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In all seriousness, Wilmington has been terrible about using signals forever. It's definitely a very localized thing - I grew up within 100 miles of here but everybody there used/uses turn signals. My theory is that it's a combination of college kids, tourists, and day trippers from outlying areas who aren't really familiar with the town (last minute lane changers, where-the-****-am-I-going drivers).
Even worse for me is the turn signal fakers who ride for miles with their turn signal blinking. I learned long ago that if I'm sitting at a stop sign waiting to make a right turn, not to take for granted that the approaching vehicle's turn signal actually means he's going to turn. He may be turning in, or it may just be his birthday and he's using his celebratory blinkie.
When you take your vehicle in for its annual NC inspection, those kind folks will remove the bulbs from the sockets in your directionals. Makes it easier to keep an eye on the road without all that blinking, and makes you pay closer attention to what your fellow motorists might or might not be doing around you. Blinking lights are reserved for traffic signals in one-horse towns and for school buses. If you do see a car with NC plates using a turn signal, it should be reported to law enforcement, as it has obviously either failed or not yet had its annual inspection.
Status:
"48 years in MD, 18 in NC"
(set 10 days ago)
Location: Greenville, NC
2,309 posts, read 6,102,131 times
Reputation: 1430
After you drive for a while you get a feel for when someone is going to do something like turn, without using a signal. That's ok, I can deal with that. It's the unpredictable things that drivers here do that scare me. An example would be the idiot that was in the far right lane of a 5 lane road. That's 2 lanes in each direction with a center merge/turn lane. So the idiot came to a complete stop in the far right lane with multiple cars behind the idiot (including me). So the cars in the left lane went by and then the people behind the idiot were able to change lanes and go around the now completely stopped idiot. I looked in my rearview mirror to see what the idiot was going to do next. The idiot turned left and went down another road that was on the opposite side of the street from him/her. If the person was in the wrong lane to safely make a left turn they're supposed to keep going and then turn around when safe to do so, in a parking lot or somewhere.
Here's a little something to keep your eye out for. It is not illegal for a driver to merge into traffic from the center turn lane. Not being illegal isn't the same as being legal. It's just something that Raleigh has never gotten around to fixing. I sent an email to the NC Highway Patrol and asked about it. They said it's not illegal. Their words, not mine.
Merging into the traffic from the center turn lane is a necessity around here when you are making a left turn onto a road from a side road or driveway. If you have to wait until both lanes of traffic are clear, you'll wait all day. you wait for the near lane to be clear, pull into the center lane, then merge into the far lane when clear.
Status:
"48 years in MD, 18 in NC"
(set 10 days ago)
Location: Greenville, NC
2,309 posts, read 6,102,131 times
Reputation: 1430
Quote:
Originally Posted by Johanna25
Merging into the traffic from the center turn lane is a necessity around here when you are making a left turn onto a road from a side road or driveway. If you have to wait until both lanes of traffic are clear, you'll wait all day. you wait for the near lane to be clear, pull into the center lane, then merge into the far lane when clear.
What you're actually supposed to do is make a right and then turn around at a safe place. In some states it's illegal to merge from the center turn lane. I've been here for 8 years and still haven't felt the need to merge out of the center turn lane. The huge majority of times when I see people do it, if they had waited a few more seconds they could have just pulled out into the correct lane.
We've lived here in Wilmington for about 3 months. Almost nobody, and I mean NOBODY uses their turn signals anywhere, for any reason. Maybe 1 out of 10 people with a NC plates uses their signals in any situation where one is required. It's crazy. 3 different people, just today, cut over 3 lanes of traffic, to make a right hand turn. And not once put their signal on.
I don't get it. I'm from NY originally and you never see this. You get a ticket if you don't use a signal. With so many New Yorkers down here it's confusing. Are there just less cops so people don't care?
Is there an actual reason for this? Am I crazy? Rant over.
Come to New Jersey,Cape May County its really bad here.During the tourist season we get people from all over and I think they leave their brains at home
Tailgating around Wilmington is a much bigger problem than signal usage or lack of. You can safely change lanes without using a signal if you watch your mirrors and don't interfere with anyone else. Why signal if the nearest vehicle is a half block behind?
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Come to New Jersey,Cape May County its really bad here.During the tourist season we get people from all over and I think they leave their brains at home
