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?

Are you joking?

I always do partly out of habit and partly because I don't believe I am a superhuman 100% perfect driver who never makes a mistake (like failing to spot another road user who may be not easily seen/just arriving into my vision etc).

Yes. My dad taught me to.

It’s not about informing other people but about having standards and doing the right thing even when no-one’s around to see it. And it should apply to other areas of life for everyone.

Ooh I hadn't realised this would be quite such a divisive topic! For clarity, I was including cyclists and pedestrians in my 'nobody around'.

I can see both sides of this - really interesting to hear what PPs said about advanced driving and not automatically indicating meaning you're more aware of your manoeuvre, but I also understand those who'd rather be safe than sorry in case there's someone around they hadn't noticed.

I'd like to think I fall into the latter category and not in the 'driving on autopilot' camp

I don’t. And honestly the posters saying ‘it’s automatic’ are just indicating (pun intended) that they are not reading the road. I don’t automatically do anything when driving. I read the road, I see everything, consider the conditions and adapt my driving continuously during my drive. That’s defensive driving.

Hahaha standards; what the hell?

Mirror, signal, manoeuvre.

It's not hard. Just do it. Do it every time.

No you should explain what the mystery standards are. Accusing me of not being very bright yet driving to some weird and unnecessary ’standard’ and ‘doing the right thing’ when actually, indicating to nobody isn’t ’the right thing’ it’s the exact opposite.

I'm guessing your Dad learned to drive decades ago, the advanced driver training is clear that you dont need to indicate if there's no one to see you

It's nothing to do with standards, no ones watching from the sky and giving you marks 😁

I do agree about standards in general but its bonkers to extend that to indicating

The one time I nearly didn't check my blindspot when I was doing a uturn in a deserted shop car park at 7am in the morning, a motorcyclist appeared from nowhere with him and his partner behind him. I've never not checked my blindspot or indicated since. You just never know when someone may appear.

No. Why would you need to?

I disagree. We have two thinking systems, 1 and 2. 1 is quick, automatic, efficient and used for habitual behaviour. 2 is slow, thoughtful, conscious and deliberate. Driving is often using system 1 because we’re often using system 2 for navigation to unusual places, processing out of the normal information like weather anomalies or a weird thing coming towards us.

Your advanced driving class wasn’t run by a behavioural psychologist.

System 1 is so quick that it’s much more useful in an emergency as long as you’ve trained muscle memory for things like not braking in a skid.

No but maybe because I live rurally i’m used to it

Yes. It's automatic and courteous.

Lest you become a BMW driver....

Yes as it’s habit.

Correct. Advanced driving teaches not to indicate if no-one around as otherwise it shows you’re not paying attention to your surroundings. In the same way you shouldn’t indicate in an e.g. left hand turn only filter lane.

For those saying yes because it’s a habit…this is EXACTLY what the advanced driver training is getting at…you shouldn’t be doing it out of habit, it should be part of a conscious maneuver and that involved a conscious assessment of whether another car (or pedestrian) needs to know what you’re doing.

Yes, you indicate for all other "road users", not just cars, etc., so you should be thinking about cyclists, pedestrians, etc., when you consider whether there's a need to indicate or not.

Yes. But if there are none of these around then correct driving is to not indicate.

i always indicate:

Ithink what someone comes out of a hidden drive or suddenly appears from nowhere driving at speed.

On a clear road where its straight and you can see fairly far in the distance I would not indicate as its definitely clear, but turning in or out of a junction near a bend I would just in case someone comes around the bend while I am approaching the turn or turning

But it is part of a conscious maneuver if the reason you are doing it is because you never know on some roads and environments if there is a pedestrian you’ve missed or in a blind spot, or an unexpectedly fast moving vehicle comes up behind you or from the road you are turning into.

I mean yes, if you are on one of those big empty roads with no hedges, fences, buildings etc and you can see a long way in all directions that there are no vehicles, bikes or pedestrians around then you make a conscious decision to not indicate.

But in suburban areas, and even rural area where there are visual obstructions I would always err on the side of caution in case I’d missed something.

I don't. What's the point if no one is around?

Cyclists and pedestrians included

I did advanced driving too and came here to same the same thing :)

Unfortunately with the new (rental) cars, I experienced that you must indicate otherwise Lane departure system takes over control.