Turn signals are a great way to communicate with other drivers, because your signals let them know
what your vehicle is about to do next. But a study by the Society of Automotive Engineers
found that about half of drivers don't signal when changing lanes and a fourth don't signal even when
they're turning. Bad driving habits like that can cause accidents, so let's look at how to properly
use your turn signals. The turn signal lever is normally on the left side of your steering column.
Push the lever down to signal a left turn; push it all the way up to signal a right turn; and
put it back to the middle to turn the signal off. It's always better to keep two hands on the wheel,
so if you can, flip the turn signal up or down with your fingers of your left hand
while still leaving the rest of your hand on the wheel. If you're making a turn that's a
lot less than 90 degrees, your turn signal may not cancel itself. In that case, make sure you
manually put the turn signal lever back in the middle, neutral position. If one or both of your
turn signals would ever quit working, there are hand signals that you should use. Hold your arms
straight up to signal a right turn; hold your arm straight out to signal a left turn; and hold your
arm straight down with your palm facing backwards to signal that you're going to slow down or stop.
And if one of your exterior turn signal lights burn out, you'll normally know that, because
when you put on the turn signal the indicator light flashes very rapidly. Use your turn
signals when doing any of the following: making a left or a right hand turn at an intersection;
entering a driveway or parking lot on either side of the road; pulling over to the side of the road;
changing lanes; passing another vehicle on the road; merging with traffic; when entering a
roadway; exiting a highway or interstate; when leaving a roundabout; before pulling out from a
stationary position next to the curb; when making a u-turn or a three-point turn; when pulling into
a parking space; and any other time your vehicle is interacting with traffic by changing its
position or direction of travel. How far ahead of your turn should you use your turn signals?
The law says you should use continuous turn signals a hundred feet before your turn.
That's the minimum distance and that's not very far. At 35 miles an hour, your vehicle
travels 100 feet in two seconds. At 70 miles an hour, it goes 100 feet in less than a second.
Let me give you a few things to relate to as to how far 100 feet is, or rather how short 100 feet
is. 100 feet is the distance of six average cars placed bumper to bumper; it's approximately the
length of five parallel parking spaces; and it's about one third the length of a football field,
a little over 33 yards. Putting your turn signals on 100 feet before you turn is the bare minimum,
but there are things to consider that might make you want to put your turn signals on sooner. In
general, sooner is better as long as you won't cause confusion to other drivers around you.
I live in the state of Ilinois and our Rules of the Road say that you should put your signals
on 100 feet before your turn in a residential or business district, but 200 feet ahead otherwise.
And the faster you're going the further away you should put on your turn signals from where
you're going to turn or pull off. That gives other drivers more time to be aware of and be
prepared for what your vehicle is about to do. One situation where it isn't best to put your signal
on farther out is when you're on a road that has multiple exit points that are very close together,
like on the road pictured here with several fast food restaurants. If you put on your signal too
early it will confuse drivers behind you as well as those trying to pull out onto the road in front
of you. Put on your signal when you're close to your exit point and your brake lights will serve
as an earlier warning to the vehicles behind you. Unfortunately you're going to run across
drivers that don't use their signals properly or just don't use their signals. Like these drivers.
This driver turned off the road without using his right turn signal, and this driver looked
like he was going to go straight because he had no signal on, but instead turned left in
the intersection. Some drivers don't signal just because they get in a hurry and they forget to,
but other drivers just aren't in the habit of doing it. That's why you should always use your
signal, even if there are no other vehicles or pedestrians in the area. And that way you won't
forget to use them when you really need them. It'll just be a matter of habit. Your vehicle
has a lot of features that help you to be a safer driver. One of those is turn signals,
so use them properly and use them often. Thanks for watching, have a great day, and drive safe!