signaling in rotaries

[cos]

I want to start a trend.

Several years ago I heard that in some places in Europe, people signal in rotaries - err, "traffic circles", for readers outside of New England. When they're in the rotary going around, they signal pointing into the circle. When they pass the last exit before the one they want to take - IOW, when they plan to take the next exit out of the rotary - they signal out from the circle. That way, people know which cars are trying to go around and which cars are trying to get out where.

As soon as I heard it, I thought it made a lot of sense, and started doing it. I hope that if people see me, some of them might like the idea and start doing the same thing. I've been signaling in rotaries for a few years, and I have no idea if anyone else has been swayed. I don't recall seeing any other cars doing it. But maybe if they saw it happen more often, if more of us did it, it might catch on.

Anyone wanna try?

Comments

You've been in Eastern Mass too dang long.

[pseydtonne.livejournal.com]

I grew up in upstate New York, where you actually have to learn a lot of things before you pass the driving test. It still blew my mind to see a diagram of The Traffic Circle, a prominent five-way rotary in Johnson City (the village I lived in my senior year of college). (Yes, that's the Village of Johnson City.) It explained that you get into the innermost lane upon entering a rotary if you will be getting off more than 180 degrees from your entry, then signal and move right as you get closer to your exit. See this link from Calgary or this nicer PDF for color versions.

I can't help but boggle that you didn't know this stuff. Then again, you're from here. The rest of us weren't taught to drive at gunpoint. When you have wide roads and clearly painted lanes, you see these rules as an important part of getting the responsibilities of adulthood. Then again, rotaries are theoretical in most of America -- you hear about them, maybe you deal with one giant one every so often. So you learn them the way you learn about parallel parking without power steering. Massachusetts also doesn't have the same of cops the rest of America has, so who's going to enforce the rules.

So I say this to all of you in our fair metro Boston land: SIGNAL! GET IT? You really OUGHT to TELEGRAPH your moves because

letting other people in two-ton vehicles know what your two tons will be doing is proven to prevent accidents.

Dang, y'all. You've successfully blown my mind that you thought this was a catchy new idea instead of fact.

-You are leaving Metro Parkways, Dante