A Ramble About Indicators
About twenty minutes ago, I got home from shopping, after one of the most stressful drives in a while. I’m sure we’ve all had one of those days. No matter how confident and safe you are on the road, you simply can’t trust other people to be the same.
The trip I make from the shop and back home doesn’t take long, it’s about 10 minutes both ways. Sure, I could theoretically walk to a closer, more expensive shop. But it’s like 32C while in the shade, and most of the walk has no shade at all. As much as I want to be environmentally friendly, I don’t have much choice in the matter. And I’d also have to lug my weekly shopping home. Walking in 32C in the shade, without much shade is already a bit risky. Doing so while dragging shopping around would probably ruin me.
So no matter how I look at it, I have to drive. Small problem though: I don’t particularly like driving. Despite it’s usefulness and the fact that it’s pretty much required, I just don’t like it. The fact that I’m driving a fast-moving object with a lot of weight behind it doesn’t conjure up happy thoughts at all. But more importantly, the people I share the road with do not give me any confidence what so ever.
In my one stressful trip to and from the shop, a lot happened. People pulled out in front of me. Some people drove way too close behind me. Two people weren’t paying attention and opened their doors, making me have to swerve out of the way. A small bird also flew in front of me, and somehow it didn’t get splatted.
But the people I am most upset about are the many people who decided that they didn’t want to use their indicators.
Now, the humble indicator is a very useful tool. As the same suggests, you use an indicator (sometimes called a blinker) to INDICATE where you are about to turn. Using your blinkers is incredibly easy. There’s a little rod on the side of your steering wheel. When you flick it (in either direction), your car shows a blinking light, INDICATING which way you want to go. The indicators will continue clicking until you turn or you turn them off. I don’t know why I’m explaining this. You all know what indicators are, right?
Indicators also make a really nice clicking noise. To the point that the sound of it could be ingrained to our childhoods. Think about it: when you were young and playing with cars and stuff, what were the three main sounds cars made? The revving of engines, the beeping of horns and the click clack of indicators. What your blinkers are for are generally learned way, way before you start doing driving lessons. And indicting is one of the first things one learns in driving lessons too.
Yet, for some reason, people still don’t use them. Folks will blindly turn without indicating where they are going. Why? Who knows. As for the rest of us, guess we need to use telepathy to work out where these morons are going.
Seriously. Use your damn indicators. It’s not that difficult.