When should you use your turn signals?

Using turn signals before changing lanes or making turns is essential for safe driving practices. Turn signals are a key form of communication with other road users, indicating your intentions and helping to prevent accidents. By signaling before you make a maneuver, you allow other drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians to anticipate your actions, ensuring a smoother flow of traffic.

While signaling is particularly crucial when changing lanes or turning, it is also important at all times when your direction is about to change. This includes situations like merging into traffic, which some might think is a reason to signal but is specifically covered under the broader guidance of signaling before any lane change or turn.

Signaling should be a consistent habit regardless of the driving environment—whether residential areas or at night—and is a fundamental aspect of road safety, making it clear and unambiguous to others on the road what your next move will be.