Indicate if Necessary
There are situations when an indicator is not necessary.
There are four driving conditions when you would only be expected to indicate if necessary. These are:
- Moving away from the kerb
- Pulling in to the kerb
- Changing lanes
- Passing a stationary hazard
Let us look at these conditions individually.
1) Moving away from the kerb:
When moving away from the kerb it is only necessary to indicate if there is anyone who may benefit from the signal. usually this would be a following driver but this is not always the case.
If there is no-one behind you but a vehicle on the other side of the road is indicating their intention to turn right into a road ahead of you then you would indicate to let them know that they can not safely complete their turn. This does not happen very often because the other vehicle would have completed their turn before you moved off.
There may be a pedestrian on the kerb ahead of you who you believe may intend to cross the road soon. If you intend to pull away before you get to them then it would be appropriate to indicate to tell them that they are not safe to cross.
If there is no-one at all who would benefit from your signal then there is no need to indicate in this circumstance.
2) Pulling in to the kerb:
When pulling in to park by the kerb you need only indicate if necessary.
Most of the time this will be for traffic behind you. It may be for traffic ahead of you if they are indicating their intention to turn right infront of you. You would be telling them that it is safe for them to complete their turn.
There may be a pedestrian on the kerb ahead of you who is clearly waiting for an opportunity to cross the road. If you intend to pull into the kerb before you get to them then it would be appropriate to indicate to tell them that they are safe to cross.
If there is no-one at all who would benefit from your signal then there is no need to indicate in this circumstance.
3) Changing lanes:
When changing lanes in either direction you must complete the necessary observations before deciding upon the signal. If there is no-one who would benefit from your signal either ahead of, beside, or behind you then there is no need to signal.
You should signal to change lanes if there is anyone at all within six seconds travelling time of you in either direction. It is impossible to give a distance because you will find yourself changing lanes at different speeds.
If there is no-one at all who would benefit from your signal then there is no need to indicate in this circumstance.
4) Passing a stationary hazard:
You are not required to indicate to pass every stationary vehicle that you come across when you drive.
The reason that you would indicate under specific circumstances is to be kind to the driver behind you. You are passing on knowledge to them that there is a hazard infront of you that they will have to deal with next. A stationary vehicle or a hole with a few cones around it are hazards that we would expect them to spot themselves on a straight road.
If a hazard is for example on a bend it is a definate hazard. On approach you would need to reduce speed considerably before making the decision that it was safe to pass. Before leaving the normal driving position you should indicate right. Do not leave the indicator on though. Two or three flashes is enough so as not to confuse people.
If the hazard on the bend is opposite the end of a road then do not indicate. You may confuse the oncoming drivers into believing that you intend to turn right. The sight of oncoming traffic performing an emergency stop because you have confused them may seem funny at first but it is not when you are on the road.
If there is no-one at all behind you to benefit from your signal then there is no need to indicate in this circumstance.
