The Blinker
People of Orlando, for the love of God, use your damn turn signal! When I moved to Orlando, Florida from New York a few years ago there were a number of cultural differences of which I had to adjust. Some adjustments were easy. I learned to love beef jerky, and I now understand what real barbecue is all about. The biggest cultural adjustment was sharing the road with so many pickup trucks. The Ford F-Series pickup is one of the top selling vehicle of all time, and by my estimate, 85% of them travel on I4 between the hours of 4 and 6. I eventually, sort of , got used to the truck being used as personal transportation, but I will never understand why Floridians refuse to use their turn signals.
Now, I'm to picking of Florida, and I'm not a New York snob. Trust me, there is a TON of things that irk me about the Northeast, and I will most likely blog about them in the future. I just cannot comprehend how an entire region of the country tries to merge onto highway traffic without the aid of a device that was invented 1907. Traveling on Orlando roads, you will see drivers desperately trying to get over two or three lanes, the worried expression on their faces as if to say, "I wish the other drivers knew that I have to get across all these lanes to make the left turn. If only there was an invention that would allow me to signal to them that I need to turn!" Eventually, the driver gets over and makes the turn but not before almost killing a van full of nuns. I think they were nuns. They may have been penguins being transported to Animal Kingdom.
Even worse than the 'lane traveler' is the 'merger'. This driver thinks the white line on the right side of highway ramp is a virtual 'rail' that they can ride from the side road onto the highway. This driver believes that he has the right of way, and that every other driver must make a space for him because, like it or not, here he comes! Of course, there's the 'cowboy' too. He's the guy who is weaving in and out of rush hour traffic, trying to get to the next traffic jam before you do. This driver will knock the rain drops off your bumper as he squeezes between you and another car. Man, if you did that in New York without using your turn signal...well, let's just say that EMS would be involved at some point in the future.
After a few months of driving the lanes of Orlando, I started to become twitchy. I would watch the other cars on the road trying to sense if they were about to change lanes. I started to develop the ability to notice a shimmy in their wheels, a drift in lane position, the driver's head moving back and forth as if looking into the rear-view then the side-view and back to the rear-view again. My lane change prognosticating skills were just starting to develop when I had an epiphany: I SHOULD BE PAYING ATTENTION TO THE DAMN ROAD, NOT TO DRIVERS WHO DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE A TURN SIGNAL!
So, my dear friends, use the turn signal every time you turn. It's 3:00 AM and you're in an empty parking lot in the middle of middle of nowhere...use your signal! Make it a habit. After a while, you won't even have to think about it. It will become second nature, so much so that it will seem like putting on your signal is part of the mechanical process of turning the steering wheel. I hope it happens, but I won't hold my breath, and in the meantime I'll continue fine tuning my mind-meld techniques with other drivers trying to sense in the aether that a car is about to change lanes.
February 4th, 2010 - 19:49
I just drive with my hazards on. That way, I’m covered.
May 5th, 2010 - 21:01
I learned the hard way about turn signal usage. 1:30am, suburban street in Ohio, no other cars on the road except for the police car on my left, me in the right turn only lane. Made my right turn without the signal (my logic was where else would I be headed, I’m in the right turn only lane and there was no one behind me to signal to). Mr. Policeman somehow sensed the absence of a signal and threw his car sideways to follow me. Long story real short, a NY driver’s license and a sarcastic comment got me a night and a morning in an Ohio police station, my car in an impound lot, 6 months of non-reporting probation and a $350 fine. Should have used the turn signal.
May 6th, 2010 - 01:07
Ohio may be a little TOO into using their signals! What did you say to the other guys in the holding cell when they asked you what you were in for? “They got me on on turn signal wrap, but I’m innocent! And you?” “Selling crack at to 2nd graders…”
May 11th, 2010 - 03:07
I actually got to sit in front of the holding cell by the officer’s desk, in a beautiful unpadded chair while the officer took the next 6 hours filling out the necessary paperwork…all three forms. With a lot of breaks. And a look like, “Go ahead, say something smart again.” I think my “You know, Ohio is kind of backwards,” earned me an extra couple of hours.