Signaling a Lane Change

Gone are the days when you stuck your paw straight out the window in the pouring rain or freezing sleet to suggest to other drivers you were contemplating a left turn.

Somewhere in the 1950’s, vehicle manufacturers realized that if they put turn signals on the buggy it would save a lot of knuckle frost-bite.  Soon after that, the lawmakers realized it was also a lot safer.

Ever since that time, vehicles have come equipped with neat little levers that make lights at the left and right corners of our car blink.  These flashers are of course, meant to suggest to other drivers that we’re contemplating a re-direct of our vehicle in the direction so indicated.

If we happen to be driving on local streets with stop signs, traffic lights, and stuff like that, signaling our intentions is pretty straightforward.  We simply throw the lever when we’re about to turn left or right, being sure to signal long enough to alert our fellow drivers of our intentions.

How long is long enough?  Well it’s usually a judgment call.  Most driving manuals would suggest about 100 feet before the turn.  For some, 30 nanoseconds or halfway into the turn seems to suffice.

Once we finish the turn, our steering wheel straightens out and miraculously turns off the signal – that is, if it was a sharp enough turn.  If it was a slight turn, the signal must be turned off manually, something really annoying that I can tend to forget.
 
It’s on the highways that signaling can get a bit more interesting.  Lets Driverthink about it.

On the highway, directional signaling is primarily used to suggest a lane change.  At first blush it seems easy enough.  You look for an opening, signal. and when it’s safe, simply make the lane change.  Textbook Driver Ed, legal type stuff.  I call it the “Ask Permission” signal.

Trouble is it doesn’t always work that way.  In the ideal world, you signal to change into the left lane.  The driver that’s in that lane who’s slightly behind, sees you, and either stays put or backs off a little to let you glide into the lane.

In the real world, that same driver often suffers from what I call the Supermarket Checkout Line Syndrome.  He sees your signal and immediately races forward to keep you from “cutting the line”!  Your signal only serves to warn him you’re coming and that he better “step on it” to keep you from cutting his line - even if he’s been sitting back there for five miles.

Thus was born the second highway signaling theory.  Don’t ask permission.  Simply line up a safe opportunity to change your lane and then offer a short burst of signal to let that driver know your coming – whether she likes it or not.  The key to doing this successfully of course, is lining up the “safe opportunity”.

Inherent in this lane change technique is that you want to pick your spot.  You’re giving little warning to the other driver so you want to be sure that you have reasonable space and that you’re moving fast enough (or the car in the other lane is moving slow enough) so that he really couldn’t hit you even if he tried.  An excellent rule of thumb is that – if the other driver has to apply her brakes to keep from hitting you – you probably didn’t have enough room and/or speed.

Let’s not confuse the above driver with the “Cut-off”.  The difference between an aggressive lane change and a Cut-off is that the Cut-off, whether he signals or not, will cause the other driver to brake (sometimes quite hard) to keep from hitting him.  He may slide into a tight space or he may jump into much faster traffic, but you will have to brake for the Cut-off.

The Cut-off is a Road Hazard and does cause accidents.  Cut-offs used to be an annoying, occasional aggravation but over the last few years, what with higher traffic density and seemingly more drivers suffering from the Supermarket Checkout lane Syndrome, they have now become quite commonplace.

There are times of course, when you absolutely have to change lanes.  If someone refuses to let you in you may be forced to use the Cut-off.  We all know the driver who will come right up and sit on our rear quarter panel for miles.  You look at him and he has this innocent, oblivious “Oh – I didn’t see you trying to get over” look on his face.

If you are a regular “Cut-off” driver or one who refuses to let others into your lane, please stop to Driverthink about it.  When you meet up together - you can back up traffic for the rest of us - for miles.

Please Add your COMMENTS BELOW.  What do You Think?


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Posted by Frank Miller at 10/19/2007 8:22 AM
Categories: Driving Experience

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