It Looks Like You Are Playing With Your Private Parts

I’ve written about this subject before, but now that Carter is less than three months away from getting her license I am more aware than ever how many drivers don’t use their turn signal and it scares the heck out of me. Today while I was driving to school to pick Carter up I was waiting at a terrible intersection where I needed to make a left hand turn. I was in the position of never having the right of way, which is always frustrating, but at least I knew that.

As I sat waiting for an opportunity to turn I counted 34 cars that turned in front of me who never used a turn signal. THIRTY-FOUR! Most of them were looking down at their laps which leads me to think they had some device down there that was more important than taking the split second to flip the turn signal or looking up and actually driving. At least I hope it was a device. Before we had cell phones if someone was paying more attention to their lap I thought they might be doing so because their pants were unzipped. I actually miss those days since their were fewer people who could not wait to get home to play with themselves than there are people who can’t resist looking at their text messages.

In the last two weeks three teenagers in the next county over have been killed making left hand turns. I have no idea if they were using their signals, not that it matters since what probably killed them was the young drivers misunderstanding of how fast the drivers with the right of way were going. Nonetheless making a left hand turn is dangerous. No matter which way you are turning you need to inform the whole world what you are planning by using your turn signal. It is not optional. There is a reason cars come free with turn signals. If using them were optional car manufacturers would charge extra to have them installed.

For the good of all the new drivers out there and for that matter the very very old drivers, use your turn signal and at the same time stop whatever you are doing in your lap. If I see you looking down I am going to think the worst of you and assume you are driving without your pants on. Now do you want people to think you are playing with yourself while you are driving? Putting your phone in your lap to “hide” the fact you are on it makes you look like one of two things, an idiot or a pervert. Calling people out for being idiots has made no effect on the number of drivers not paying attention. Calling them perverts might make a difference.