For California (Los Angeles and Anaheim), Nevada (Las Vegas), and now Hawaii (Honolulu) we’ve noticed that no one’s uses indicators for when they want to change lanes, they just… go.
We’re Australian and it’s a very standard road rule to use them, did we just encounter a lot of people who didn’t use them or do Americans only use indicators for turning onto another street?
32 comments
No, it is not strange.
It is legally required, a bunch of people are just lazy about it.
My state’s law is you have to use one when changing lanes if it could disrupt the flow of traffic. So if there are other cars behind within a reasonable distance, you have to use it. If you are nowhere near anyone else, you don’t. It’s a rare occasion where I think the law reflects common sense and how most drivers operate.
No, it’s not strange or abnormal.
There are definitely some people who don’t use them, and we have jokes about BMW and Altima drivers not knowing that they’re there. But, I lived in LA, and most people used indicators to change lanes.
Currently in Phoenix, nearly everyone does.
Its nobody’s business where I am going.
Legally required in every state I know of but *a lot* of people don’t do it. Although some states only require if your lane change might disrupt traffic flow.
https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/29-A/title29-Asec2071.html
Maine only requires it if it will affect traffic. So alone on a lonely stretch of road, just change lanes. Driving in a busy city, signal.
There’s essentially no enforcement of it.
It is illegal but so many people don’t use them.
Wish cops would start actually enforcing it because 90% of the time its fine but I’ve seen so many close calls because of it and there’s no reason to make driving any more dangerous when all you have to do is move your hand a few inches.
I would never change lanes without an indicator, and I consider it poor driving to do so. I can’t say I see it that often but I do see it sometimes and it’s annoying and potentially dangerous.
Growing up in Maine we said that we could always tell a driver from Away because they didn’t use their turn signals. I does seem like northern New England drivers are more like to use them than drivers from other places, but I’m willing to admit that that might be confirmation bias.
And Boston drivers use their turn signals purely as misinformation so the other drivers don’t know what they’re about to do.
It’s not considered strange. Many do not because of laziness but another factor is driving culture in the area. By driving culture I’m not talking about racing or etc, I’m talking about a culture of not letting people who signal turn. It creates a snowball effect where it becomes your best interest to not signal especially when changing lanes.
No it’s not strange. You can be pulled over by police for not doing so. You’re supposed to use it, it’s the in the Driver’s Handbook, lol. But it’s possible that Californians use their blinker less than other Americans.
My cousin is from the East Coast but lives here in California now. She called me on this last summer. She was following me a few exits down the highway and through some surface streets and when we arrived she made fun of me for “never” using my blinker. I call BS on that, she *was* following me after all, I’m not a psycho. I probably used it. Anyhow, *she* said that this is a Californian phenomenon.
But Im a fish in a fishbowl on this one. I don’t always use my blinker, I confess, but I get the impression that this might just be a regional thing, or at least varies from place to place. Apparently my cousin signals every turn like some kind of nerd.
Lol, what did I say
Under California’s vehicle code (section 22107) it is required to use a turn signal when changing lanes.
Don’t even think of using your horn in Hawaii or you’ll catch some false cracks!
People drive like assholes here, half the time if you signal for a lane change people in the other lane will speed up to overtake you for some reason. Awful.
It’s legally required.
Depends on where you are. Where I’m currently living (Abilene TX), its absolutely unheard of for people to use their turn signals at any time and is one of the absolute worst places to drive. I truly hate this place.
[List of rudest drivers by state](https://insurify.com/car-insurance/insights/cities-with-the-rudest-drivers-2023/?fbclid=IwAR3FueOyyhBx8T33DANE2M2Q3Kgy0G65lf_cS4Z1ec_DJ1iTJtuH5Erv4YE) – Data compiled by an insurance company
[List of worst drivers by state](https://www.forbes.com/advisor/car-insurance/worst-drivers-by-state/) – Forbes comparison
I live in the San Diego area and while some people may not always use their turn signals that seems to be the exception rather than the rule.
No one in California using their turn signals seems like it’s probably a bit of an exaggeration.
I would say that most people here probably don’t signal when they are taking a freeway off-ramp if the off-ramp splits off from the lane that they are driving in.
I’m fairly positive that it’s illegal to sell BMWs in the US if they have turn signals installed. I also believe that they are DLC for Teslas that no one decides to get.
In traffic clogged areas, like the DC suburbs, some people don’t signal because if they warned you, you might not let them cut you off.
Turn signals? It is required by law to use them to change lanes, but a lot of people see the rules of the road as absolute suggestions not laws even though they are laws.
I haven’t really experienced this issue much myself, at least not where I live. I’ve actually experienced more issues with people not using their indicators when turning into a parking lot (or even sometimes onto another *street*)
No
It is absolutely required and I got a ticket once in Wyoming for changing lanes twice without signaling. Honestly I think the state patrolman was really bored that day.
No, but the rate at which people actually use them varies by location.
No.
We used to joke in Atlanta that if you were on I-85, using your blinker was just telling the other people that now was the time to cut you off. lol
I still do it even if I’m the only person on the road for miles.
I find it hard to believe that you have seen no one use their turn signals. Quite the exaggeration.
LOL, not that is so required. Tickets in the US are big revenue raisers, but the localities don’t get much for those tickets, so nobody issues them.
No, lol. Of course they are not strange and are frequently used.
I am pretty sure it is against the law to use blinkers in Kansas City.
In Los Angeles, using your signals is telling your plans to the enemy. People will just speed up and not let you in.