Is your signal really necessary?

I have been following with interest the correspondence in the magazine of the Institute of Advanced Motorists concerning the idea that there are times when it is not necessary to signal one's intention to turn.  This correspondence has been dragging on for ages as the magazine is only published four times a year.  What I witnessed the other day was, I suggest, an occasion when a signal really was superfluous.  I was walking along the pavement when the driver of a car parked thirty yards or more ahead of me and facing the direction in which I was walking, started to indicate his intention to pull away from the kerb.  I was the only pedestrian in sight, there were no other parked vehicles within a hundred yards and there were no moving vehicles in sight.  That driver probably flicked on his indicators before even checking for other traffic, doing so as an automatic thing.

OK, so that is an extreme example, but I seldom indicate my intention to turn right at the crossroads at the end of our road.  I have to give way so any driver of the major road will probably be completely uninterested in what my movements will be: I have to wait for him to pass before doing anything.  However, if another vehicle is approaching the junction from the road opposite me, then I signal.  I do the same if there are pedestrians who will need to know my plans.

The argument is that signalling a proposed turn should be a conscious action, not something that is done automatically.  It should be an action taken only after the situation has been assessed, almost a reminder that an assessment is needed.  A reminder to look specifically for other road users and pedestrians.  Yes, I can see the other person's point of view, that signalling intentions is so important that it should be an automatic action, but I still prefer my way.

On the other hand, one of my biggest gripes is about people who fail to signal.  If I am waiting to join a roundabout and the driver of a car already on it fails to signal his intention to leave by my road, I often lose the opportunity to pull away.

But don't let me get started or I'll never stop!

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Following on from yesterday's picture, here is another of the River Adur, at low tide this time.