Should I indicate before changing lanes on the motorway?
There appear to be a number of drivers who do not feel comfortable overtaking and it is not unusual to find yourself in a line of cars behind a slow moving vehicle up front, many of who appear content just to follow and not take overtaking opportunities when they appear. Some leave sufficient space between their car and the one in front, either intentionally or not, for drivers who wish to overtake to pull back into, but many do not; in such cases one just has to settle and wait for the traffic or road layout to change, for example, to a dual carriageway. However some drivers who show no signs of wanting to overtake and leave space for overtaking cars to pull into, seem to object when they are overtaken. Three times recently I have been flashed by drivers who I have overtaken in such circumstances. In each case, I had sufficient visibility of the road ahead to know that the manoeuvre was safe, I indicated before pulling out and did not pull back in until there was what I considered to be a safe gap between my car and theirs. I did not indicate prior to pulling back in (I was taught that this is unnecessary) but may have braked as I pulled in to readjust my speed to that of the line of traffic; I do not believe this hindered the driver behind in any way. Have I done something wrong or can you account for the reaction of the overtaken drivers?
Asked on 4 May 2013 by GC, Chester
Answered by
Honest John
You should try to indicate both when pulling out to overtake and when pulling back in. It is particularly important to indicate when pulling back in because that not only tells the car you are pulling in front of what you are doing, it also tells the drivers of any oncoming vehicles that you will be safely out of their way. Some drivers are under the misapprehension that a flash of their lights tells a quicker driver that he has safely pulled in front of them. This makes sense for huge HGV drivers who cannot precisely judge the length of their vehicles, but it should not be used by car drivers.
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