craigmcn

So I rented a car for the weekened. A shiny, black 2005 Chevrolet Malibu. It drives nice, and is very comfortable to ride in.

Now, as you all know, I don’t drive a lot. I have a valid driver’s licence, but I don’t own a vehicle. Obviously, this puts me at a disadvantage when driving rules change, because I don’t pay much attention to the changes when I’m not driving.

The big change I noticed while driving this weekend was signalling. I gather there was a change of rules and we are no longer expected to signal our intentions to change lanes, turn corners, pull into or out of parking spaces (especially on busy streets) or navigate parking lots. In fact, the change seems to be so well-understood that when I signalled and began changing lanes, the person behind must have thought that I had turned on the signal for a lark, because she continued to pull up beside me, blocking me from making the lane change.

I thought, at first, that it was simply a few people not signalling, but later realized that I was in a shrinking minority of people who were actually making use of their vehicle’s ability to signal. There were two vehicles whose owners had gone to extra lengths to comply with the new regulations by disabling their ‘reverse’ lights. Thus not indicating when their vehicle would be backing up and not alerting me to the possibility of them smashing into me.

I really have to congratulate someone on these new rules!!