Do you indicate if there's nobody else around?

[Cryingatthegym]

Hard hitting question of the day...

Was thinking about this yesterday as I drove to my gym which is along a quiet country lane - no other cars around at all but I still indicated as I turned in.

Got me wondering if I'm normal or not? Do you still indicate even if there's nobody else around to see it?

Yes it’s just automatic when driving

Yes, because it's just a normal part of driving.

Yes. Good to keep the habit.

I do, because sometimes maybe somebody is around and I’ve missed them, and because it’s just automatic and I want to stay in that habit of automatically indicating. We live semi rural and have a very long private driveway with only room for one car to pass and then a left turn to actually park, DH thinks it’s crazy I still indicate left every time.

To me it's just instinct and automatic. So yes.

I do because the car needs to know we are turning (lane control)

Yes, so I don't lose the habit. Plus, in my view, its for pedestrians benefit as well. Worse than people not indicating, is people who indicate incorrectly.

No. Indicators are to tell other people what I am doing. Once I have checked and established there is no one else around then I don't need to indicate.

Advanced driving tells you off for indicating at no one as it shows you aren't paying attention. My teacher would ask me who I was indicating to when I started advanced driving and was on auto pilot.

Yes, it's easier just to do it than to think each time about whether I need to or not.

As a poster above, you're now taught (not a particularly recent phenomenon either, I passed 10 years ago) to not indicate if there's no one around.

Probably not what you're asking but I don't drive and it really pisses me off when people don't indicate but then turn into a road and presumably have expected us to know that. Well we started crossing because no one indicated!

Yes and I think you absolutely should just in case a car comes into sight and is moving quickly, or there could be someone about to get out of a car or a pedestrian or cyclist could walk out / come out of an unexpected place e.g. a footpath you hadn't spotted.

qwest my advanced driving was twenty years ago (with civilian and police instructors) and the "only indicate if there's a pedestrian, cyclist or vehicle to tell" was in place then.

Yes, because although I'd like to think I have a good overview of surrounding traffic or lack thereof, I am always conscious of blind spots and traffic approaching seemingly 'out of nowhere'.

No I don't. I'm always aware of who I'm indicating for and whose behind me etc so don't bother if theres.nobody around

Yes

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Most of the time it's just an automatic habit

Well I do always indicate because I can’t see how not indicating is ever going to be actually safer 🤷‍♀️

My car gets cross if I don't.

Force of habit, indicating isn’t a conscious decision when you’ve been driving a while - like changing gear.

Why does it tell you off?

You dont need to indicate if there's no one around but equally things like indicating should be habitual, it doesn't mean you aren't paying attention. Good habits should be practiced even if "unecessary", you don't want to think through every decision otherwise mistakes will happen

No. I was trained not to because "automatic" habitual indicating runs the risk of you not actually thinking about the turn, who's around, etc. By changing the mentality of it, to actually thinking whether it's needed or not, you're forcing yourself to think about hazards, other road users, pedestrians, etc. It's actually pretty dangerous to do it automatically without thinking as you're probably not thinking about potential hazards. Worse, though, are the plonkers who indicate after they've started the turn/lane change which really does prove they're doing it automatically and not thinking.

The opposite actually, you really DO want to be thinking through every decision - mistakes happen if you don't!

Yes, middle of the night, country lane, obviously no one around for miles. Indicate. On the one hand, you don't know what you're not seeing, on the, whether to indicate should not be a conscious decision each time, it should be habit.

Always, it's ingrained in me to do so 😂