Indicating too early

LoughNeagh2017

I already have a driving license but I've been unsure about this, when you indicate people always drive out of the side road because they know you are going to go into that road, I dont know if that is legal or not, I never remember my instructor telling me to do it. In some places you get 2 left turns close together so you need to indicate to warn the driver behind you that you are turning but the driver at the first junction assumed you are turning into their road so they pull out, the best option is too indicate after the first road but then that doesn't always allow enough warning for the driver behind. A couple of years ago I indicated earlier than I should have so the driver drove out and had to brake, he followed me and told me he would be reporting me to the police.

SCOOP 64

just one rule if your not sure, never pull out.

Alanstrainor

The drivers impatiently looking to move around you are the problem here. Indicate in good time, the time before you indicate will depend on the distance to the turn and the speed you are travelling. There is no hard and fast rule, it's a not too early and not too late scenario.

As you mention things can be complicated by having a succession of turns very close together. I would say to start indicating when you begin to slow for the turn. That shows the reason for the slow, and simply slow as you normally would and turn. Perhaps that advice doesn't hold when you are already travelling slowly, but by the sounds of the examples you give this is not the case.

As for the guy on about calling the gardai, let him off.

taylor3

If you have for example two left turns close together like you describe, and you intend to take the second one, this is what I do, slow down and at the point that i reach halfway through the first left turn only then do I indicate to the left because at this stage it's obvious you've past the entry to the first turn and it should be clear to other road users where you are going at this point.

biko

Don't indicate until there can be no ambiguity on where you will be turning.
If two right turns are quite close, like in an estate, then start indicating just as you pass first right turn, showing you will be using next one.

Remember that your positioning will also show what you intend to do.
When you intend to turn right move to right in your lane so people can read your "body language".

cython

LoughNeagh2017 wrote: »

I already have a driving license but I've been unsure about this, when you indicate people always drive out of the side road because they know you are going to go into that road, I dont know if that is legal or not, I never remember my instructor telling me to do it. In some places you get 2 left turns close together so you need to indicate to warn the driver behind you that you are turning but the driver at the first junction assumed you are turning into their road so they pull out, the best option is too indicate after the first road but then that doesn't always allow enough warning for the driver behind. A couple of years ago I indicated earlier than I should have so the driver drove out and had to brake, he followed me and told me he would be reporting me to the police.

While you indicated early and this may have been misleading to other drivers, that driver forgot a fundamental tenet as well - indication does not confer right of way, and as such any driver waiting in that position needs to wait until they see you actually turning before pulling out themselves.

J_R

LoughNeagh2017 wrote: »

I already have a driving license but I've been unsure about this, when you indicate people always drive out of the side road because they know you are going to go into that road, I dont know if that is legal or not, I never remember my instructor telling me to do it. In some places you get 2 left turns close together so you need to indicate to warn the driver behind you that you are turning but the driver at the first junction assumed you are turning into their road so they pull out, the best option is too indicate after the first road but then that doesn't always allow enough warning for the driver behind. A couple of years ago I indicated earlier than I should have so the driver drove out and had to brake, he followed me and told me he would be reporting me to the police.

Hi,

when I was an instructor, I got a pupil who wanted a few lessons to prepare for the test. On the first lesson I told her never to accept only the indicator, to wait to see the wheels move before emerging.

Lesson next day she turned up all smiles. Said she got great value from the previous lesson . Said she stopped at a Stop line, started to creep out, car approached indicating left, she remembered my advice, waited, the car shot past pulling into the pavement past the corner. A young Garda stepped out of the car. She knew him. (as did I) If she had pulled out and a collision occurred, no way would that same individual have admitted that he indicated too early but would claim she drove straight out, did not stop. So. along with possibly getting injured, losing her no claim bonus would have been charged with failing to stop at a stop sign.

If a car indicates left and there is a left turn up ahead the message that sends is that that car is going to take that first left turn.

Peregrinus

When somebody indicates, you can't assume that they will be turning at the next junction, or indeed at any junction. They may be signalling an intention to turn into a gateway, or indeed to pull up at the kerb, and this could be either before or after the junction at which you assume they intend to turn.

If you're coming out of the minor road and they are on the main road, they have the right of way. If they have signalled a turn, it is negligent of you to act on the assumption that the turn they intend is the one that you will be pulling out of. You need to wait until their driving behaviour indicates unambiguously that, yes, that is the turn they are making.

On the other hand, as the driver proceeding along the main road, it is negligent of you to assume that people will always correctly interpret your signal. If there is a junction ahead and someone waiting to come out of it, this is something you should take into account in deciding when to signal.