“A flashing signal means the bulb works…nothing else”.
A Garda friend of mine told me this, after an Advance Driver training course he completed, and it has stuck with me ever since.
I teach this to all my pupils ever since. For example if you are emerging onto a road and there is a car coming from your right and they have a left signal on, you’d assume they will turn into the road from which you are emerging, but let’s think about a few possibilities.
- Perhaps they just emerged off a Roundabout, where they must Signal ‘Left’ after leaving the roundabout, and just haven’t got to switch it off yet.
- They may have just emerged from another junction just up the road and their ‘Left’ signal just hasn’t gone off.
- They may have just overtaken a car/cyclist etc and again, haven’t yet cancelled the ‘Left’ signal.
- They literally may have accidentally hit the signal stick/handle.
The key thing always is to remember to watch and trust the ‘Body Language’ of the car. What I mean by this is watch to see are they slowing and starting to turn, then you know they are actually turning.
On Roundabouts, please be extra vigilant about Signals from oncoming cars as ‘incorrect signalling’ seems to be a National past time in Ireland.
For those doing the test, once you get an instruction from the Tester, remember, it will most likely mean having to use a signal (eg. Take the next left/right, park on the left or various roundabout instructions). Ensure you always use the MSMM routine also.
Brendan Tierney is a Brand Ambassador of KennCo Insurance. KennCo Insurance understands that getting car insurance for your first car can be challenging. That’s why they offer affordable and reliable young driver car insurance. KennCo Underwriting Ltd T/A KennCo Insurance is regulated by The Central Bank of Ireland.
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