It happens sometimes that as you are driving, you come out of a by-lane to join a main road when you notice a stream of vehicles swishing past in front of you. So you wait, and wait patiently, for a ‘break’ in the stream when one of the drivers might decide to turn into your lane. That could be your chance to join the highway. And lo! One vehicle does finally turn into your lane.
Yet, you are unable to take advantage of the ‘break’. Why? Because the driver did not use his indicator to signify that he intended to take a turn, thus leaving you frustrated. If only he had put the indicator light on, you would have been well on the way to your destination, instead of waiting for the next person to take a turn and thus give you a ‘break’.
Every driver must learn to indicate his/ her moves on the road to make life easy for other drivers and also as a matter of courtesy to them. All it needs is a flick of your finger. Yet, many drivers, out of habit or laziness, refuse to make that tiny move.
Here are some tips for the gentleman driver:
When taking a turn, always make it a point of indicating well in advance; say about 30 yards before the turning.
Do not switch lanes abruptly. Give the indicator, which is a notice to the driver behind you in the lane you mean to enter. If someone is giving the indication to enter the lane ahead of you, courtesy demands that you allow him to do so. Some drivers make it a point of honour not to permit this, which is against the rules of the road and gentlemanly driving.
While approaching a roundabout, give indication of your move – whether you mean to turn left or right – before you reach the roundabout.
If you have to suddenly slow down or halt for any reason (the driver ahead of you may have slowed down, there could be an accident ahead, there may be some object lying in the middle of the road, you may have felt there was something wrong with your vehicle, etc.) do indicate by putting the hazard lights on to avoid an accident.
Remember to switch off your indicator once its purpose has been achieved.
There is no need to given an indicator if the road has no turning other than the one which you are following. New drivers tend to do that out of habit!
Remember that a hazard light is NOT a license to stop in the middle of the road or a lane to make that quick purchase from the coldstore, collect your laundry or pick up your children from the school. Park your car properly and then do what you want.