No Stupid Questions

Always. Driveway? Blinkers. Parking? Blinkers. On an empty road with no one in sight? Believe it or not, blinkers.

It's a muscle memory. When you get used to using them, you just do. If you have exceptions, you might forget it when it matters.

Always use the blinker. Remember it's not a request, it's a warning. The only time you might not is if you have to make a sudden emergency swerve and don't have time and need both hands on the wheel. In this case, survival should be immediately followed by an apology wave.

When changing lanes in fast traffic, using the blinker will usually cause the car next to you to speed up. This is a feature, not a bug, as it opens a space behind them into which you can stick the nose of your car, ahead of the guy following them.

Adding in: if you routinely drive with your lights on, you will find that little extra visibility makes people slightly less likely to cut you off or more likely to let you in. Sometimes they don't mean to be assholes, they're just distracted, and being more visible helps. If you consider that "dingdingding" a reminder to lock it, it will turn off the lights and be safe.

...how else would people around me know what direction I'm about to move 2+ tons of metal???

I can't stand how often I see people changing lanes or taking turns with ZERO blinker usage. Selfish short sighted fucks.

I use it everywhere because it signals intent. You never know when someone might pull up fast or walk into your blind spot. This is the only indicator they have that you're about to pull into traffic, or change lanes.

I don't drive a BMW, so yes.

"Every important sideways manoeuvre" is what I learned from my driving instructor. I sometimes even feel a bit bad when I forget to use my indicator.

Can I make a small complaint here that the 3 blinks your car does is way too short to start and finish most actions?

I use them all the time. Pisses me off when other road users don't. They're called indicators here in the UK and apparently if you pass an advanced driving test and get an advanced licence you don't have to use them all the time, particularly if there's no-one around to see them. Advanced courses are about thinking rather than being on autopilot, and so indicating out of habit suggests you're not paying attention to what's going on around you.

Would you use your blinker in a car? Would you wink at your lover, from afar? Would you twerk and dimple, or is that too far? I don't know how to rhyme this anymore, ABLAR.

Even when I’m a pedestrian I fucking hate anyone who doesn’t use a turn signal. Usually I’ll yield to cars because they’re faster, and as an impatient person myself I wonder who’d want to wait six years for someone to walk across whatever but I can’t do that when the idiots don’t use their turn signal.

Always always signal your intention. I heard a woman complaining that her new car had lane control, which forced her to indicate when changing lanes. "It's so annoying, I mean it's obvious I'm overtaking, I don't need to indicate!"

Also, as a frequent pedestrian I appreciate when drivers and cyclists indicate and judge heavily when they don't. So frustrating to be waiting to cross the road and someone turns without indicating.

I’ve only been driving for 33 years, but I try to signal every turn.

Because the signals are for those situations where you don’t see something you should have AND those situations where someone else didn’t see something they should have.

Takes a flick of the pinky to do something that could save you thousands of dollars and wasted time, or even save someone’s life. So why not do it?

Mirror, signal, manoeuvre. This is the way.

Yes. You're supposed to use it anytime you're about to turn or change lanes, including if you're sitting in a turn lane at a red light or backing out of a drive way or parking spot.

Not doing so makes you a road hazard.

Using it 75% of the time is harder than using it all the time, because it means you’re consciously thinking about it each time instead of doing it reflexively.

I got made fun of for using it when pulling out of my moms driveway once lol

I believe the socially acceptable retort is "if you don't like my driving, you can get the hell out of the car. If you're staying, you can shut up"

Until humans invent mind reading and we can all do it easily without a moment's hesitation, I will be using my turning indicator. Only idiots make fun of signalling.

Other drivers cannot read minds, so use the blinker.

Its why it's there in the first place.

I use it all the time and I judge people who don't.

You don't need to sit at a light with the blinker going. I just put it on before the light turns green, or right before I start moving.

Area dependent. Blinkers get in the way if you live somewhere like India or San Antonio

There are only 4 ways to communicate in a car what your intentions are to other drivers. Left blinker, right blinker, brake lights, and the finger. 5 if you count flashing brights but I'm convinced most people think it's just a fuck you for having headlights that are too bright, which might be the case, but I'm usually telling you there a pig ahead.

Confession: I use indicator lights so much that I sometimes use them in very tight turns

Basically everywhere. Not always when pulling in my driveway if no one else is around, but I’ve certainly seen driveways where you might even use it pulling out. I don’t use it pulling out of my driveway. It’s rare that I not use it otherwise, though. Very occasionally I’ll think I’ve put it on but discover while turning that I didn’t have it on. Might be my ADHD causing that.

Turn signals are not optional.

Yeah. Whoever made fun of you is an idiot.

If you habitually use it on simple or clear turns or empty roads you will habitually use it when there are people around. That's a good habit to have.

Lights on always and signal whenever you're deviating from your current lane.

Over 15 years driving, here. I use blinkers all the time. I feel weird if I change lanes without a blinker, even if I know for an absolute fact there's no one around me... Or even any that can see me. And I mean, I'll even use it when I do a little road rage for people camping in the passing lane and I pass them on the wrong side, cutting a little close when returning. That being said, a driveway is something I'd make a joke about among friends. It wouldn't make me judge you as a driver. I'd use the rest of your driving as my judgment material.

My 2 cents on a topic you didn't ask for: Do not hold down the passing lane. It makes me a little irrational, but only with a totally clear line of sight. There's plenty of dumber morons that suck at it, so camping sprinkles a little chaos into the hierarchy of the lanes. It does not matter how your speed compares to the limit.

What kind of person shits on another for using a turn signal? My guess is it is someone who forgets to use it frequently.

I don't drive a BMW, so yes, I do use my blinker.

I’m not perfect, but my signals pretty religiously… and I’ve been driving for almost 30 years.

I’ll ride with my dad sometimes though… and in his old age he won’t always use his turn signals. Never has, actually. I always get onto him, and he gives me this shit-eating grin and says “it’s on a need-to-know basis.”