Tales from the old-timer Wisconsin Turn Signaling Law is Anemic
I think that turn signals on vehicles first became standard equipment on cars and trucks in the early 1940’s; maybe not until after World War II ended. I thought at the time “What a great thing! Now drivers can signal their intentions in advance, and it will surely prevent millions of dollars of damage, fatalities and injuries.” Prior to their advent, all you could do was stick your arm out the window, straight out for a left turn and a 45 degree up angle for a right turn. Hardly anyone bothered.
About a month ago, I came in on Old Peshtigo Road intending to turn left onto US 41 to go to the Peshtigo Times building. I had my left turn signal going, as usual. A vehicle in front of me was positioned to the right of the center of the road. He passed up several chances to pull out. I concluded that he was going straight through and had to observe both lanes clear before proceeding.
So I pulled alongside him and made my left turn. He was enraged, honked his horn, blinked his headlights, and waved his arms, and stayed real close to my rear bumper as I went down the road. When I again signaled left turn and pulled into the Times parking lot, he again used his horn, blinked his lights, and exhibited maximum road rage.
So why didn’t he use his signal for the left turn he intended? I would have naturally stayed behind him. His lack of a signal meant to me that he was going straight through to the north across the 4-lane highway.
Nonuse of turn signals is epidemic around here. I have been reviewing and taking notes on all the sheriff department crash reports for 20 years now, and I noticed that nobody is cited for failure to use their signals. The only signaling offense that gets a citation is when the driver signals left turn, then turns right, or vice versa, signaling right then turning left, and getting hit by a car passing on the left.
I asked Wisconsin State Trooper Bruce Conover why no citations for non-signaling and he said the law is not very clear and generally unenforceable.
I raised the matter at a Traffic Safety Committee meeting, and Lt. Jim Albright brought me copies of the state law for the next session. I was amazed at what I read. Statute 346.34 said a person intending to turn must signal the intent to turn at least 100 feet in advance of the turn. Nothing about needing to signal when you are stationary at a stop sign.
At 60 miles per hour, a vehicle travels 88 feet in one second. The law could be modified for town road with many driveways. Granted that many drivers follow much too close at highway speeds, the 100 feet of warning is totally inadequate to inform following cars of a driver’s intention to turn. So we get rear enders as a steady thing, and most of them wouldn’t happen if the turn signal requirement were stretched out to three or four hundred feet. There is no requirement that I could find that calls for a signal for a lane change.
Albright pointed out that when a road has driveways close together, the signal at 400 feet would be a problem for following drivers. The law could be tailored for highway versus town road situations. Even at 40 MPH a vehicle goes about 60 feet in one second.
Many drivers consider it unnecessary to use the turn signal when pulling out from a side road or driveway. Going out of the entrance at Twin County Airport about a year ago, I saw a City of Menominee Police Car waiting to turn out, and he didn’t use his signal.
Every turning intention should be signaled in advance, for courtesy alone. Many drivers around here start their turn, then apparently say, “Oh, yeah - the turn signal.” Then they hit the control and signal WHEN THEY ARE ALREADY TURNING! That does no good whatever.
Years ago a Russian Physiologist named Pavlov rang a bell when he fed a morsel of meat to the laboratory dog, and the dog would salivate. After many repetitions, the dog would salivate just from hearing the bell. He called it a conditioned response. If drivers habitually signaled all of their turning intentions, they would acquire the conditioned response and would signal the turns even in the middle of nowhere with no traffic in sight.
Semi drivers seem to have the conditioned response, as they always signal every move well in advance.
Our state lawmakers should consider looking at the signaling law and try to improve it. I can’t imagine anyone, conservative or liberal, who would oppose a law change that would require signaling, worded so that it was enforceable.
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