7805ac+Pet+Peeves

Click-Clock-Click-Clock, Snap!

Alexander Christie

Suppose that you are driving on the highway, and suddenly the person ahead of you veers to the left. What happened? Is the driver an old lady who just forgot how to drive? Is it an old lady who forgot there was a passenger in the car, noticed a person there and freaked out? Did the person suddenly have a heart attack or stroke? Well, you don't know what was going on, but they never put their turn signal on, so you had no idea what they were doing. People should always turn on their indicators when turning onto another road, changing lanes or parallel parking. It’s dangerous, and illegal not to do so.

When I was little, I would always remind my parents to turn their indicators on. Basically this is the scenario:

“Daddy put your turn signal on,” I would blurt out.

At that time, I pronounced signal as “siginal” and my family still teases me about that today.

Today, I see a lot of people not using their indicators. I’ve noticed this mainly when changing lanes and turning at intersections. I see people not using their signal right in front of me, and it confuses the driver and I, which could potentially cause an accident. Especially if the person ahead of us is a curly, white-haired, tiny old lady who drives slower than molasses climbing up Mt. Everest, who moves to your lane. Or Tough Guy in the giant Suburban who swerves over two lanes, passing right ahead of you, but you better not honk or else he will stop short right in front of you, get out and murder you.

Wonderful!

I think it has to do with the lazy drivers and the daredevils. The lazy just don't “feel like it” and the daredevils claim that not using the indicator adds “excitement” to driving. But following these people are the bandwagoners. These people stop using this wonderful light and silently encourage others to do it too.

Many people would think not using the blinker is not illegal. Well, if you have not heard, the lack of indicator usage is actually illegal. According to [|__http://drivinginstructorblog.com/__], one could get ticketed for not using the blinker.

People should understand that on the left of the steering wheel, there is a lever that toggles a blinking light which tells other people, “Hey, have a nice day. I’m turning onto another road! Wish me luck!,” or just simply, “I’m turning”, and people will listen. There is a sound too, that is easily heard. But, if you can’t hear it, you should notice a blinking green arrow on the instrument panel, if you ever bother to check your speed.

Don’t say, “I don't turn it on because I think I will forget to turn it off”, because it’s not a good excuse. It’s not a good excuse because in case you have not noticed, the indicator turns off by itself. If it doesn't, turn it off yourself.

But if you can’t hear the indicator clicking, then you need hearing aids.

It’s not hard to notice the blinking light on the instrument panel, either.

Some people think that lack of blinker usage is no big deal, however failure to use a turn signal is becoming a leading cause for car accidents. According to [|__http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com__], This simple habit causes 2 million accidents per year. Another statistic shows that of all the turns and lane changes we make, 1/4 of the times, equal to about 750 billion times per year, we don’t use the turn signal. The solution: Put your freaking blinker on!

I truly believe that people should always when, turning onto another road, changing lanes or parallel parking turn on their indicators. So when you do get behind the wheel of your new Lexus, think that you should change the bulb in each indicator at least once in the 4 years that you actually own it. Also, make sure that if the indicator blinks faster than normal, that you go and see Mr. Mechanic and have him replace the relay that makes the light blink. If you do that you won’t need to tweet a photo to your friends of your totalled car, and make a $20,000 car insurance claim to Allstate.

So please, use that lever, for the sake of mankind.

And yourself.

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