The lost art of indicating
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009Indicating is the act of using your blinker to show other motorists that you intend to change your course of direction. It is not a courtesy, it is the law. Despite this, road users are being surprised by the movements of motorists who did not indicate.
The Road Rules 2008 states that before changing directions, a driver must give a change of direction signal for long enough to give sufficient warning to other drivers and pedestrians.
Rule 45, ‘What is changing direction’, of the Road Rules 2008 reads:
(1) A driver changes direction if the driver changes direction to the left or the driver changes direction to the right.
A driver changes direction by doing any of the following:
(a) turning
(b) changing marked lanes
(c) diverging
(d) entering a marked lane, or a line of traffic
(e) moving to the right or left from a stationary position
(f) turning into a marked lane, or a line of traffic, from a median strip parking area
(g) making a U-turn
(h) at a T-intersection where the continuing road curves—leaving the continuing road to proceed straight ahead onto the terminating road.
Failing to indicate can result in a maximum $2,200 fine at court and the loss of two demerit points. The severity of the fine is indicative of the seriousness of not using your blinker to warn other road users of your movements. Not indicating is dangerous not only at high speeds on motorways but at all times on all roads.
Have you encountered the problem of motorists not indicating? Do you think it is becoming more of an issue on our roads?
