Turn Signals

mirrors.

signals

You may want to consider limiting your drinking to the last thing you do in a given day.

Trusting a turn signal can kill a pedestrian.

While riding motorcycles, I try to stay out of traffic. If that's not possible, I pay attention to what cars are doing and what they are able to do. I (should) never assume that the right-of-way will keep me from being killed.

While in-line street skating, a geezer in a big car pulling out of a Wendy's parking lot stuck his head out the window and waved me on saying "Don't mind me!" I waited. So he tried to pull out onto the street, not realizing that his front tires were up against a curb.

Besides intersections in general, perhaps the most hazardous situation for a pedestrian is when a car driver is looking left and turning right. When skating, I practice giving cars the right-of-way. A pedestrian pretending that he has the right of way is a big mistake IMO.

Lack of driving skill, inattentiveness, and indecision is deadly. And then there is the woman pulling out onto a street with a cell phone in one hand and a cigarette in the other, I saw last week.

I am a defensive driver. This has little to do about defensive driving. Its more about consideration. And the driver of that vehicle with less than perfect signaling might want to fix his problem. All the old vehicles had turn signals visable across the entire frontal area. For "styling" purposes, the car manufacturers are getting away with too much. I would have thought there was a spec for the turn signals, but its seems like its been changed or ignored. When that driver has his invisable turn signal on, he might think I can see it, and it might make my driving a little more unsafe and certainly his.

greg

I will

aight.

mirrors.

LED signals

I've driven in a number of different parts of the US and Canada and Europe over the years, and there are sections (e.g. Boston) where using your turn signal is a crime called "giving information to the enemy".

Personally I liked the sequential turn signals on the Thunderbirds in the late 60's.

Tim.

I havn't sen anything like that today. There are some rear LED lamps that rotate, but it would seem like there would be more variety. I was mostly concerned with the FRONT turn signals here.

greg

I designed a chip (plus SCR's) to replace the motor/cam/switch arrangement in the original sequential turn signals in the '60's Birds.

But I don't know of what you refer to as "new vehicles that you can't see the turn signals from every which way". All the new vehicles I know of have side (and mirror) lamps showing turns. Maybe you buy American-made junk ?:-)

...Jim Thompson

Its very clear, for example

these signal can be viewed from both left and right front sides, regardless of position.

on these

You can't The opposite side is hidden.

greg

position.

Aha! You want to see the left turn signal from the right side? So you can make an illegal turn yourself ?:-)

...Jim Thompson

Nothing about illegal. Its about comming to a stop at a three or four way intersection. Anybody can go any direction, except its nice to know who's going where. There must have been some kind of conclusion long ago, on where do you put turn signals since all vehicles had them in the front. I think it was a good idea. Addition of side markers was also a good idea as an additional benefit.

greg

intersection.

You DO understand the RULES for vehicle movement at a 3 or 4-way stop?

...Jim Thompson

will

straight.

mirrors.

signals

Ah, but that assumes that you actually signal in the direction you intend to turn.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

I usually go by the rules of experiance. You can't always have a clear understanding of what to do. Its mostly by the wave of the hand, or who starts moving first, that sets the motion. Its clear to me, the first one to stop should be the first to go. Thats the only clear thing, and the guy on the right rule is not obeyed, except in boating. Regardless, if If someone is stopped, and I can't see any turn signal, they are either going straight, or deciding on something, and not necessarily going to make a turn.

greg

intersection.

Are you worried about somebody going in your direction but in a lane to your right, and they're going to turn right but you can't see his signals? Don't see the problem.

Or maybe you're worried about guys making left turns from the right lane, or right turns from the left lane? It worries me too, I've seen some scary moves over the years and thankfully nobody was killed (but there were some cars, trucks, SUV's totaled in the t-bones), but I don't think that turn signals address the drivers causing the problems.

Tim.

...

No, you need to learn to pay attention to what the hell you're doing. Turning off your brain, and depending on machines to protect you from your own negligence, is bad for the species.

Here's my safe car design:

Good Luck Rich

On Sun, 02 Nov 2008 07:25:29 +0000, John Doe wrote: ...

This is WAY too true. The one who has the right-of-way in any given situation is the one to whom it is yielded.

Cheers! Rich

On a sunny day (Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:26:24 GMT) it happened Richard The Dreaded Libertarian wrote in :

YOU ARE SO WRONG AGAIN, IN THAT CONFIGURATION SOMEBODY COULD SMASH INTO THE PASSENGERS AREA AND THE DRIVER WOULD BE OK.

will

mirrors.

signals

If you want to start a flame war, post this on rec.autos.tech. Some will bring up the (superior) EU standards that mandate amber rear and side mounted signals (just behind the front wheel) which address your issue. The US car fans will fire back that these make a car look 'uncool'. If you can't tell the difference between a loose rear brake lamp and a turn signal, why should they have to suffer by ruining that neat '60s retro look of all red plastic.

Arizona does just ducky with probably more than 80% of its 4-way intersections, without traffic lights, as 4-way stops courtesy-controlled.

...Jim Thompson

A. Put the passengers in Indy-grade cocoons.

B. Don't stop in front of roads that traffic is coming out of.

Or is it just that you love to say I'm wrong? ;-)

Cheers! Rich