to see if there was any data on not using blinkers causing accidents. As it turns out, failing to properly indicate your intentions to other drivers causes more accidents than distracted driving (see link below). There really is no excuse not to signal. We've had indicators on our cars for over 100 years now, so it's not really a new technology. It requires the most minimum of effort to use, and it can save lives.

As a motorcyclist, I've had many close calls. Many. When you use your indicators, you are giving me a heads-up on exactly how it is you plan to kill me. This gives me time to accommodate your intentions and give you the room you need to change lanes or make a turn.

Luckily automotive engineers have a solution that will hopefully be coming soon. A turn signal assistant, that will warn you in a way similar to your neglected seat belt warning, if you are not using your blinkers when you should be. The latest advancements in technology have been awesome... Self braking systems (bikers get rear ended a lot at stops), backup warnings, lane monitoring, blind-spot indicators. I love it when passing a car, and can see that yellow warning light on their side-view mirror double checking that the driver knows I'm there. Hopefully this will gain traction and start to become a part of every new vehicle. http://www.autoblog.com/2012/04/30/turn-signal-neglect-results-in-over-twice-as-many-crashes-as-dis/#continued (I know it's an old article)

Now if only there was a system that would let a driver know that they should not be camping out in the passing lanes.