So, I was conducting a school bus driver safety class in Grand Rapids and Lansing, Michigan this past week, and we were having everyone drive through a couple of tasks that are normally on the annual state skills competitions called school bus roadeos. Many of the drivers expressed a concern to me that I found to be a bit perplexing. It's an issue that drivers of all manner of vehicles seem to ignore often. We were asking the drivers to make a right turn around a traffic cone and get as
close to it as possible without touching it or any of the other cones. They're all pretty darn close (the cones, not the drivers), and so this task ain't easy, especially when driving a 40-foot long vehicle. So the drivers are absolutely concentrating on their technical skills. Most are darn good.
One of our instructors was completing a scoring form for each driver, evaluating how well they completed the task. One of the criteria used for scoring is whether or not the driver had used their turn signal. I know- that seems like a pretty simple way to score well doesn't it? Well, the truth be told, many drivers failed to activate the signal and, as a result, failed to score well.
So, when we asked them why they hadn't used the turn signal, their
answer was simple: we were in a parking lot, and you never told us we needed to use it.
We know that honking the horn communicates something to the other drivers around us: HEY, there's something to pay attention to. But, turn signals are just as effective a communication device. It's all about communicating your intentions so that the other drivers will know what to expect (if they're looking, of course). Parking lots are absolutely a mixing bowl of vehicles moving in semi-unpredictable patterns. The behavior that will consistently provide us with, well- consistency in predictability is the use of all of our traditional communication tools ALL the time. Why wouldn't we? It's so darn simple.
Be visible, be predictable, be aware, be safe.
Have a safe summer.
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