Indicating

NBLondon

Strider590 wrote: »

My 2004 Vectra has the soft touch indicators (that's what they are called) and once you get used to it, it's VERY easy to use.

My 2001 Mondeo had them and I liked then for the same reason - I could tap it with my left little finger to get 3 flashes for a lane change. My 2011 Focus doesn't - dunno why Ford changed it.

Strider590

NBLondon wrote: »

My 2001 Mondeo had them and I liked then for the same reason - I could tap it with my left little finger to get 3 flashes for a lane change. My 2011 Focus doesn't - dunno why Ford changed it.

I think it's because people complain about them, they're different, they take a little getting used to and most people don't like change, not unless it's a "gadget" they can show off.... If they removed indicator stalks completely, and made them work via an iPhone app, then they'd all love em.

bod1467

But then they'd be done for using a mobile device while driving ....

My Golf has "soft touch" indicators, and I think my previous Astra had them too. In both cases, if the indicator is on full (e.g. going right on a roundabout) it isn't a simple case of 2 soft touches to then indicate left ... there's the lock/ratchet resistance of the full indication to overcome first.

mcpitman

Strider590 wrote: »

My 2004 Vectra has the soft touch indicators (that's what they are called) and once you get used to it, it's VERY easy to use.

Half push indicates 3 times and stops (for changing lanes).

Full locks the indicators on until the wheel goes past the straight position and can be turned off by a half push in either direction.

At roundabouts, you lock on the RH indicator and then touch twice to flash the LH break off signal. This double touch takes less than 1/10th of a second.

Some people moan and whine about soft touch indicators, but its basically because they're ham fisted and their brains can't process the logic behind it.
What they fail to realise is that all it really does is remove the need to hold the indicator stalk half on when doing a quick lane change.

Goes without saying my Vec had these too, they are still on the insignificant I bought after that. I also really like them.

In response to other posts;

• I don't believe you do need to indicate if the lane you are in means you can go nowhere else, for example a left hand only lane with individual traffic control
• Roundabouts - with exits at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock; indicate for 9 (left), no indication for 12 until 9 has passed then indicate left, indicate right for 3 o'clock, until 12 o'clock has been passed, then indicate left.
• I'd rather someone indicate "too much" (correctly) than not at all.

The only other annoyance I have is for people who don't want to queue for a left hand lane only filter lane, and slow all other traffic down in lane 2 until they bully someone into lane 1 into letting them in. I appreciate some people will make genuine mistakes, but many rely on someone else letting them in to effectively jump the queue.

M69-M1 North at Leicester J21 is a prime example for this, although ironically one of the only places where people "merge in turn" where it goes 3 lanes to 2, correctly.... like a zipper.

Car_54

mcpitman wrote: »

Goes without saying my Vec had these too, they are still on the insignificant I bought after that. I also really like them.

In response to other posts;

• I don't believe you do need to indicate if the lane you are in means you can go nowhere else, for example a left hand only lane with individual traffic control

It's not that simple, You need to consider whether what is obvious to you is equally obvious to other road users, especially pedestrians.

kaybo69

Yes I know about the soft touch and am not referring to that.
On my partner's X1 when you fully engage either the left or right indicator the stalk returns to it's original central position.
To cancel a right indication before the self cancel and if not using soft touch, you press downwards as if to indicate left. To flip from a right hand indication to a left hand indication like you would tend to on a roundabout, you have to either hold the indicator stalk down unitl it engages the indicator or press it twice because one short gesture would only cancel the right indicator signal. (on my Golf I would just hold it down through 2 clicks)
Also, there is never a click when engaging a 'hard' signal and this is why I refer to it as 'dampened' and whilst it feels good quality, it has it's drawbacks ^^^^^
See...complicated! Can anyone else with a Beemer relate to this?
I drive a Golf and am able to make a good comparison. In my experience the Beemer indicators are harder to use than most other cars

kaybo69

Plus, Strider, I actually like the soft touch, they've been around for over a decade, but sometimes on the motorway I get a bit worried that 3 flicks is not enough if I need a bit more time to check it is still 100% safe to manoeuvre once I have started to indicate

zagfles

[quote=[Deleted User];68662934]It's not that simple, You need to consider whether what is obvious to you is equally obvious to other road users, especially pedestrians.[/QUOTE]Yes, I nearly got run over in the city centre by some moron who turned left without indicating, her excuse was cars have to turn left, straight on was no entry except for buses, and therefore she didn't need to indicate! But as a pedestrian HTF was I supposed to know that, I couldn't see the signs from where I was.

You really have to wonder how such idiots managed to pass their driving test.

bigadaj

zagfles wrote: »

Yes, I nearly got run over in the city centre by some moron who turned left without indicating, her excuse was cars have to turn left, straight on was no entry except for buses, and therefore she didn't need to indicate! But as a pedestrian HTF was I supposed to know that, I couldn't see the signs from where I was.

You really have to wonder how such idiots managed to pass their driving test.

Though you wrere presumably stepping out into the road, so should be looking for and waiting for traffic if necessary.

We nearly got run down by a plastic copper on a push bike a while ago, no hand signal to turn and she then started having a go that we'd stepped out, it's normally incumbent on all parties to act with care though as the one most likely to suffer then more important for the pedestrian to do so.

Strider590

Ok, the thing here is that I tried to make the point that one should assess the situation before deciding whether indication is needed.

All this talk about pedestrians is just a vaguely disguised attempt to suggest that one should always indicate automatically without thinking.

Basically it's because there are people out there who lack confidence, skill and situational awareness and try to hide their incompetence by nitpicking the driving of others based on the most commonly known parts of the highway code.

A real life version of the grammar Police who pick on someone spelling/grammar when they're starting to lose an argument on a web forum.

Lets face it, the people who do everything on autopilot are usually the same infuriating people that drive about practicing "manoeuvre, signal, mirrors", instead of "mirrors, signal, manoeuvre".....