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Do you indicate when returning to lane on motorways?
Always 20%  20%  [ 11 ]
Always 20%  20%  [ 11 ]
Never 2%  2%  [ 1 ]
Never 2%  2%  [ 1 ]
Depends on density of traffic 29%  29%  [ 16 ]
Depends on density of traffic 29%  29%  [ 16 ]
Always stay in the outside lane 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Always stay in the outside lane 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Never Overtake 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Never Overtake 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Total votes : 56
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 19:10 
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Did a bit of motorway driving today, not far 40-50 miles and as the motorway was quiet , I got to wondering on what the majority of Safe Speed contributors do after completing an overtake and moving back over to the left/middle lane.

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 22:16 
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I don't signal in free-flowing traffic, I do when it's busier.

I signal as well when getting over to L1 ready for a junction.


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PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 00:59 
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I judge each occasion on it's individual circumstances.
These would include:
Speed of vehicles approaching from behind or whether I was leaving them behind;
Distance/speed of vehicles behind;
Whether I need to change lanes quickly or more sedately;
Time of day/lighting conditions.

If I was in any doubt as to the intentions of drivers behind me, I would use indicators regardless - but I do not believe in indicating if their is no need.

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 02:05 
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The objective of signalling is to let others know what you intend to do so that they make make a decision on what they will do. It may be a moot point if you are in the middle of nowhere with nobody to see you but in the vast majority of our driving life there are others who could benefit from this information hence I would normally signal even if on the Birdsville Track :wink:

In this case you are on a motorway and, if returning to a lane, have just overtaken someone who deserves the courtesy of knowing what you intend to do.

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 07:03 
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MFL wrote:
The objective of signalling is to let others know what you intend to do so that they make make a decision on what they will do. It may be a moot point if you are in the middle of nowhere with nobody to see you but in the vast majority of our driving life there are others who could benefit from this information hence I would normally signal even if on the Birdsville Track :wink:

In this case you are on a motorway and, if returning to a lane, have just overtaken someone who deserves the courtesy of knowing what you intend to do.


The important thing here is "others who could benefit from this information". If you overtake a slow moving vehicle on a lightly trafficked motorway what benefit is there to the overtakee when the overtaker signals left. He has no decision to make

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 08:55 
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i'll go for always as my answer is really .. 95% of the time.

my advanced instructor would have told me off for indicating if no one would benefit but most of the time i do it anyway, no harm.


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PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 09:38 
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dcbwhaley wrote:
MFL wrote:
The objective of signalling is to let others know what you intend to do so that they make make a decision on what they will do. It may be a moot point if you are in the middle of nowhere with nobody to see you but in the vast majority of our driving life there are others who could benefit from this information hence I would normally signal even if on the Birdsville Track :wink:

In this case you are on a motorway and, if returning to a lane, have just overtaken someone who deserves the courtesy of knowing what you intend to do.


The important thing here is "others who could benefit from this information". If you overtake a slow moving vehicle on a lightly trafficked motorway what benefit is there to the overtakee when the overtaker signals left. He has no decision to make


Its also a courtesy thing.

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:46 
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Theres always a chance you could miss something, so best to always do it imo. Doesn't exactly cause any trouble if you do and it's not needed.

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 14:34 
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I must admit that I'm not suprised by the results at the moment.

I tend not to indicate unless there is traffic near enough to me to appreciate that I will be pulling in as soon as possible. If the motorway is quiet I tend to leave a much bigger gap than if it is busy, before pulling back over anyway.

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.


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PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 14:48 
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I only indicate in if I am in tight traffic and I would be taking/affecting someones 2 second gap, or heading for an exit slip.

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 16:36 
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As far as Motorways are concerned, there was a time when if somebody passed you, they would (unless continuing to pass somebody else) pull back in. Now there are so many MLM's it might be wise to install a signal in all new vehicles which indicates "I'm here for the next 80 miles and am not pulling back in for nobody!"

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 18:30 
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As Graball really so I went for the density i.e situation choice.

Do we need polls for moving to the right and how long you leave the indicator on before moving?

On the point about indicating 'just in case', if you are not sure you are clear then why are you moving over? I can see it as a point of argument, my stance would be that only indicating when necessary reinforces the discipline of checking properly.

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 18:40 
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I did think about doing a poll on what do you consider the best safety feature/s on your car.

I know that know one on this site would probably go for it but I do wonder how many people on the roads today, would tick their speedo and nothing else.... ;-)

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.


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PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 19:25 
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Not that I use motorways a lot, but I tend to indicate almost always. Not for the people who I've seen, but for the ones I haven't.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 08:57 
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graball wrote:
I did think about doing a poll on what do you consider the best safety feature/s on your car.

I know that know one on this site would probably go for it but I do wonder how many people on the roads today, would tick their speedo and nothing else.... ;-)


Dare I say it...the driver. Well, someone had to.

If I get into a situation where something comes on, ABS, traction control (not that I have it on mine) etc, then I have already done something wrong in my mind.

Still, I suppose it's good having backup, although the trouble with this is that some tend to see it as an addition to the safety margin, not an aid in case something goes wrong.

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PostPosted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 00:45 
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None of the above - it's almost ,always - about 98% .If I'm passing MLM, and have to go to L3 ,then it's indicate , give space ,move to L2, indicate again, give a bit more space ,then move to L1 - hoping that it MIGHT just trigger a thought pulse im MLM(seen it work a few times).Why do I indicate - stems from my learner days when driving in four lane roads -my instructor always insisted in other drivers being advised of my intent .( still hear that gruff Glasgow voice in my ear -"let them know what you're going to do ").Find it works wonders when trying to get off the motorway ,when there's little room in L1 in front of a HGV - -pull a reasonable distance in front and indicate - very seldom do you not get a flash -to appreciate that he's not had to hit the brakes -to me it's what driving is all about -show courtesy -and get it in return .

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 01:45 
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Same as any use of the indicator, "when it will be of benefit to another road user".


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 01:48 
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ed_m wrote:

my advanced instructor would have told me off for indicating if no one would benefit but most of the time i do it anyway, no harm.


The counter argument to that is, if you only indicate when needed it forces you to look and think more than automatically indicating would.


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 20:40 
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graball wrote:
I did think about doing a poll on what do you consider the best safety feature/s on your car.

I know that know one on this site would probably go for it but I do wonder how many people on the roads today, would tick their speedo and nothing else.... ;-)


Ignoring the obviously facetious answer of "the driver", I'd say in order of most effective first:

Seat belts.

Radial ply tyres.

Porous tarmac (ok, that's a road feature rather than a car, but you get the idea).

No explanation needed for the above 3 features!

If we're talking about technology, how about this:

ABS - allows even a novice driver to access the full braking ability of their car without locking the wheels, plus more importantly means you retain steering control under full braking. No need to mess about with cadence braking, just plant both feet down and let the computer take over.

Brake Assist - I believe first featured on the Mercedes S-class (like most new technology!), this detects an emergency braking condition by the driver releasing the accelerator then rapidly applying the brakes. Under this condition the system will apply full emergency braking as long as the brake pedal remains pressed.

Stability control - when I took my car on a skid pan a couple of years ago it was almost impossible to get the back to break away without first turning the ESP off! The test consisted of full lock with full throttle on a wet and smooth surface (simulating worn tarmac in the rain). With ESP on you could reach 50mph on full lock with tyres squealing and the computer going mental to stop the back breaking away. Turn the ESP off and you're into a flat spin at 35-40mph. Note that this is on an AWD car - I'd argue that ESP is fairly essential on AWD as unlike FWD or RWD you get very little warning before it lets go... and when it does let go it's gone beyond the point at which a human driver can recover it.

Airbags - although I've only ever once been in a car when an airbag deployed (side curtain to prevent glass getting into the cabin) I'm fairly convinced that there are many cases where they make the difference between a serious injury and a minor one. I've never owned a car without at least a driver's airbag, my current car has 6 of them (3 each side).

Crumple zones - by slowing the deceleration to a survivable level the car sacrifices itself to save the occupants. Again never needed these first hand!

Note that of the 5 points I've thought up off the top of my head above, the first 3 are "primary" safety features, ie that stop you getting into a smash in the first place. Whilst secondary safety is important it's my view that it's better to avoid the crash altogether than to walk away without a scratch.

Now, back to the original topic - I occasionally indicate left. I start indicating left at the 300 yard marker when I'm leaving the motorway. I indicate left if I'm in lane 2 or 3 and I'm about to come in at the mile/half mile marker to leave the motorway.

I don't generally bother indicating after completing an overtake as I see it as part of the same manoeuvre (indicate right, pull out, pass, pull back in). If I've been sat in lane 2 or 3 passing a number of other vehicles (say for more than about half a mile) then I'll indicate left.

On a single carriageway I don't bother indicating to pull out to overtake. I remember being told once "if you have to indicate then you don't have time to make the manoeuvre" - which is true. By the time I've moved my left hand down and flicked the indicator stalk (even on the "one-touch" 3 flashes mode) I could be past the person I want to overtake and halfway back in.

Also indicating gives someone a chance to move out and block you (or accelerate and block you) - see comments about slowpokes in another thread. (This applies to single carriageways, not motorways.)

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PostPosted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 21:02 
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Quote:
On a single carriageway I don't bother indicating to pull out to overtake. I remember being told once "if you have to indicate then you don't have time to make the manoeuvre" - which is true. By the time I've moved my left hand down and flicked the indicator stalk (even on the "one-touch" 3 flashes mode) I could be past the person I want to overtake and halfway back in.


That's all very well if you have a very fast car and have taken the time to check your mirrors but you would n't believe how many times I've been about to overtake a fairly slow car behind an even slower car when about to reach a long clear straight and the "person" in front has pulled out almost on my front bumper just after I have started to overtake, without indicating and I would guess without checking mirrors. If you at least indicate it gives the person behind you warning of what you are about to do and he can wait for you and adjust his manouvere accordingly. Whoever told you that stupid quote needs to get out more.

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.


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